A 1927 Bentley Speed Six purchased at last year's RACV Motorclassica in Melbourne has taken out this years 'Best in Show' Award at the Concours event. The 6.5 litre car - one of only 97 manufactured - underwent a nuts and bolts rebuild from 2005 to 2011 to take the award from a high-class field of 110 classic cars.
Owner, Gary McMillan from Melbourne said the car's success was an accolade to those who actually undertook the restoration. The Bentley was first sold to Oswald Syme, the son of publishing magnate David Syme, in November 1927. It was fitted with a Mulliner body on a standard 12 foot chassis. In 2005 the car was purchased from Melbourne car identity Reg Hunt and upgraded over six years to Speed Six specifications with Vanden Plas "Le Mans" body by Simon Elliott of Derby Works.
Cars valued at more than $100 million ensured the show would be an outstanding success. Held at the stately Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, thousands flocked to the Concours and car show held in the grounds outside the hall adjacent to the museum. The sheer quality and variety of the cars was impressive: from Cord to Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Hispano Suiza, Alvis, Isotta, Chrysler, Marmon, Sunbeam, Delage, Alfa ... and a host of makes from Europe and the US. This was the event's second year.
This Cord 812 Winchester sedan was built in 1937, one of only 60 right-hard drive examples. The design is straight out of America's Art Deco period. It was originally sold in London and was brought to Australia in 1999. In 2008 it was the first vehicle to be exhibited in the National Gallery of Victoria as part of its Art Deco Winter Season. The Cord was nicknamed a 'Baby Deusey' being produced by the Auburn, Cord Duesenberg company.
This 1928 Bugatti Type 37A GP has an interesting and important race history being placed second in the Swiss Grand Prix and winning the Duchess of York trophy at Brooklands. Others too have steered the vehicle with success including New Zealand's first GP driver, George Cholmondday Tapper, England's Richard Seaman and Eileen Ellisan in the South African Grand Prix and Klausen Hill Climb.
There are few more collectible cars than this 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 'Gull Wing' Coupe. This car has undergone a painstaking restoration under the guidance of 300SL restorer, Jerry Hjeltness of California. The results simply speak for themselves.
Chrysler has always been an innovator when it comes to design and these next two cars are no exception. The first is a 1958 Chrysler 300D with tail fins that seem to start from the A-pillar. This car was designed by the legendary Virgil Exner. The 300 stands for 300 hp, so despite it's cumbersome appearance this was one of the first American muscle cars. Only 618 300Ds were produced in 1958 and less than 150 are know to survive.
Our second Chrysler is a 1936 Airflow C11 Imperial Limousine. At this time Chrysler were looking seriously at aerodynamics in car design, hence the Airflow's name and the rounded front end. Pretty it isn't. Unfortunately the design was a bit too 'out there' for buyers and they stayed away in droves. This means that these days the car is a rarity. There were only 37 Airflow Imperial Limousines built and this is believed to be the only one still going. It is totally original and in unrestored condition.
Hispano Suiza produced luxury cars from 1898 to 1936 with this car being a HS26 Junior Cabriolet. It was commonly called the 'junior' as it was smaller than the 32CV Hispano Suiza model. French company Ballot built the chassis while the rest of the car was assembled in the Hispano factory in Spain. Once again this is a rare car with 124 HS26s produced between 1930 and 1934. This car is from south of Sydney.
Another Mercedes-Benz that impressed was the 1936 540K Cabriolet C. Mercedes-Benz started to design high-speed touring cars in the early 1930s and this culminated in 1936 with the 540K, launched at the 1936 Paris Motor Show. This car was originally owned by a prominent member of the Third Reich and is the only Cabriolet C in Australia. Only 122 Cabriolet Cs were manufactured out of a production run of 419 540Ks.
This beautiful car is a 1952 Alvis TB21 Roadster, one of only about 25 left. In the post-war period Alvis tried to reposition the brand as a prestige marque with sporting prowess. But at 1598 British pounds the car was expensive and only 31 left the factory between 1951 and 1953. This was the last Roadster to leave the factory.
One of the prettiest cars around in the mid 1960s was the Triumph TR5. This roadster was built between August 1967 and September 1968, one of 2947 units. After 30 years it underwent restoration in 1997 by the present owners and has won its class at the Triumph Sports Owners Association Victoria and Nationally every year since 1997.
One of the most successful sports cars of the 1930s was the BMW 328 Roadster. With a top speed of 155 km/h and beautiful streamlining - remembering this car was manufactured in 1938 - the little Beemer had a lot to offer. Launched at the Nurburgring in 1936 there were only 464 examples produced. It is a stunning example of the marque.
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