Although the ACS Concours d'Excellence Lucerne has a tradition dating back to 1928, it is still much less well-known than the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este or Pebble Beach, for example. A year ago, the Automobile Club of Switzerland took over the patronage together with the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne and on September 8-10, 2023, the 125th anniversary of the ACS was also a major theme in beautiful weather conditions.
Parallels and differences
As with other Concours, a static beauty contest and a short drive are also organized in Lucerne. In contrast to other events, however, the drive on Saturday did not lead along quiet and lonely country roads, but directly into the hustle and bustle of the city of Lucerne.
On a route of around 17 kilometers, the classic cars stopped at six stations - Hotel Schweizerhof, Schwanenplatz, Pfistergasse, Musegg Towers, Dietschiberg and Lucerne Garden - at points of tourist interest in the city of Lucerne and the cars were expertly presented to the interested public.
For example, visitors learned that the Bentley R-Type Continental, which later won the Grand Prix d'Excellence Lucerne, was the Bugatti Veyron of its time and that it cost around three times as much to buy as a detached house.
The fact that the Zuckel drive was not kind to one or two of the classic cars was an unpleasant side effect in view of the high temperatures. But the majority of riders completed the tour without any major problems.
After the Tour d'Excellence through Lucerne, the cars lined up again as before in the arena of the Swiss Museum of Transport and could be inspected by the public.
A total of 14 prizes were awarded by a jury as well as by the participants and visitors. In addition to the class trophies, there was the "Entrants Trophy", the "Classic Vehiclle Documentation Award", the "Special Volkswagen 2023 Award", which was presented in the context of 75 years of Volkswagen in the Schwiez region, as well as, of course, the Best of Show (Grand Prix d'Excellence Lucerne) and the Audience Award (Excellence Award Lucerne)
Wide range of vehicles
Around 40 vehicles faced the strict eyes of the jury. The variety was great, with the two oldest cars dating back to 1933, while the youngest car was built in 1999.
Due to the special Volkswagen prize, a number of additional VW vehicles found their way to Lucerne, including a very early Beetle from 1950 and a New Beetle from 1999, the likes of which are rarely seen at a Concours.
There were several cars with special bodies on display, including the Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP from 1933, the Vauxhall ASX from 1933 and the BMW 502 with Beutler Coupé bodywork from 1955.
Steffi Musfeld had spent around five years restoring the Beutler BMW, a one-off with a very special history, and the kilometers in Lucerne were almost the first in a long time and the restoration.
The two-tone coupé impresses with many special details, such as the two rear window wipers, the ventilated side windows and the folding rear seat. The restoration turned out to be a real detective job, as the base came in boxes and some functions had to be understood before they could be restored.
The special car did not win a prize, but it was sure to attract the attention of the public.
With the ACS and the 125th anniversary, specially created sports and racing car classes were also eligible for prizes, and here too there were some rarities that you don't see every year. For example, the MBM, one of the first racing cars built by Peter Monteverdi, was on display, as was a Jaguar XK 120 with a long Swiss racing history.
The sports and racing car class also included a number of youngtimers, such as a Honda NSX and a Porsche 993.
The prize winners
The 14 prizes went to the following vehicles:
- Prix d'Excellence - Category A - Open cars from 1920 to 1945:
Vauxhall ASX from 1933 - Prix d'Excellence - Category B - Open cars from 1946-1965:
Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider from 1961 - Prix d'Excellence - Category C - Open cars from 1966 onwards:
Triumph TR6 from 1976 - Prix d'Excellence - Category D - Closed cars from 1920 to 1945:
Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP from 1933 - Prix d'Excellence - Category E - Closed cars from 1946 to 1965:
Bentley R-Type Continental (H.J. Mulliner) from 1953 - Prix d'Excellence - Category F - Closed cars from 1966 onwards:
Monteverdi 375 High Speed Fissore from 1978 - ACS Sports and Racing Car Trophy - Category G - Cars from 1920-1945:
Maserati 26M from 1928 - ACS Sports and Racing Car Trophy - Category G - Cars from 1946-1965:
Jaguar XK120 from 1949 - ACS Sports and Racing Car Trophy - Category G - Cars from 1966 onwards:
Ferrari 512 BB from 1981 - Grand Prix d'Excellence (Jury Prize Best of Show):
Bentley R-Type Continental (H.J. Mulliner) from 1953 - Entrants Trohpy (Participants' Prize):
Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP from 1933 - Excellence Award (audience award):
Bentley R-Type Continental (H.J. Mulliner) from 1953 - Special Volkswagen 2023 Prize (awarded by the jury):
VW Beetle Standard from 1950 - Classic Vehicle Documentation Award:
Jaguar XK120 from 1949
The start of a new tradition?
Daniel Geissmann already said at the farewell that new ideas were being considered for next year. A little more energy should certainly go into generating the field of participants, as not only had some of the cars already been seen at previous Concours d'Excellence events, but the density and breadth of the starting field could certainly be improved. The course of the Concours has already been improved with the ramp over which the winning cars are now allowed to drive.
Perhaps we could also consider organizing a pure Youngtimer Concours. As is well known, this category of 20 to 30-year-old cars is becoming increasingly popular and would certainly have something to offer, especially as the young cars would, so to speak, build a bridge to the Concours of the past, which were typically organized with new cars. In addition, this approach would be a real alternative to other concours that rely heavily on pre-war and 1960s cars. Whether this would be commercially viable, however, is another question.
In any case, we can already look forward to another edition of the Concours d'Excellence, which will certainly take place in September 2024.
