With 35 cars, the eight judges at the Concours d'Excellence Lucerne on September 14, 2024 did not have too much to do - the youngest judge, incidentally, was only 18 years old. However, as the jury president Roberto Bernasconi revealed to the author shortly before the ranking was announced, the results were very close across the board, within a range of a few points difference between the individual candidates.
Speaking of points: A special feature in Lucerne is that 10 extra points are awarded to anyone who sets off on the circuit, which, with four intermediate stops, three of which are in the middle of the city, is designed to bring the Concours cars closer to a wider audience outside the Museum of Transport.
In rainy weather, not all candidates made use of this option. Fritz Burkard, for example, was not present for the Concours, so his car remained parked under the round tent in the Swiss Museum of Transport area.
Incidentally, for once the city of Lucerne jumped over its shadow and allowed the participating vehicles to drive past the artificially generated traffic jam of the droplet system on the notorious Haldenstrasse in the bus lane. In previous years and in warmer weather, this was often a reason why some pre-war cars started to boil after just under a kilometer of driving - lasting around a quarter of an hour with stop-and-go - along Lucerne's hotel mile.
The vehicle presentations attracted a reasonable amount of interest, and it was interesting to see how the tourists reacted to the cars at Schwanenplatz, where the city's largest boutiques are located.
Ferrari as Best of Show
First of all, the Bugatti was "only" class winner of the Entrants Trophy, the prize that the participants award to each other.
The jury in Lucerne obviously did not want to expose itself to the weight of the winner of the most important Concours d'Elegance of all.
Beat Walti accepted the "Best of Show" award, known as the Prix d'Excellence in Lucerne, for his 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC 2+2, a classic Gran Turismo from the 1960s in perfect condition.
The Ferrari also won the ACS sports car prize in the 1966 and later category.
This also made it clear that it was evidently rather difficult to deal with those vehicles that, like the Bugatti or the equally unrestored Jaguar SS100 by Christian Jenny, displayed all their splendor with traces of time and plenty of patina. However, this decision can also be seen as a clear sign that the jury did not allow trends or other expectations to influence their decision.
SS 100 as "best documented car"
Christian Jenny, however, was delighted to win the Best Documented Car Award for the car's fully documented history, for which no fewer than 13 owners can be proven.
It also won the ACS racing and sports car award for pre-war cars.
Audience award for team
Jürg Biland took home the audience award with his Buick Sportmaster and caravan - there was undoubtedly enough space to stow the trophy. He completed the course through the city without any fuss with his caravan, equipped only with mechanical brakes on all six wheels...
The other category winners in the open-top pre-war cars were: Karl-Wilhelm Klostermann with the Mercedes-Benz 170 Cabriolet SA. Open cars from 1966 onwards: Markus Affolter in the MG Midget Mk II from 1967. Closed pre-war cars: Ruedi Wenger in the Delahaye 135M with Chapron bodywork from 1937. Closed post-war cars: Peter Gilli in the Bentley S1 from 1956. Closed cars from 1966 onwards: Peter Rüegg in the Alfa Romeo GT Junior 1300 from 1966. ACS sports and racing cars 1946 - 1965: William Tille in the Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Touring from 1955. Aenny Vonow took the "Female Driver" trophy with the 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato and 18-year-old young driver Tom Siegfried was able to stow the Young Driver prize in his 1967 VW Beetle 1300L, which he will continue to drive until next April as part of the Swiss Museum of Transport's "Young Driver" program.
Still at the Museum of Transport?
In the midst of a well-attended Museum of Transport - the rainy weather always makes Director Martin Bütikofer rejoice at the good visitor numbers - the award ceremony took place quickly and with dignity early on Saturday afternoon. Where and in what form the next Concours d'Excellence will take place, however, remains to be seen. This was Daniel Geissman's last time in his role as Head of Collection and Operations at the Museum of Transport. After 14 years at Switzerland's largest museum, the Bernese will retire at the end of February 2025.
Participating vehicles and prices
| Cat | No. | Make | Type | Year | Year Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 01 | Citroën | B2 | 1923 | |
| A | 02 | Buick | Sportmaster | 1925 | Excellence Award, Winner "Open Cars 1920-1945" |
| B | 03 | Mercedes-Benz | 170 SA | 1949 | Winner "Open cars 1946-1965" |
| B | 04 | Chevrolet | Chevy II Nova | 1962 | |
| C | 05 | MG | Midget Mark II | 1967 | Winner "Open cars from 1966" |
| D | 06 | Hudson | Super Six | 1928 | |
| D | 07 | Delahaye | 135 M Chapron | 1937 | Winner "Closed automobiles 1920-1945" |
| E | 08 | Bentley | S1 Continental Park Ward | 1956 | Winner "Closed automobiles 1946-1965" |
| E | 09 | Cadillac | Fleetwood Sixty Special | 1959 | |
| E | 10 | Cadillac | Series 60 Fleetwood | 1961 | |
| F | 11 | Alfa Romeo | GT 1300 Junior | 1966 | Winner "Closed cars from 1966" |
| F | 12 | Mercedes-Benz | 300 SEL | 1969 | |
| F | 13 | BMW | 2800 CS | 1970 | |
| F | 14 | VW | 1300 L | 1970 | Youngdriver 2024 |
| F | 15 | Dodge | VIP | 1971 | Car assembly Schinznach 2024 |
| F | 16 | Opel | Manta A SR | 1971 | |
| F | 17 | Mercedes-Benz | 230 CE | 1984 | |
| F | 18 | Porsche | 944 | 1984 | |
| F | 19 | Toyota | Supra 3.0 i Turbo | 1989 | |
| G | 20 | MG | NE Supercharger | 1934 | |
| G | 21 | Bugatti | 59 | 1934 | Entrants Trophy |
| G | 22 | Bugatti | 35 B | 1931 | |
| G | 23 | Jaguar | SS 100 | 1937 | Winner "ACS sports and racing cars 1920-1945" |
| H | 24 | Jaguar | D-Type (Replica) | 1954 | |
| H | 25 | Alfa Romeo | 1900 CSS Touring |
1955 | Winner "ACS sports and racing cars 1946-1965" |
| H | 26 | Aston Martin | DB 4 GTZ | 1959 | |
| H | 27 | Alfa Romeo | Giulietta Sprint Zagato | 1962 | Female Driver 2024 |
| I | 28 | Ferrari | 330 GT 2+2 Series II | 1966 | Prix d'Excellence Lucerne "Best of Show" 2024, winner "ACS sports and racing cars from 1965" |
| I | 29 | Maserati | Mexico 4700 | 1972 | |
| I | 30 | De Tomaso | Pantera GTS | 1976 | |
| I | 31 | Ferrari | Dino 308 GT4 | 1977 | |
| I | 32 | Renault | R5 Turbo | 1982 | |
| I | 33 | Alfa Romeo | SZ | 1990 | |
| I | 34 | Porsche | Carrera 993 | 1996 | |
| I | 35 | Aston Martin | Valkyrie | 2022 |
