More than 100 classic vehicles gathered at the Cobble Beach golf links for the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance near Owen Sound, Ont. last weekend. It was the eighth running of the annual event, postponed after 2019 by the pandemic.
There are a number of highly exclusive, invitation-only automotive concours held around the world each year, including Pebble Beach in California and Villa d’Este in Italy. Cobble Beach is the Canadian equivalent, and this year featured vehicles from four provinces and nine states.
The overall winner was a 1928 Isotta Fraschini 8A SS, owned by Peter T. Boyle of Pennsylvania. The winner of Outstanding Pre-War vehicle was a 1932 Lincoln KB coupe by Judkins, owned by Bill Wybenga of Picton, Ont., while the Outstanding Post-War vehicle was a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, owned by Vernon Smith of Swift Current, Nfld.
The overall winner of the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance was a 1928 Isotta Fraschini 8A SS.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The three category winners at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance were a (l-r) 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, a 1928 Isotta Fraschini 8A SS and a 1932 Lincoln KB coupe.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Here are some of our favourites from the day:
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham
No expense was spared for Cadillac’s flagship, which came standard with air-conditioning, power seats and a powered trunk lid, stainless steel roof, air suspension with automatic levelling and even six magnetized shot glasses in the glove box.
“It was so far advanced in 1957 that if the rear door was even ajar, the car would not go into Drive,” says owner Vernon Smith, from Swift Current, Nfld., who gave it a total restoration five years ago.
“In 1957, this car was more expensive than a Rolls-Royce. A Rolls-Royce was $11,000, which was a king’s ransom, but this was $13,074. Four hundred people in the world had the opportunity and bought them, but Cadillac still lost $10,000 on each one, even at that price.”
Vernon Smith, of Swift Current, Nfld. stands beside his 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, which won for Outstanding Post-War vehicle at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The interior of a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, which won for Outstanding Post-War vehicle at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1906 Russell Model B
The Russell was built by the CCM bicycle company in Toronto as a way to diversify from making just bicycles. It began building Model A runabouts in 1905, and then Model Bs and Cs in 1906, before ceasing production to make munitions for the First World War. This particular car is believed to be the oldest surviving Russell, found in Quebec in 1970.
When Hugo Vermeulen, of Brooklin, Ont., bought it in 2014, it was in rough condition. “It was all there but in tough shape,” he says. “The transmission broke, the rim broke, the motor [wasn’t] working. You have to make the parts yourself, or have them made. I took the thing apart and fixed it all, most of it myself.
“There’s just something about driving a car like this on a nice country road, nice and slow. You get to see the country and enjoy your drive, rather than racing around like a maniac like we always do.”
A 1906 Russell Model B is displayed at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1929 Pierce Arrow 133 roadster
This is one of the first cars manufactured by Pierce Arrow after it was bought outright by Studebaker in 1929. It’s longer and lower than the previous cars, with a V8 engine replacing the earlier V6. This is the shorter wheelbase edition and a rare roadster when most Pierce Arrows were limousines. It was originally sold in California for $2,850 when the cheapest Ford was $450.
“It rides really nice and drives beautifully, for an old car,” says Steve Witt, of Smithville, Ont., who owns the car with his wife Lynn. “I drive it all the time in the summer, back and forth to work, to the grocery store and around town. I like that you can understand an older car. You can’t understand a new car.”
A 1929 Pierce Arrow 133 roadster is displayed at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’EleganceMark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The hood ornament on a 1929 Pierce Arrow 133 roadster at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1965 Ford F-100
There was nothing all that special about the F-100 when it was sold to its original owner, a ranch hand in Winslow, Ariz., but Jim and Beth Burchill bought it from him 49 years later and took it home to join their collection in Dublin, Ont. It has a 352-cubic-inch V8 engine, good for 208 horsepower, and it’s now been restored to better-than-new condition.
“It had 94,000 miles on it and the paint was baked right off, but everything was original – the owner hadn’t replaced anything,” says Jim Burchill. “We took it totally apart, and every nut, bolt, washer, rivet is now in the exact same hole I took it out of. I marked them and wire-tied them before I sent them to the refinishers. It’s to keep it original, trying to preserve history.
“I’m going to lose points here because it’s basically over-restored. The paint was never as good underneath that truck when it came from the factory as it is now. They all had over-spray and undercoating splattered where it shouldn’t be. Authenticity is one thing, but why do that and have those spots rust in four or five years? I said I’d show it for a few years and then drive it but I’ve now got to the point where I don’t have the heart to do that to the truck. It doesn’t deserve to be ill-treated by driving it on our (rural Ontario) roads.”
