250 GT Lusso Wins Excellence in Design Trophy at Audrain Concours
The Audrain Concours d’Elegance came to a close in October with Joseph & Margie Cassini’s 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Fleetwood crossing the podium to receive the Most Elegant award, being held there in front of the crowd, in dramatic fashion, to also receive the Best of Show award. That the Isotta also won the Most Elegant award was not surprising. It was a true star among stars, the capstone of three full days of automotive events comprising the Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week.
“Our expectations for this debut event were high, but the reception exceeded them in almost every way”, said Concours Chairman Donald Osborne. “The cars, the people, the stories and the setting all came together to become the living expression of the event’s theme, ‘History, Luxury, Sport’ - the essence of Newport. We are thrilled with the outcome.”
With 40 prominent judges from four countries and 98 cars from across the USA, the inaugural Concours d’Elegance was held at The Breakers mansion, the most famous of the Newport Cottages and former home of the Vanderbilt family. Not only were the Vanderbilts prominent Newport socialites but numbered among them Willie K. Vanderbilt, one of the greatest car enthusiasts of the early twentieth century.
The Concours Featuring 13 classes of vehicles from 1899 to 1970 plus the first of its kind 30 Under 30 class. The brainchild of Jay Leno, Chairman of the Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week, the 30 Under 30 class featured car owners under thirty years old who have spent less than $30,000 on their car. Carter Kramer’s 1976 BMW 2002 took home 1st in Class.
Other class winners included James Utaski’s spectacular 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, which also won the coveted Excellence in Design trophy. Among the other special awards given were the Chairman’s Choice prize to Stephen and Kim Bruno’s 1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Pinin Farina cabriolet, an elegant Paris Show car and Nürburgring racer.
The next Audrain’s Newport Concours d’Elegance will be held on Sunday, October 4th as a part of the 2020 Concours & Motor Week running beginning October 1st.
For more information visit, www.AudrainConcours.com.
