Rare Packards delight thousands of visitors on Saturday's American car day
This 1933 Imperial had tremendous presence. Photo by Jay Ramey.
In the 19 years of its existence, Greenwich Concours has cemented its place among the nation's top concours events. It has become a favorite annual stop not only for car lovers from all over New England and the Mid-Atlantic, but for collectors from all around the country. The cozy grounds of Roger Sherman Baldwin Park are located in the small seaside community found half an hour from Manhattan, so space is a bit of a premium (as with real estate in this area). The concours has traditionally been split up into two days, with American cars taking the field on Saturday and foreign cars filling the park on Sunday.
This year's edition of Concours Americana drew record crowds thanks to temperatures running a full month behind schedule in this part of New England, encouraging car fans to head to the event that plays host to more than 300 classics over two days every year. Concours Americana saw some 125 cars on the lawn of the small peninsula overlooking Greenwich Harbor, with dozens more cars sitting in the Bonhams auction tent. The auction company returned for another year after very successful sales in what is still a rebounding market, with Saturday serving as preview day for a very eclectic mix of consigned cars.
Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the highlights from Saturday's display of American cars.
Jay Ramey
This 1933 Imperial had tremendous presence.
This year's edition of Concours Americana had several Imperials in attendance, both the early versions from the 1930s as well as one car from Chrysler's later attempt to bring back the marque. This stunning example hails from 1933 and was brought to the show by David and Lorie Greenberg. The 1931-1933 Imperials were powered by inline-eight engines, and they offered a number of luxury features such as swiveling headlights, safety glass--even an automatic heater. This was a very fancy car that debuted during some of the worst times of the Depression. Only a handful of this generation were produced, but an impressive number survive because they were generally well kept and used sparingly. This example, being a four-door cabriolet, was likely used even more sparingly than most when it was new.
Jay Ramey
A wonderfully restored Galaxie convertible.
The Greenwich Concours always has a nice mix of exclusive and everyday cars, so it was no surprise to find this immaculate Ford Galaxie cabriolet from 1961 sitting next to cars that were far more expensive when new. Seemingly no expense was spared during the restoration of this example. Upon close examination, we got a feeling that the paint exceeded factory quality. Galaxies from the early '60s are hard to find in concours condition because there were so many of them, and many remain unrestored. It was nice to see a bread-and-butter cabrio brought back to this level. This example was driven to the show by owner Charles Ullo.
Jay Ramey
The Olympic Sprint special edition Mustang, which was only available for a few months that year.
Here's a rare Mustang from 1972, in a color scheme that many of you will recognize as the Olympic Sprint Edition. Offered between March and June 1972, this limited edition Mustang celebrated the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, and the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan. A total of 9,383 Mustangs were built, split among coupes, convertibles, and sportroof versions of the car. Convertibles are the rarest of the bunch, with only 50 examples made. This particular example, driven to the show by owner Bob Hand, was in great condition throughout, and the quality of the paint and graphics was excellent.
Jay Ramey
A prototype that led to the 1953 Caribbean, and the only one in existence.
One of the stars of American car day was this Packard Balboa concept from 1953, brought to the show by Packard concept and prototype collector Ralph Marano. Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance recently spoiled attendees with a grant total of 10 Packard concepts, all from the Marano collection, including this example. A one-off created by legendary designed Richard Teague, the Balboa and the Packard Pan-American concept previewed the Caribbean, which debuted in 1953. It stayed relatively unchanged before being replaced with an all-new design in 1956 (also in attendance this year). Production of the Caribbeans of this generation was merely in the hundreds of cars per year, but their exclusivity assured relatively high survival rates. The Balboa concept was perhaps the closest in predicting the look of the production Caribbean, and, amazingly, only one example featuring this styling was produced. One of Marano's other Packard concepts, the Packard Panther, took Best in Show at Greenwich in 2012.
Jay Ramey
Every year there is usually one or two Lincoln Continentals in the field.
Large luxury sedans from the 1960s don't appear at Greenwich all that often. American car day is a bit slanted toward cabriolets and coupes when it comes to cars from that decade, but a Kennedy-era Lincoln Continental shows up at the event just about every year. This year, we saw this excellent 1963 example, driven to the show by owner Garry H. Morton. Seeing this example, we couldn't help but recall the 2004 Continental concept car that (very successfully) recalled the exterior styling cues of this iconic version of Lincoln's top offering. We also pined for a time when the Continental was the marque's largest offering.
Jay Ramey
A very Gatsby-era car.
A time traveler straight from the Gatsby era if there ever were one: a 1929 Packard 640 Runabout. Given the black-and-white photos of luxury cars we're used to seeing from this era, it's always a surprise to see actual survivors sporting very bold colors, colors that would have trouble really popping on the terribly soft film stock used to shoot the Robert Redford version of the film. But this is what these cars were like, and this happens to be the type of car that could be found parked in a garage in towns on the Connecticut and Long Island estates back in The Roaring 20s. This particular example was restored in 1974, the same year the Robert Redford classic was filmed in Newport, R.I. The restoration is holding up nicely, which is a bit of a miracle with cars of this size, featuring such complex and ample surfaces. This 640 has been in single-family ownership for more than 40 years and has been in a climate-controlled garage since 1979. Presented at Greenwich by a marque specialist, this Runabout drew plenty of attention from the Saturday crowds. Given its condition, it's easy to see why. A yellow Packard 640 convertible sedan was also in the field this year, in addition to a 1928 Packard 443, alongside a number of later cars.
Jay Ramey
This 1935 SJ took Best in Show for Saturday's Concours Americana.
Best in Show for Saturday's Concours Americana went to this 1935 Duesenberg SJ562, owned by Sonny and Joan Abagnale. Featuring coachwork by Union City Coachbuilders and powered by a supercharged Duesenberg/Lycoming straight-eight engine, this Dual Cowl Phaeton, as this body style is know,n was built on a long-wheelbase chassis. Duesenberg was on shaky ground during most of the 1930s, with production during the Great Depression being limited in number. During these lean years, the company, now run by Augie Duesenberg following the death of his brother and company co-founder Fred Duesenberg, continued to supply cars to the world's elite. By this time, the damage of the Great Depression was taking a toll on the finances of those who had bought Duesenbergs in the 1920s without a second thought. The company struggled for a couple more years after this car (or rather this chassis) was delivered, thanks to Cord, but Cord itself was not long for this world. The Model J and its derivatives, such as the SJ above, represented the pinnacle of automotive luxury at a time when even those with the mean to commission such elegant cars preferred stealth to visible wealth, but it is fortunate that many of these masterpieces survived to be admired today.
Jay Ramey
A very sharp 1957 Bel Air.
Last but not least, here's a sharp 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air driven to the show by owner Louis D'Ambrosio. 1950s American cars were on the sparser side this year, with a large turnout of cars from the 1920s and 1930s, but it was nice to see the slightly more common classics to which more event visitors could relate.
Next up is a look at the highlights from Sunday's Concours Europa at Greenwich, which treated record crowds to a truly eclectic selection of cars, including some real surprises.
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