90 years ago, on August 11, 1928, classic vehicles drove along the Nationalquai in Lucerne as part of the first international beauty contest for automobiles. September 15, 2018 was the tenth time, or the third time since the successful revival as a Concours d'Excellence after a prologue in 2015, that the most elegant or even the most excellent cars were selected from the most beautiful.
Bugatti special show worth seeing
Shortly after 12:00 noon, the first cars arrived in front of the casino in Lucerne, having previously gathered at the Museum of Transport. Each participating vehicle drove over the ramp individually and was eloquently introduced by the commentators Martin Sigrist and Daniel Mauerhofer. It was a pity that more visitors did not take advantage of this opportunity.
Spectators who arrived a little earlier or took some time later were also able to enjoy the special exhibition of Bugatti sports and luxury vehicles from the Renaud collection, which was well worth seeing.
It was worth taking a closer look, as the Bugatti 51 on display was the racing car that Achille Varzi had driven to victory in the Monaco Grand Prix.
But the other four Bugatti cars, a Type 46, 50S, 55 and 57, are also impressive testimonies to the work of Ettore Bugatti.
Classification into five classes
The 26 vehicles entered in the beauty contest were divided into five classes, each differentiated according to period (up to 1940, 1945-1985) and body type (open/closed, sports car), with the oldest car dating from 1928 and the youngest from 1983.
The division of the vehicles raised the eyebrows of some observers, but the overall picture was coherent, especially as interesting groups could be put together with a few rearrangements.
Bentley/Rolls-Royce with a big appearance
The two British luxury car brands Bentley and Rolls-Royce were strongly represented. Three cars from each of the two manufacturers competed and each formed a particularly interesting group.
While Rolls-Royce had one representative of each of the three pre-war Phantom series competing for the jury's points, Bentley had three closed body bodies on the Mark IV.
The three Rolls certainly generated a lot of interest, albeit for completely different reasons. The Phantom I Boattail Roadster from 1928 was honored as the public's favorite (Excellence Award Lucerne 2018), while the Phantom III from 1937 scored points with its 12-cylinder engine. The Phantom II from 1934, on the other hand, impressed with its largely unrestored condition, which is not something you come across every day.
The monumental Maybach Zeppelin
When the Maybach Zeppelin DS8 with cabriolet body by Spohn from 1934 drove onto the stage, the audience held its breath. But the ramp withstood the almost three tons of the huge car.
Over 80 years ago, this Maybach was the car of superlatives, because no one else had an eight-liter twelve-cylinder engine, 200 hp (at 3200 rpm), an automated 7- or 8-speed gearbox depending on the version, a 135-liter petrol tank and such luxurious equipment in this combination, and even today the car still impresses with an aluminium V12.
Swiss bodywork?
At a Concours in the heart of Switzerland, you would naturally expect to see a lot of Swiss coachwork - after all, Beutler, Ghia-Aigle, Tüscher, Langenthal, Graber and the like were very active in the 1930s to 1950s. However, unlike in previous years, only one body built in Switzerland could be admired, that of Hermann Graber on a Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport from 1953.
This was the car that Graber drove himself for several years, traveling from Paris to Bern in less than six hours, which, given the lack of freeways, was a clear testimony to the racing technology that ensured sporty performance under the elegant convertible bodywork.
Two "Best of Show"
The Concours d'Excellence was judged in three ways. Firstly, the public could vote for their favorite (see above), secondly, a jury of experts selected a class winner and the best of the class, and finally, the participants could also choose their favorite.
There was a tie for the overall winner (Grand Prix d'Excellence Lucerne 2018), as two cars received the same number of points, meaning that for the first time in Lucerne, there were two "Best of Show". The coveted trophy went to André Wallimann for his 1935 SS One Saloon and Corrado Lopresto for the unique Alfa Romeo 1900 C SS Vignale "La Flèche".
This meant that a pre-war and a post-war vehicle shared the main prize, although the Vignale-Alfa also received the "Entrants Trophy", i.e. the prize of the competition participants.
The shimmering light blue Alfa Romeo was certainly one of the highlights of the Concours, perfectly suited to the partly sunny late summer weather and the attractive event location on beautiful Lake Lucerne.
The class winners also included the not yet mentioned BMW 327/28 Cabriolet from 1938, the Bentley Mark IV as a Sedanca Coupé from 1947 and the Matra (Bonnet) Djet VS from 1966.
The Matra's victory in the group was particularly surprising, as its body is made of plastic and its opponents included the Lamborghini Miura and Countach models as well as a Ferrari 400i and a Chevrolet Corvette C2 with a split rear window.
Participants and prize winners
| Class | No. | Make | Type | Year | Awards/Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 02 | Nash | Special Six Twin Sedan | 1929 | |
| A | 04 | Nash | 4 D Sedan Single Six | 1930 | |
| A | 06 | Chrysler | Airflow | 1935 | |
| A | 08 | De Soto | S3 Airstream 6 Series Convertible Coupe | 1937 | |
| A | 10 | Mercedes-Benz | 230 W 143 Pullman | 1937 | |
| A | 12 | SS Cars Ltd. | SS1 Saloon | 1935 | Best of Show (ex-aquo), Prix d'Excellence (class victory) |
| B | 18 | Maybach | DS 8 Zeppelin Cabriolet Spohn | 1934 | |
| B | 30 | Rolls-Royce | Phantom I Boattail Roadster | 1928 | Excellence Award (Audience Winner) |
| B | 20 | Rolls-Royce | Phantom II Gurney Nutting | 1934 | |
| B | 22 | Rolls-Royce | Phantom III Sedanca de Ville | 1937 | |
| B | 26 | BMW | 327/28 Convertible | 1938 | Prix d'Excellence (class victory) |
| B | 28 | SS Cars Ltd. | SS 100 OTS | 1938 | |
| C | 34 | Bentley | Mark IV Sedanca Coupé | 1947 | Prix d'Excellence (class victory) |
| C | 36 | Bentley | Mark IV Sport Saloon Windovers | 1947 | |
| C | 38 | Bentley | Mark IV Mulliner Saloon | 1951 | |
| C | 42 | Jaguar | Mk 2 | 1963 | |
| D | 50 | Talbot-Lago | T 26 GS Cabriolet Graber | 1953 | |
| D | 62 | Alfa Romeo | 1900 C SS Cabriolet Vignale | 1953 | Best of Show (ex-aquo), Prix d'Excellence (class victory), Entrants Trophy |
| D | 52 | Austin-Healey | 100 M (BN2) | 1956 | |
| D | 54 | Chevrolet | Corvette C1 (Convertible) | 1961 | |
| D | 58 | Mercedes-Benz | 230 SL | 1966 | |
| E | 66 | Chevrolet | Corvette C2 Split Window | 1963 | |
| E | 68 | Matra | Bonnet Djet VS | 1966 | Prix d'Excellence (class victory) |
| E | 70 | Lamborghini | Miura P400 | 1968 | |
| E | 72 | Lamborghini | Countach LP400S | 1979 | |
| E | 76 | Ferrari | 400i | 1983 |
