A 1929 Duesenberg Model J roadster owned and restored by Dwight C. Schaubach took Best of Show honors this past weekend at the Greenbrier Concours d’Elegance at the famed resort and spa at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Concours organizers said the event featured “a weekend full of horsepower, friendships and history — with a little social distancing mixed in.”
The concours said the winning Duesie was the first Model J (J112) and debuted at Automobile Salon in December 1928 before being sold to Humphrey W. Chadbourn for $13,500. Chadbourn had the factory add a spotlight, electric siren, Martin Cord tires and an HWC monogram on each door. He sold the car in 1937 to a student at Yale University.
Several owners later, Shaubach had the car restored in 1996.
1973 Cadillac Series 75 limousine 
1929 Graham Paige Model 827
In addition to best of class winners in 10 categories, other awards included People’s Choice, which went to a 1948 Tucker 48 sedan owned by William and Sonya Miller.
Among other highlights was the Sam Snead Award (for best country club car) to a 1929 Graham Paige Model 827 roadster and the Eisenhower Award (for best cold-war era car) to a 1973 Cadillac Series 75 limousine.
More honors for Le Mans-winning 917 KH
The Porsche 917 KH that Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann drove to the company’s first overall victory at Le Mans in 1970 is still winning. No, not races on the track but judges’ praise at concours d’elegance, though in this case the judges are the owners of the cars on the concours show field.
The car’s latest triumph was taking Best in Show honors at the British Royal Concours of Elegance this past weekend at Hampton Court Palace, where the events included the “Passion of a Lifetime” auction by Gooding & Company.
“Greeting visitors as they emerged from Henry VIII’s former home and into the Fountain Gardens was a special Ford vs. Ferrari display, paying homage to some of Le Mans 24 Hours’ most famous racers,” organizers reported in their post-concours news release. “Among them was a Ford GT40, a Ferrari 250 LM, 365 P2 and a stunning Ferrari 250 GTO. And that’s even before reaching the main line-up of concours vehicles.
“The Best in Show-winning 1969 Porsche 917 KH, was a crowd favorite throughout the event, with its imposing design and incredible backstory. In 1970, Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove this very same 917 KH (short-tail) with start number 23 and in the world-famous red-white Salzburg design to the first of (so far) 19 overall wins for Porsche at the circuit.
“The 917 was Porsche’s first time in the league of immensely powerful, large-capacity racing cars. Its 580-horsepower 4.5-liter 12-cylinder engine set new standards, and is still legendary today.”
1904 Fiat Type 24/32 
1930 Bentley ‘Blower’
1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 
1926 Bentley by Mulliner won the Bentley Award
In what organizers termed “a fortuitous coincidence,” the winner of the event’s new “Junior Concours” for children’s vehicles was a petrol-powered 3/4-scale replica of the Porsche racer.
There also were awards by decades, won by:
Pre-1915s – 1904 Fiat Type 24/32
1920s – 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750
1930s – 1930 Bentley 4.5-Liter ‘Blower’ by Gurney Nutting
1940s – 1948 Land Rover Model 80 #001
1950s – 1958 BMW 507
1960s – 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione Clienti
Post-1970s –1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona
David Watson accepts RAC trophy from Peter Read 
Ferraris in junior and full size
Beyond the official concours display, there were another 1,000 or so cars on the palace grounds.
The Royal Automobile Club presented its Club Trophy to a 1962 Messerschmitt KR200 Dome Top, leaving car owner Dave Watson of Bedfordshire to respond “I am in shock. I’ve never attended the event before.”
Among a variety of other awards, the “Future Classics” trophy went to the Aston Martin Victor, a one-off, 836-horsepower vehicle inspired by the 1980s Vantage.
Stretching even further afield, Classic & Sports Car magazine gave awards, including those to vehicles driven to the car park by concours visitors; those awards going to an Iso Grifo and a Mercedes 230 SL “Pagoda.”
