One of the best Concours d’ Elegance in the country happens almost under the collector radar on the Golf Course of the Boca Raton Resort and Club. The 15th Annual Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance was held last weekend. For a one-day event, it has the elegance and prestige to match any of the big national concours in the country. Some of the most significant motorcars in world history will be seen only at this event.
For example, a stunning 1948 Daimler DE-36 Drophead Coupe, owned by Mark Hyman of St. Louis, Missouri was crowned Best of Show at the Boca Raton Concours this past weekend. This 20-foot long, 6,000 lb. automobile was a favorite of England’s royalty back in the day. It is so big it has a 50-ft turning radius. Only seven “Green Goddess” DE-36 Straight 8 Daimlers were produced. And only five of them are known to exist today.
Pre-War Chrysler & Imperial Coach Built vehicles were chosen as the Marques of the Year for this event. Features of the Year were Chrysler & Imperial models, a group of C2 Corvettes, which included a rare L88 Super Vette, and limited production cars.
Celebrities at the event included comedian Howie Mandel, racing legend Jeff Gordon, and Wayne Carini, host of television’s “Chasing Classic Cars” and Grand Marshall of this year’s Concours. Guy Lewis, who brought a sample from his Collection, including a 1925 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost (originally owned by Howard Hughes), a 1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn Drop Head, a 1953 Mercedes-Benz 300S Coupe, and a 1959 Chrysler Crown Imperial Southhampton, was Automobile Collector of the Year.
The event was covered by photo journalist Bob Boberg of eClassicAutos.com. Follow this link for his full report and more photo galleries from the event. Here is a feature video from eClassicAutos.com.
C2 Corvettes
The 15th Annual Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance showcased a group of second-generation Corvettes from 1963 through 1967. Each of these years was represented by a unique Sting Ray Coupe. Three significant cars included a split-window high-performance Z06 model, a 1965 coupe with what is believed to be the first fitted with side-mounted mufflers, and one of the holy grail L88 Corvettes, a 1967 Vette in Bolero Red. Only 20 L88 Corvettes were built in 1967 and this was the only one in this color. To top off this spectacular display, all of these Corvettes had a reproduction window sticker that provided details of their initial price and options.
The Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance is the world’s largest Concours owned by a charity. All proceeds are donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, which serves more than 12,000 at-risk youth. To date, the event has raised more than $10 million for the charity.
