The 2014 classic car show season drew closer to its conclusion last weekend with glorious weather, record attendance and magnificent displays of gleaming vehicles dating from 1903 to 2015 pre-production examples.
The two major weekend events included the Langley Good Times Cruise-In, which is one of the best-known and BEST-attended downtown street events in Western Canada, and the summer garden party, Canadian Concours D’Elegance, which took place in the stunning surroundings of VanDusen Botanical Garden.
The Concours awards ceremony concluded with laughter as the attendees were entertained by MC Mike Tate.
The Best of Show winner was the locally owned and restored (RX Autoworks) one-off, 1933 Alfa Romeo 1750 6C GS Coupe.
The special award recipients included the Chairman’s Award presented to a 1934 La Salle purchased out of a junkyard by Ben Solomon, when he was 15 years old, for the vast sum of $11. The car was shown at Pebble Beach in 1957 and they are hoping for a return showing in 2015. They travelled to Vancouver from San Francisco with the car for the event.
Another long distance entry and the recipient of the (HVA) Historic Vehicle Association/F.I.V.A award was a 1957 Maserati 200 Si previously owned and raced by Carroll Shelby.
The car left the event and Vancouver immediately because, as you read this, it will be participating in the famous 1,000 mile (1,600 kms) Colorado Grand Rally.
Peter Trant is no stranger to the HVA “This Car Matters” award; he won the award at last year’s event with his debuting 1933 McLaughlin Buick.
This year he displayed a preservation car, a 1911 Chalmers that basically has never been touched and the only components ever replaced are the tires, a vehicle which has only travelled just over 11,000 miles in 103 years.
When the courier driver arrived at my house last Thursday, the crystal class trophy was in a million pieces.
I asked Peter Trant if I could borrow his trophy from last year for the awards ceremony having no idea that he would be this year’s recipient.
For details of the class winners visit luxurysupercar.com
Nigel Matthews is the Canadian Concours D’Elegance Chairman and director of sales and marketing for Hagerty Canada, LLC — Hagerty is the world’s largest specialist provider of collector car insurance and provides many resources that support the classic car lifestyle. Contact him at nmatthews@hagerty.com or visit hagerty.ca.
