Just a week ago, Bruce R. McCaw’s 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer emerged from the restoration shop of Steve Babinsky in Lebanon, New Jersey. Today, having crossed the country, the boattailed beauty captured the top prize at the prestigious 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
“This Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer is a combination of speed, style and power,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “Somehow these three elements—along with those fantastic torpedo running boards—become the very definition of elegance.”
The car, a sporting tourer, was first delivered to a Captain Miller on behalf of Earl Howe, who founded the British Racing Drivers’ Club.
“We’ve had the car for several years,” said McCaw, of Bellevue, Washington. “The question was whether or not to restore it. I always hate to restore something that doesn’t need it. But we finally found enough pictures that we knew the car needed to be restored.”
The car retains its original Marchal lighting equipment and chrome-plated wheels; these are complemented by low-cut doors and unusual torpedo-style running boards containing tools and other ancillary equipment. The rich blue color was a dress inspired by a dress made of peacock feathers in the 1850s.
In the final circle, Bruce was up against his brother John McCaw who, with wife Gwen McCaw, competed for Best of Show with their 1957 Ferrari 315 S Scaglietti Spyder. Also in the Winner’s Circle was a 1932 Packard 906 Twin Six Dietrich Convertible Victoria owned by William E. (Chip) Connor of Reno, Nevada.
The 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held on the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links, drew 204 cars from 15 countries and 31 states—and the total included 54 first-time entrants.
This Pebble Beach Concours also raised more than $1.6 million to help people in need. Through the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, the primary charitable partner of the Concours, these charitable funds will benefit over 80 local charities.
Celebrity guests who were in attendance included comedian Jay Leno, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, media personality and former defensive end for the New York Giants Michael Strahan, actor Jerry Seinfeld, and Chief Creative Officer of Pixar John Lasseter.
The 68th Pebble Beach Concours will be held on Sunday, August 26 (the fourth rather than the third Sunday in contrast to the norm). For more information on the Pebble Beach Concours, please visit www.pebblebeachconcours.net.
| COMPLETE LIST OF 2017 WINNERS | ||
| Best of Show
1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer
Best of Show Nominees
1932 Packard 906 Twin Six Dietrich Convertible Victoria William E. (Chip) Connor, Reno, Nevada
1957 Ferrari 315 S Scaglietti Spyder John & Gwen McCaw
Elegance Awards
Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible 1932 Packard 906 Twin Six Dietrich Convertible Victoria William E. (Chip) Connor, Reno, Nevada
J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Gangloff Coupé The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Hong Kong
Jules Heumann Most Elegant Open Car 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer Bruce R. McCaw, Bellevue, Washington
Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car 1955 Ferrari 375 Plus Pinin Farina Cabriolet Speciale The Golomb Family Trust
Special Awards Alec Ulmann Trophy 1931 Hispano-Suiza J12 Saoutchik Transformable Grande Luxe Mark & Sonia Richter, Wanaka, New Zealand Ansel Adams Award 1906 Pope-Toledo Type XII Touring The Nethercutt Collection – Helen & Jack Nethercutt, Sylmar, California ArtCenter College of Design Award 1933 Auburn 12-165 Speedster Lou & Kathy Ficco, Wheat Ridge, Colorado Briggs Cunningham Trophy 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer Axel Schuette Fine Cars GmbH & Co. KG, Oerlinghausen, Germany Chairman’s Trophy 1904 Holsman Model 3 Runabout Marta Holsman and Henrietta Holsman, Carpinteria, California Charles A. Chayne Trophy 1909 De Dion-Bouton BV Type de Course John S. Adamick, Westlake Village, California Classic Car Club of America Trophy 1940 Packard 1807 Custom Super Eight Rollson Sport Sedan Michelle & Martin Cousineau, Beverly Hills, California Dean Batchelor Trophy 1967 Gyro-X Alex Tremulis Prototype Lane Motor Museum, Nashville, Tennessee Elegance in Motion Trophy 1932 Packard 906 Twin Six Dietrich Convertible Victoria William E. (Chip) Connor, Reno, Nevada Enzo Ferrari Trophy 1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta Anne Brockinton Lee / Robert M. Lee Automobile Collection, Reno, Nevada FIVA Postwar Trophy 1953 Bentley R-Type Continental H.J. Mulliner Sports Saloon Derek Hood, Maldon, England FIVA Prewar Trophy 1916 Locomobile Model 38 Collapsible Cabriolet Mike Guffey, Hartford City, Indiana The French Cup 1947 Delahaye 135 MS Figoni & Falaschi Cabriolet Wayne Grafton, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Gran Turismo Trophy 