Wrapping Up the Devou Park Concours d'Elegance

It is easy to say that the second year of the Devou Park Concours d'Elegance could be considered a success. Raising money for the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center, the Concours Devou featured some absolutely amazing automobiles. As always, feel free to let me know what you thought of the cars at this event by either leaving a comment (no ads, please, they only get deleted) or by dropping me a note at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. To close it out here are some of the cars not technically taking part in the event but most being part of the area's Porsche club, with one notable exception, a 1964 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III which has been featured in numerous movies and TV shows including Cannonball Run. 

Rare and Unique Cars at Concours Devou

The Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park had a fun, and dare we say, unique class called Rare and Unique. As the name implies it is made up of exceptional rarities from the automotive world. Among the vehicles on display in this group was a replica 1914 Stutz Bearcat built by famed Hollywood car customizer George Barris for the television series Bearcats! In addition to that "TV star" car there was a one-off Packard Parisian coupe designed by the famous Italian coach builder Pininfarina, a 1984 Toyota FJ 43 Land Cruiser, the Best-in-Class winning 1950 Crosley Super Sport, the People's Choice Award winning 2015 Zenvo Belly Tank style land speed record chasing lakester, a 1955 Hudson Metropolitan, a1985 Stutz Bearcat (this was a revival of the original company), and a 1995 Dodge Viper. 

 

Pre-War Classics at Concours Devou

Old cars have always fascinated people. It is why such organizations as the Antique Automobile Club of America and the Classic Car Club of America were formed; it is why there are so many preserved and shown off at concours events across the country. The Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park's Pre-War Classic class had an incredible selection of these cars. Among them was the Best-in-Class winner, a 1939 LaSalle convertible coupe, a 1933 Packard Super 8 Seven Passenger Touring, a 1937 Cord Custom Beverly, a 1931 Packard Series 840, and the Best-in-Show Classic winner, a 1935 SS (Swallow Sidecar, the precursor to Jaguar) Limited One Airline Saloon.

Post War Sports Cars at Concours Devou

 

When soldiers returned home to the USA following World War II, they brought with them the curiosity that they'd discovered in the small European sports cars that they'd seen. This led to quite a few being imported to the States. It also spurred some American companies to jump into that market as well. Whether foreign or domestic, sports cars have always held a certain fascination with many people. The Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park held two classes for sports cars, today will highlights those of the Post War era. Among those is a 1972 Datsun 240Z, a 1959 Austin Healey 100-6 BN4, a 1997 Acura NSX, a 1958 Chevrolet Corvette, a1960 Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider, a 1962 Chevy Corvette, the Best in Class winning 1953 MG Arnolt coupe, and the Best of Show Sport winning 1949 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Superleggera. 

Porsche at Concours Devou

 

In 1931 automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche teamed up with Adolph Rosenberger, who had been key in establishing the Auto Union company (which was the pre-cursor to Audi automobiles), and Austrian businessman Anton Piech to form what would be known as Porsche. Initially the company did consulting and design work but then the German government (yes, Adolf Hitler) came calling asking them to design a low-cost automobile that would fit four adults. The result was the Volkswagen Type 1, better known as the Beetle. During World War II, Volkswagen, like automobile factories throughout the world, turned to manufacturing military machinery. For that reason, after the war, Ferdinand Porsche was arrested for war crimes but not tried but spent 20 months in prison. During that time Ferdinand's son, Ferry, took over the leadership of Porsche. He was 20 years old at the time. He developed his own car, raiding the parts bins of other companies, primarily Volkswagen. In 1948, shortly after Ferdinand's release from prison, Porsche introduced its first car, a rear engine, two door sportscar called the 356. Along with the 356, Porsche produced some cars designed specifically for racing and had a fair amount of success. Then, in 1964, the company shocked with world with the introduction of the Porsche 911. Over the years the 911 has evolved into being a bonified supercar. Along the way Porsche has expanded their line of cars to include initially full GT or grand touring automobiles to today offering everything from sedans to SUVs. 

The Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park offered a special class just for Porsche automobiles and it saw some amazing vehicles. Among those invited to take part in the class was a 1968 912 (top), a 2006 Cayman S, a 2019 911 GT3 RS which was the Best in Class winner, a 2008 911 GT3, a 2020 718 Cayman GT4, and a 1970 914/6.

Pontiac at Concours Devou

 

One hundred years ago, General Motors had established itself as one of the major automotive manufacturers in the world. Owning multiple brands, it was aiming them toward different economic groups with Chevrolet being the "entry" level automobile and Cadillac being the halo brand. Sitting just above Chevy was Oakland and Oldsmobile which were very close and similar in appeal. GM decided, in 1926, to create a slightly less expensive companion brand to Oakland called Pontiac. By 1931 it was obvious to the GM leadership that, with Pontiac greatly outselling the older Oakland, one would have to go. Oakland was discontinued and Pontiac filled the space between Chevy and Olds. For years Pontiac was seen as something of a stodgy family car. In 1956 a new regime took over the Pontiac division, led by Semon "Bunkie" Knudson with top engineers E. M. Estes and John DeLorean (yeah, that guy). This marked a huge turning point because by 1961 Pontiac introduced the new compact Tempest and the new team, particularly DeLorean, created something outstanding out of it by offering upgraded packages including the top-of-the-line Le Mans and the high-performance GTO. This marked what many consider the mainstream beginning of the muscle car era. 

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the introduction of Pontiac, the Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park held a special Pontiac class which was loaded with some of the classic models from the muscle ear. Among them was a 1969 Grand Prix SJ (top), a 1978 Trans Am, a 1968 GTO, a 1973 Trans Am, and a 1965 Le Mans

Muscle Cars at Concours Devou

 

While there is some debate on when the actual muscle car era began, with some going as far back as 1949 when Oldsmobile put its 303 cubic inch Rocket V8 engine in its mid-sized model 88, the bottom line is that the muscle car era represents a time when big, powerful motors sat in smaller, lighter mid-sized cars that had once been the venue for the family car. It came to its heyday in the early to mid-1960s. The Concours d'Elegance at Devou Park had an impressive lineup of muscle cars for that class. Among them was a 1959 Chevrolet Chevelle customized and upgraded by Don Yenko, a 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, a 1973 Plymouth Duster 340, a 1971 Dodge Demon 340, and a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner A12 which was named Best-in-Class.