The 2009 Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance was held November 1st at the historic Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
As the featured event of the Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival, the 8th annual Concours' strong field and beautiful fall weather assured its prominent place on the national show circuit. This year's event featured Mercedes-Benz.
Philip Capossela, Event Chairman for the Hilton Head Island show, said, "We certainly had a tremendous show this year with more entries. This year's top honors were well deserved and we're proud to have them in the Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival's history book."
Adding to the sentiment, Dr. Paul Doerring, one of the founding members of the Hilton Head Island event, stated, that "because we are able to display such outstanding cars, we had to showcase more of our remarkable entries with additional top awards over the past two years. We're proud that selecting a single "Best of Show" has becoming nearly impossible."
Best of Show at the Hilton Head Concours d'Elegance was awarded to a 1933 Rolls-Royce Coupe owned by Frank & Milli Ricciardelli of Monmouth Beach, NJ. First Owned by Sir Hugh Cunliffe-Owen, Baronet of Brey, County of Berkshire, Chairman of British American Tobacco Company and Director of Midland Bank, this car is a one off example with a PII Continental High Speed Chassis. It was built specially for demonstration purposes.
Other significant winners included "People's Choice" awarded to a 1932 Packard Opera Coupe owned by Grace Clark of Yonges Island, SC. The car was restored by her father 17 years ago. Most Outstanding Car - Pre-1948 went to John W. Rich Sr.'s 1914 Renault EF and Most Outstanding Car - Post 1945 went to a 1957 Ford Thunderbird owned by Vernon Smith.
Dates for next year's event will be November 5-7th, 2010. For more information, visit www.hhiconcours.com