What a 1965 Ford F-100 looked like before Jim and Beth Burchill bought and restored it.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
What a 1965 Ford F-100 looks like after Jim and Beth Burchill restored the truck.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The engine on a 1965 Ford F-100 after being restored by Jim and Beth Burchill.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1977 Benelli SE1
Benelli was a storied Italian motorcycle manufacturer when it hit hard times in the 1960s against the competition from Japanese makers. As a go-big-or-go-home reaction, it created the world’s first six-cylinder production bike in 1974.
“I bought it about seven or eight years ago from the widow of a guy who had a collection of Honda CB750s,” says owner John DeMaria, of Bethany, Ont. “A friend of mine and I and my son collect Honda CB750s, and I don’t really like to say how many because my wife may be listening, but it’s more than 10. This bike wasn’t quite finished and I brought it home, and initially I was intending to just finish it and flip it and get some of my money back, but then I heard it and rode it and I still own it. That’s what I like about it – the sound. It sounds like a V6 Ferrari.
“The early ones were notorious for not being very reliable. They’d select two gears at once and split the crankcases, but this is slightly later, a Series 2, and that problem has basically been resolved. I’ve been riding it and put 2,000 miles on it and had no issues.”
A 1977 Benelli SE1 is displayed at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder 1500
One of the most highly valued vehicles at the concours, a similar Porsche was offered for sale (but not actually sold) last summer for US$4-million. The 550 Spyder was Porsche’s first racing car, in 1953, but it’s now best known for being the same model that actor James Dean was driving when he crashed and was killed in 1955.
“This was my dad’s car – it’s been in the family for a while,” says Kai Riebetz, who brought the car with him when he moved from Germany to Black Point, N.S., in 2019. “I did a final restoration that took me almost five years, and now I drive it when the weather is nice and there’s no traffic. I like that it’s very lightweight. This is a 570-kilogram car, but just 110 horsepower. You can have all the horsepower in the world, but when it comes to braking, weight counts.”
“It’s loud. I won’t drive it – it’s a very challenging engine,” says Laila Riebetz. “I leave that to my husband. I won’t even ask.”
A 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder 1500, likely best known as being the same car actor James Dean died in, is one of the most highly valued cars at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe
In 1966, the Corvette Sting Ray was offered with either a 425-horsepower or 390-horsepower 427-cubic inch V8. This is the higher-powered version, nicknamed Four-and-a-Quarter by its owners Kay and Scott Sinclair of Bolton, Ont. They own five other Corvettes and are members of the National Corvette Restorers Society.
“The car was offered to my husband (in 2005) because the owner wanted to buy a boat,” says Kay Sinclair. “The paint was terrible, the antenna was mounted incorrectly for a radio that didn’t exist, and it had side pipes and it shouldn’t, but it had good bones.
“We had the body off in our garage and invited our club to come and watch. Every five weeks after, I made sandwiches and cookies and invited everybody back to see the progress of the car. We took the body and sent it for paint, but for everything else, we all restored the car from the chassis up. In 25 weeks, the car was running and we brought the original owner back and he didn’t think it was the same car.”
A 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe is displayed at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
1979 Newman-Freeman CanAm Class race car
This car was driven by Keijo Erik (Keke) Rosberg in the 1979 CanAm Series, one of two identical cars raced by the Budweiser-sponsored team of Paul Newman and Jim Freeman. Rosberg won two races and finished fourth in the series that year, and then the car was sold on and last raced in the mid-1980s. Rosberg later won the 1982 Formula One World Championship and is the father of 2016 winner Nico Rosberg.
Owner Doug MacCorkindale, of Bridgenorth, Ont., bought the car in pieces about three years ago, covered in pigeon poop, and it’s still not finished. “I paid $85,000 for it, but I think I can probably part it out and get that money back for the pieces. It doesn’t run yet because I need about eight feet of hose to hook up the oil cooler, and I have to replace the distributor cap, which is out of production.
“I have never outgrown the going-racing bug. I raced motorcycles, I raced cars and I enjoy the challenge of satisfactorily negotiating a track or a twisty road when I’m driving my truck. To me, it’s the satisfying challenge of doing something well, which to me was restoring this chassis after it sat for all that time.
“This is an opportunity for me. I have to maintain a level of fitness so I can drive this car. I’ve lost 20 pounds in the last year so I can fit in the car. I’ve had to modify the seat from the size Keke Rosberg was, and I’ve widened the seat two inches, but I’m still too big. I can’t get my hips any narrower.”
A 1979 Newman-Freeman CanAm Class race car once driven by Keijo Erik (Keke) Rosberg is displayed at the 2022 Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Mark Richardson