Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance 2012
Hilton Head Isle, South Carolina, USA
November 4 2012
Story and Images by Geoff Wheatley
Peoples Choice: 1931 Alfa Romeo Grand Sport Spider Corsa
Best of Show: 1938 Jaguar SS Coupe (not shown)
*****
Over 400 cars attended the eleventh Concours D' Elegance at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 210 at the Saturday Club event and 196 on the Concours Sunday, held November 4th 2012. In addition the Concours features race events at Savahanna, tours of the South Carolina Low Country and various other attractions for people who enjoy the pleasure of the automobile. This year close to thirty thousand such people attended the weekend display of classic vehicles.
The featured car for 2012 was the Model T Ford and the display was outstanding. A 1921 center door sedan took my eye, also a 1914 TC Cab, an early version of today's pick up but certainly more attractive! Over thirty Brass Vintage Cars were also featured in the total of 23 Class Listings. What can anyone say about these wonderful examples of the birth of motoring except they still draw large crowds of admirers. A 1911 Maxwell EA took best in class while a 1905 Packard W5 achieved the same status in an adjacent group. Both were outstanding examples.
I often wonder who in the family keeps all the brass polished and how often this is required, obviously it's a truly labor of love!
In the European display there were such delights as a 1960 Lancia Appia Zagato., a 1972 Fiat Dino Spider, the ever popular Mercedes Gull Wing that certainly got a lot of attention various examples of the Porsche family and one total unique vehicle specially flown in from Milan, Italy for this Concours.. A 1931 "Alfa Romeo Gran Sports Spida Corsa"... A long name for a beautiful car. (See above picture) Since it was custom built in 1931 it has enjoyed eight owners, not all had treated the car with respect so when the current owner obtained the car in 2011 a major restoration was required. They were fortunate that the original pictures of the car were still available and equally important the correct color was determined by removing the original front number plate. Needless to say the car was awarded People's Choice and an equally beautiful 1938 Jaguar with a Delino Body won best in show.
As it's the 60th anniversary of the MGB there were a nine examples on show, Must be the longest running British sports car in history, 18 years in production and still not a bad looking car.
Several Austin Healey's on show another British car celebrating an anniversary. Sixty years since the first car rolled out of the MG works in Abingdon. A very nice example of a 1953 was featured and a delightful example of this breed in a different style, a 1948 Healey Westland.
No show would be complete without some fine examples of the ever popular Chevrolet Corvette. Six were on display starting with a 1957 through to 1963 each one a truly classic Concour's vehicle. Obviously I cannot start to cover all of the cars on display but feel I must mention no less than six Shelby Cobra's all genuine examples. Like the MGB they were celebrating their fifth birthday. My knowledge of American Early Post war cars is limited but I must mention a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker that took everyone's eye including mine. I have seen several pictures of the DeSoto SG Airflow Sedan but never saw one in the flesh until this show. Why it was not a success I will never understand, nice lines compared with the other cars of the time and the price was reasonable remembering what you were buying.
There was also a marine display of antique boats that featured one of the most unusual water craft that I and many others had ever seen. Designed in Soviet Russia some thirty five years ago to fit into a giant helicopter. Why? To retrieve Cosmonauts who may have landed in the wilds of Siberia after a trip around the world miles above the Earth. The power drive was an eight cylinder radial aircraft engine that drove two sets of rear propellers. It could travel over virtually any terrain such as lakes, swamps, snow etc. How it ever came to the USA I will never know!
Other beautiful polished wooden boats were on display and attracted many admirers including a special built in the late 50's with a matching trailer and Woody Car.
Aston Martin
MG TF
Talking of English cars, as in previous years the selection of British vehicles was more than impressive. A 1933 MG K2 was parked next to a 1935 MGPA with a 1938 MG Tickford completing the set, all in beautiful condition. The 1951 Allard J2 reminded me of my youthful days in England when these cars were considered the top Sports Cars for the racing brigade.
Jaguar XK120
Jaguar XK120
Jaguar XK120
However, the Jaguar 150 and 120 were represented and as always certainly looked very attractive. My wife who is not a great car person has said from time to time that the Jaguar 120 and/or the E Type would be a nice Christmas gift...Not quite sure if she is talking about her or me?
Marcos
1851 Hoffman
Finally I am always attracted to the Micro Cars and each year I discover yet another vehicle that is both interesting and unusual. This year we had three...The first a 1953 Rovin D4, next a 1951 Crosley Hotshot the last attempt to save the company's venture into the auto business and the last a 1951 Hoffman. (See the picture) If you have no idea what this might be you are not alone, however, it was produced in East Germany with a two stroke power unit and a top speed of around 25 MPH...The information says that it could hold up to four people hence the strange looking design. Bringing back memories the 1957 Goggomobil TS 300 Coupe reminded me of my youth when I purchased one of these for about two hundred dollars. The most memorable aspect of this ownership was the size of the truck wheels when I stopped at the traffic lights! For those interested there was an impressive display of Motor Cycles from 1908 through to 1972 mostly American manufacturer's including a WWll Indian with sidecar and a mounted machine gun!
Nice show well worth visiting and the weather was perfect.
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