Foreign Collector Cars At the Concours

 

The 47th Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance, like in years past, had a splendid collection of foreign collector cars on hand for the event. Among them was a 1957 Saab 93A.  The small Swedish car had a 750 cc three cylinder engine that generated all of 38 horse power.

 

This 1965 Saab Monte Carlo 850 is one of fewer than 20 believed to be left in the world. This car was a barn find and is in near original condition.

Here is a 1986 Mercedes Benz 190E. These were homologation cars built to qualify them to be rally racers. This particular vehicle is a single family model.

The last of the hand built cars, this 1971 Mercedes Benz 280 SE 3.5 coupe has a 3.5 liter fuel injected V8 that churns out 200 horse power. This car has previously been a concours class winner.

Here is a stunning 1966 Fiat Coupe Pininfarina. Only 735 were ever made with a mere 12 coming to the United States. This all original, non-restored car is number 679.

This is a 1965 Volkswagen Cabriolet. The VW Type 1 is commonly referred to as the Beetle and is one of only 21.5 million made during the course of the model's run. 

Here is a 1994 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo 2. This is one of only 173 "Dealer Collection" limited production models.

Only about 200 of these 1964 Fiat 2300 S Coupe executive cars are know to still exist. It has a 2279 cc inline six cylinder Abarth engine which turns out 136 horse power.

 

Asian Collector Cars At the Concours

 

The Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance, in addition to being the second oldest such event in the United States, was one of the first to establish a class for Asian automobile. It has regularly filled with amazing cars such as the 1970 Datsun 240Z. This particular car was produced in the first month of the very first year of 240Z production.

 

This 1978 Datsun 280Z with its 2.8 liter inline six cylinder engine shows the progress Nissan was making with their Datsun (named such for American imports) line.

This 1991 Nissan 300ZX was when the company dropped the Datsun name for the American audience. This particular car has only 9800 original miles.

With only 6900 original miles, this 1979 Toyota Celica GT Coupe has a 2.2 liter 100 horse power four cylinder engine.

This 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo is an example of Toyota's attempt to bring back the two seater sports car. Its 2.0 liter four cylinder engine has a top speed of 142 miles per hour.

Here is a 2006 Honda S2000, a car with a perfect 50/50 front to back weight ratio.

The Acura NSX was Honda's attempt at turning out a super car. This 2000 model of the New Sportscar eXperimental sported a targa top giving it the NSX-T name.

American Collector Cars At the Concours

 

One of the largest groups at the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance is always the American Collector cars. This year's 47th edition was no different with 11 vehicles competing for the award. Among them was a stunning pink AMC Javelin AMX. This is one of one having been special ordered in this color. 

This is a 1957 Nash Neapolitan, a car assembled in England by the Austin Motor Company for the American market. Austin released their own version in the UK.

Here is a 1968 Buick Riviera GS Coupe. Only about 11 percent of Rivieras from that year had the Gran Sport option which included an AM/FM radio, tilt steering, air conditioning and power windows.

This is a 1966 Ford Mustang Sprint 200. This special trim was meant to celebrate the one millionth Mustang sold. This car has been in the same two families since new.

 

This 1954 Dodge Royal convertible won an Antique Automobile Club of America national first prize in 1992.

Here is an all original 1965 Ford Thunderbird coupe in rare Wimbledon white that just happens to be owned by a buddy of mine. Not that it gives him any special treatment.

This is a 1956 Continental MK II. There was a time when the Continental was its own line and not a part of Ford's Lincoln division. At the time this was Ford's most expensive car coming in at $9695.

 This original condition Chevrolte Chevy II that has only seen two owns has only 47,000 miles on it. 

The class winner is this 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2. The Avanti was an attempt to save Studebaker but despite it being the most sophisticated car at the time, failed to do so.

Here is a 1958 Pontiac Bonneville named for the company's performance at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The car is equipped with a 370 cubic inch V8 turning out 285 horse power.

 The "bullet nose" in this 1951 Studebaker Commander was designed after the P-38 fighter plane from World War II.

Antiques At the Cincinnati Concours

 

The Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance is the second oldest concours in the United States, having recently celebrated its 47th yeah. Early rain scared off a car or two but there were still some nice cars in the Antique class which is made up of vehicles made through 1924. Among them was a 1924 Ford Model TT truck which was the class winner.

 This is a 1914 Packard 4-48 Touring runabout. Fewer than 10 of the 441 originally made are still known to exist.

 This 1902 Locomobile Stanhope is from the last year the company made steam powered cars. It was powered by a 15 cubic inch 3.2 horsepower inline two cylinder Stanley Steamer engine.

 

Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance

 

The Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance is the second oldest such event in the United States. It recently celebrated its 47th showing. Held in beautiful Ault Park, the event raises money to support juvenile arthritis programs for the Arthritis Foundation. This year's featured theme was "Icons of British Motoring" which brought out some of Britain's top automobiles. Also featured was a display celebrating 100 years of Chrysler, a selection of Automotive Oddities, and a display by Jeff Lane from his Lane's Motor Museum in Nashville. In honor of the British theme, the above car is an actual 1965 Aston Martin DB5 from the James Bond movie Goldfinger. Here also is the winner of Best in Show, a 1931 Packard 840 convertible sedan that was originally owned by Swedish royalty, as well as the winner of the Esprit de Sport, a 1954 Kurtis 500 C that finished fifth in the 1954 Indianapolis 500. Get ready, for the next three weeks or so I will be featuring the automobiles from this amazing event.

 

Wrapping Up the Ohio Valley GTO Association Car Show

 

Today I'm putting a bow on the Ohio Valley GTO Association Car Show. This open show fundraiser was held at Quaker Steak and Lube and saw over 80 vehicles roll out to take part on a beautiful day. If you haven't been following the blog you might want to scroll back and see all of the amazing automobiles that took part in this event. As always, feel free to let me know what you think by either leaving a comment (no ads, please) or dropping me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. The last group form this show includes a Chevy C10 pick up, an Oldsmobile 442, an Olds Cutlass, a Chevrolet Camaro, a new Dodge Challenger, a Chevy 1500 pick up truck, and an Olds/Hurst 442 W-30.

 

Variety At A GTO Show

 

The Ohio Valley GTO Association sponsors an open car show each year as a fund raiser for the organization. This year's event, held in the lot of Quaker Steak and Lube, saw some pretty good variety in addition to the Pontiac rides that were on hand. Among the cars and trucks that showed up was a Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, a 1967 Chevy Camaro, a Chevy II SS, a one owner 1979 Jeep Cherokee, a new Honda Civic Si, a brand new Camaro, and a 1971 Pontiac.