Pebble Beach makes charity contributions
Although it had to cancel its concours d’elegance and other events this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the team at Pebble Beach didn’t stop its fund-raising effort and reports donating more than $1 million to charities on the Monterey Peninsula.
“Despite cancellation of this year’s show, we are pleased to announce that more than $1 million dollars will be distributed to local charities,” said Bill Perocchi, Pebble Beach Company chief executive. “We are so grateful to Pebble Beach Concours chairman Sandra Button, and the many car manufacturers, owners, judges, and sponsors from around the world who stepped up under such difficult circumstances to ensure that our local charities would continue to receive funding during this time.”
“Since its beginning, the Pebble Beach Concours has had two goals,” said Button, “to celebrate great cars, and to raise money for people in need. We are proud to have raised almost $30 million for our local charity partners since inception of the event in 1950. And even though we can’t gather to celebrate great cars this year, we were determined to support our local charities.”
And the effort continues. Tickets remain available for a September 13 drawing for a 2021 Lexus LC 500 convertible.
Mulliner trio to debut at Salon Privé
Bentley has announced that its Mulliner Collections and Coachbuilt division will debut three vehicles at Salon Privé, which is scheduled for September 23-26 at Blenheim Palace in England.
Mulliner dates to the 1500s, when it was founded as a saddle maker. It crafted coachwork for a Bentley 3-Liter for the 1923 Olympic Show in London and became part of Bentley in 1959.
In addition to three new vehicles, Mulliner will display WO Bentley’s own 8 Liter model and a Mulliner-bodied 1952 R-Type Continental from the company’s Heritage Collection.
VW’s ID.R going for another record
Already possessing the record runs up China’s Tianmen Shan Big Gate Road, America’s Pikes Peak, Germany’s Nurburgring, and for the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb, Volkswagen’s electric-powered ID.R race car will come out of retirement to attempt a record run of the Goodwood Motor Circuit during the Goodwood SpeedWeek, scheduled for October 16-18.
The Goodwood Motor Circuit record lap of 1 minutes, 18.217 seconds was set at the 2015 Goodwood Revival by Nick Padmore in the Local T70 Spyder. The former standard had been set with Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart each posting times of 1:20.4 in a non-championship Formula One race in 1965. The circuit was closed to competition in 1966.
Fall car-show calendar
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the fall car-show and concours calendar continues to evolve. Here’s the updated schedule, based on official announcements but subject to change, as of September 8, 2020:
September 11-13 — AAA Glidden Tour (Sarasota Springs, New York), Vail Classic, Wisconsin Dells Automotion, EyesOn driving tour (Michigan), Bloomington Gold (Indianapolis), REVS Refueled and Ready (England)
September 18-20 — New York City Concours, LaJolla Concours d’Elegance, Street Rod Nationals Northeast (Vermont), Arizona FuelFest, Balfour Car Show (Denver), Holley MOPARty (Bowling Green, Kentucky), Art on Wheels Weekend (Wisconsin)
September 23-27 — Salon Prive (England), Telluride Festival, Ironstone Concours d’Elegance (California), St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance (Maryland), Goodguys Lone Star Nationals (Texas), Catskill Conquest Rally (New York)
October 2-4 — Fall Carlisle, Street Rod Nationals South (Knoxville, Tennessee), Jagstravaganza Concours (California), Holley Ford Intergalactic Festival (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
October 9-11 — Zoute Grand Prix and Concours (Belgium), AACA Eastern Fall Nationals (car show only), Chico Concours d’Elegance (California)
October 16-18 — Goodwood Speed Week, Keels & Wheels, Lake Mirror Concours d’Elegance (Florida), Mid-American Street Rod Nationals (Missouri), Astin Mansion (Texas), Off-Road Expo and Sand Sports Super Show (Arizona)
October 19-23 — AACA Central Divisional Tour (Oklahoma), Astin Mansion car show (Texas)
October 23-25 — Japanese Classic (Long Beach, California), Charlotte Auto Fair
October 30-November 1 — Copperstate 1000 vintage rally car show, Western Street Rod Nationals (Bakersfield, California), Rennsport Collective (England)
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