Eight of our favourite vehicles from the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance

The winners of the top three awards at the 2023 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance near Owen Sound, Ont.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

More than 100 classic vehicles were on display at the Cobble Beach golf links near Owen Sound, Ont., for the annual Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance last weekend.

Winning the overall Best of Show award was a stunning 1929 Cord L-29. The other two main categories of Outstanding Pre-war and Outstanding Post-war vehicle were won by a 1935 SS Cars Limited SS One Airline Saloon and a 1958 Buick Roadmaster Limited Convertible.

Here are some of our favourites starting with the three big winners:

1929 Cord L-29

This 1929 Cord L-29 owned by Greg Ornazian from Troy, Mich., won Best of Show. This is an Art Deco inspired car and the Cord L-29′s are best known for being the first American production front-wheel-drive automobiles. Ornazian wasn’t at the show, but the car’s handler says he bought this car because he felt it was the “pinnacle of styling of the Art Deco era. He loves the scalloped striped fenders and the detailing on the door handles.”

1935 SS Cars Limited SS One Airline Saloon

This 1935 SS Cars Limited SS One Airline Saloon, owned by Jim and Lisa Hendrix from Chesterfield, Mo., won the Outstanding Pre-war category. An interesting fact is that this is actually a Jaguar. Jim and Lisa have had this car for 28 years and it took them 25 years to restore it because they had to take their time to find the proper parts.

How did they chose this car to buy and restore? One day Jim asked Lisa, what car can we both agree upon? Lisa said, “I like the car in the picture that is on the back of the Paul Skilleter Saloon cars brochure.” They found it south of Gloucester in England and “it was a passion project that became an obsession,” says Lisa.

Jim Hendrix from Chesterfield, Mo. puts the ribbon on his 1935 SS Cars Limited SS One Airline Saloon after winning Outstanding Pre-war vehicle.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

Lisa Hendrix sits in her 1935 SS Cars Limited SS One Airline Saloon.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1958 Buick Limited

This 1958 Buick Limited owned by Vernon Smith from Swift Current, N.L., won the Outstanding Post-war category. Smith bought this car eight years ago and merely had to fix up the chrome and interior to what he calls “Vernon specs.”

Why it is a Limited edition car? “The colour combination of black with silver mink is rare and the car comes with every conceivable option offered including air-conditioning. It has the most chrome ever produced on a vehicle” and Smith says admiringly, “it is an outstanding ride … at 75 miles per hour you can light up a cigar and it just cruises.”

Smith won the Outstanding Post-war vehicle category last year with his 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham.

Vernon Smith's 1958 Buick Limited won the Outstanding Post-war category.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

Owner Vernon Smith says the car has the most chrome ever produced on a vehicle.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1934 Dodge DR Coupe

This 1934 Dodge DR Rumble Seat Coupe, owned by Dodge lover Danny Klacko, 80, from Oakville, Ont., won in the Early American Production 1916-1948 category. Klacko says he bought the car 20 years ago in Pennsylvania and it was a “basket case.” All of the parts came to him in boxes and the chassis was just on the ground. After two years of restoration, he is pleasantly surprised to have won his class. “I was here last year and I didn’t get nothin’ with this one!” He loves the burgundy colour of his car the most, he says “It’s like a candy. You just want to eat that thing, it just has that look about it.”

Klacko's vehicle won the Early American Production 1916-1948 category.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1940 Packard One-Twenty convertible Victoria by Darrin

This 1940 Packard One-Twenty convertible Victoria by Darrin is owned by Bob Becker of Mount Forest, Ont., who has owned it for 12 years. ”I fell in love with the body style and bought it in Michigan. Only around 12 exist,” Becker says. It is painted in a Laguna Maroon colour and Becker shares, “It pleases me as much in the winter as it does in the summer. It can snow a ton and while I may be stuck at home due to the weather, I can just go to the garage to look at it. It is gorgeous and I just love to look at it. It brings me joy.”

The car is painted in a Laguna Maroon colour.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1927 Bugatti Type 39/35B

A fan favourite was this 1927 Bugatti Type 39/35B owned by Mike Bigioni, of Aurora, Ont. “[This car] has been in my family since the late 1970s and is what a Formula One race car looked like in 1927. It has been called the most beautiful race car ever built … I don’t think anyone can say that today’s Formula One race cars are beautiful.” Bigioni says the designer, Ettore Bugatti, was “half artist half engineer, and even raced thoroughbred horses on the grounds and that is why the radiators are U-shaped like horseshoes.” This car is often referred to as the winningest car in racing history, and it continues to be raced to this day, winning the first ever Canadian Bugatti Grand Prix at Mont Tremblant in 2013.

The Bugatti Type 39/35B is often referred to as the winningest car in racing history.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Special Sports Roadster

This 1938 Peugeot 402 Darl’mat Special Sports Roadster, owned are Mary and Ted Stahl, from Chesterfield, Mich., won the People’s Choice and Chairman’s award. The owners were not at the event, but the car’s handler showed us how the crank-operated vanishing windshield works. He said Peugeot didn’t want the windshield because it looks ugly and ruins the lines of the car. So they created this where you “only needed it at the start of the race and as soon as you cross that starting line, down it goes.”

The car's handler said Peugeot didn’t want the windshield because it looks ugly and ruins the lines of the vehicle.TANNIS TOOHEY/The Globe and Mail

1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT

This 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT, owned by George Henne, of Toronto for almost 40 years, won the European Sport Cars Pre-1975 category. The Ferrari Dino is now considered one of Ferrari’s best designs, and this one is still active in car rallies and on the track. The name “Dino” honours Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari’s late son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, credited with designing the V6 engine used in the car.

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