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer Bruce R. McCaw, Bellevue, Washington Lincoln Trophy 1933 Lincoln KB-260 Brunn Convertible Victoria Bill & Barbara Parfet, Hickory Corners, Michigan Lorin Tryon Trophy Robert T. Devlin Lucius Beebe Trophy 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Brewster Ascot Tourer Jay & Christina Moore, Lahaina, Hawaii Mercedes-Benz Star of Excellence Award 1929 Mercedes-Benz SS Castagna Cabriolet The Keller Collection at The Pyramids, Petaluma, California Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III H.J. Mulliner Sports Limousine Mr. & Mrs. Henry Robet, France The Phil Hill Cup 1907 Renault AI 35/45 HP Vanderbilt Racer Robert Kauffman, Charlotte, North Carolina The Revs Program at Stanford Award 1907 Renault AI 35/45 HP Vanderbilt Racer Robert Kauffman, Charlotte, North Carolina Tony Hulman Trophy 1915 Packard 2-38 Six Runabout Allen Strong, Urbana, Illinois The Vitesse ~ Elegance Trophy 1956 Maserati 300S Fantuzzi Race Car Henri Chambon, Vence, France Class Winners Class A: Antique 1st: 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Barker Torpedo, Charles E. Nearburg, Dallas, Texas 2nd: 1906 Pope-Toledo Type XII Touring, The Nethercutt Collection – Helen & Jack Nethercutt, Sylmar, California 3rd: 1910 Thomas Flyer Model K 6-70 Flyabout, Jim Grundy, Solebury, Pennsylvania Class C-1: American Classic Open 1st: 1932 Studebaker President Series 91 Convertible Sedan, George & Valerie Vassos, Westfield, Massachusetts 2nd: 1933 Lincoln KB-260 Brunn Convertible Victoria, Bill & Barbara Parfet, Hickory Corners, Michigan 3rd: 1928 Stearns-Knight H 8-90 Phillips Cabriolet, Brent Merrill, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Class C-2: American Classic Closed 1st: 1940 Packard 1807 Custom Super Eight Rollson Sport Sedan, Michelle & Martin Cousineau, Beverly Hills, California 2nd: 1933 Chrysler CL Imperial Custom LeBaron Sedan, Larry & Susan Nannini, Daly City, California 3rd: 1930 Cord L-29 Brougham, Shawn Coady, Loda, Illinois Class D: Packard 1st: 1932 Packard 906 Twin Six Dietrich Convertible Victoria, William E. (Chip) Connor, Reno, Nevada 2nd: 1932 Packard 904 Deluxe Eight Dietrich Sport Phaeton, Samuel Lehrman, Palm Beach, Florida 3rd: 1939 Packard 1703 Super-8 Darrin Convertible Victoria, Leon Flagg and Curtis Lamon, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin Class G: Duesenberg 1st: 1935 Duesenberg SJ Bohman & Schwartz Town Car, Lee & Penny Anderson, Naples, Florida 2nd: 1935 Duesenberg JN Rollston Berline, Rob & Jeannie Hilarides, Visalia, California 3rd: 1931 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Coupe, Linda & Paul Gould, Pawling, New York Class H: Rolls-Royce Prewar 1st: 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III H.J. Mulliner Sports Limousine, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Robet, France 2nd: 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Brewster Ascot Tourer, Jay & Christina Moore, Lahaina, Hawaii 3rd: 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Inskip Convertible Roadster, Stephen Brauer, St. Louis, Missouri Class I: Mercedes-Benz Prewar 1st: 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer, Bruce R. McCaw, Bellevue, Washington 2nd: 1929 Mercedes-Benz SS Castagna Cabriolet, The Keller Collection at The Pyramids, Petaluma, California 3rd: 1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A, Yi Hong Chen, Beijing, China Class J-1: European Classic Early 1st: 1931 Hispano-Suiza J12 Saoutchik Transformable Grande Luxe, Mark & Sonia Richter, Wanaka, New Zealand 2nd: 1931 Bentley Speed Six Vanden Plas Open Four Seater Sports, Ivor Dunbar, London, England 3rd: 1930 Delage D8C Chapron Cabriolet, Ray & Bonnie Kinney, Dallas, Texas Class J-2: European Classic Mid 1st: 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Gangloff Coupé, The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Hong Kong 2nd: 1934 Delage D8 S Fernandez et Darrin Cabriolet, John Rich Jr., Frackville, Pennsylvania 3rd: 1934 SS Cars SS1 Fixed Head Coupé, Carl & Marcia Baxter, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania Class J-3: European Classic Late 1st: 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Voll & Ruhrbeck Cabriolet, Jim Patterson / The Patterson Collection, Louisville, Kentucky 2nd: 1938 Lagonda V12 Rapide Drophead Coupé, Ron Rezek, Ashland, Oregon 3rd: 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Graber Mille Miglia Cabriolet, Dr. Matthias Metz, Rosengarten, Germany Class J-4: European Classic Sport 1st: 1930 Bentley 4½ Litre SC Vanden Plas Le Mans Sports, Private Collection 2nd: 1935 Lagonda M45 Rapide Tourer, Richard D. Lisman, Southampton, New York 3rd: 1930 OM Tipo 665 SS MM Works Race Car, Michael Haentjes, Hamburg, Germany Class K-1: Isotta Fraschini 1st: 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Fleetwood Roadster, Joseph & Margie Cassini III, West Orange, New Jersey 2nd: 1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS LeBaron Cabriolet, Peter T. Boyle, Covington, Ohio 3rd: 1931 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B Viggo Jensen Cabriolet, The Keller Collection at The Pyramids, Petaluma, California Class K-2: Isotta Fraschini Castagna Coachwork Open 1st: 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Castagna Cabriolet, Karol Pavlu, Bratislava, Slovakia 2nd: 1932 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Castagna Commodore, Blake & Lauren Atwell, Buda, Texas 3rd: 1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Commodore, The Stephens Family, San Francisco, California Class K-3: Isotta Fraschini Castagna Coachwork Closed 1st: 1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Limousine, Morton Bullock, Ruxton, Maryland 2nd: 1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Imperial Cabriolet, Paul & Joyce Toberty, Newport Coast, California 3rd: 1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Imperial Landaulet, The Nethercutt Collection – Helen & Jack Nethercutt, Sylmar, California Class L-1: Prewar Preservation 1st: 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer, Axel Schuette Fine Cars GmbH & Co. KG, Oerlinghausen, Germany 2nd: 1916 Locomobile Model 38 Collapsible Cabriolet, Mike Guffey, Hartford City, Indiana 3rd: 1930 Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sports Saloon, Gregor Fisken, London, England Class L-2: Postwar Preservation 1st: 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, Lukas Hüni, Zurich, Switzerland 2nd: 1954 Jaguar XK120 Open Two Seater, Kim McCullough, Pompton Plains, New Jersey 3rd: 1960 Abarth 1000 Record Pininfarina Prototype, Simone Bertolero, Moncalieri, Italy Class M-1: Ferrari Grand Touring 1st: 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Vignale Cabriolet, Peter S. Kalikow, New York 2nd: 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Scaglietti Berlinetta, Bob Cohen, Beverly Hills, California 3rd: 1968 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 Scaglietti NART Spyder, Chris & Ann Cox, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Class M-2: Ferrari Competition 1st: 1958 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti Spyder, Andreas Mohringer, Salzburg, Austria 2nd: 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Touring Barchetta, Thomas Peck, Irvine, California 3rd: 1967 Ferrari 412 P Competizione, Harry Yeaggy, Cincinnati, Ohio Class M-3: Ferrari Major Race Winners 1st: 1957 Ferrari 315 S Scaglietti Spyder, John & Gwen McCaw 2nd: 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Berlinetta, Jack & Kingsley Croul, Corona del Mar, California 3rd: 1975 Ferrari 312 T F1 Race Car, Richard Griot, Tacoma, Washington Class M-4: Ferrari One-off Speciales 1st: 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Pinin Farina Coupe, Lee & Joan Herrington (for the Herrington Corp. Collection), Bow, New Hampshire 2nd: 1955 Ferrari 375 Plus Pinin Farina Cabriolet Speciale, The Golomb Family Trust 3rd: 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Boano Cabriolet, Anne Brockinton Lee / Robert M. Lee Automobile Collection, Reno, Nevada Class O-1: Postwar Open 1st: 1952 Porsche 356 Reutter Cabriolet, Robert Ingram / The Ingram Collection, Durham, North Carolina 2nd: 1965 AC Cobra 427 Roadster, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Swanson, Boston, Massachusetts 3rd: 1951 Cisitalia 202 SC Vignale Cabriolet, Leo & Lisa Schigiel, Miami Beach, Florida Class O-2: Postwar Closed 1st: 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Boano Coupé Speciale, Tony Shooshani, Long Beach, California 2nd: 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE Pinin Farina Coupé, Classic Motor Cars Ltd., Bridgnorth, England 3rd: 1953 Siata 208CS Coupé, Tim & Janet Walker Class O-3: Postwar Racing 1st: 1952 Siata 208CS Corsa Bertone Spider, Raffi Najjarian, Brisbane, California 2nd: 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Zagato Coupé, Jack & Kingsley Croul, Corona del Mar, California 3rd: 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Zagato Coupé, David & Jody Smith, Medina, Washington Class O-4: Postwar Grand Touring 1st: 1947 Delahaye 135 MS Figoni & Falaschi Cabriolet, Wayne Grafton, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada 2nd: 1948 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa Boneschi Cabriolet, Collezione Lopresto, Milan, Italy 3rd: 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Coupe, Vin & Erica Di Bona, Los Angeles, California Class R: American Dream Cars of the 1960s 1st: 1965 Pontiac Vivant Herb Adams Roadster, Mark & Newie Brinker, Houston, Texas 2nd: 1966 Bosley Mark II Interstate Coupe, Stephen & Kim Bruno, Boca Raton, Florida 3rd: 1969 Farago CF 428 Carrozzeria Coggiola Coupe, Frank Campanale, Orchard Lake, Michigan Class V: Open Wheel Race Cars 1st: 1907 Renault AI 35/45 HP Vanderbilt Racer, Robert Kauffman, Charlotte, North Carolina 2nd: 1908 Mors Grand Prix Race Car, Collier Collection at The Revs Institute, Naples, Florida 3rd: 1909 Isotta Fraschini FENC Tipo A Factory Touring, Harold Peters and Juanita Doerksen | ||
