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GREENWICH, Conn. Car aficionados will have the chance to see a custom-built 1937 Chrysler Imperial C-15 Town Car on display Saturday and Sunday at the annual Greenwich Concours dElegance at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.
The historic automobile was rediscovered in the garage of the William K. Vanderbilt estate in Centerport on Long Island. It was custom built by LeBaron for Walter P. Chryslers wife, Della. When she died the following year, their daughter Bernice inherited the car. After decades of changing hands, the car has resurfaced. The Chryslers new owner, noted-collector Howard Kroplick will unveil this historic car in the condition in which it was found, complete with a fine coating of dust, patina and peeling paint.
Saturday's Greenwich Concours Americana will feature American cars from the early 1900s to the present. Sunday's Greenwich Concours International is exclusively for imported sports, competition and touring cars, also from the early 1900s to the present. In addition, Bonhams, the renowned London-based auction company, will hold an auction of rare and important collector cars and automobilia on Sunday.
The event, now in its 17th year, is listed among the pages of the North American edition of the best-selling 1000 Places To See Before You Die!
Other cars on display range from an early Stanley steamer and turn of the century horseless carriages to the latest supercars. Grand classic cars include such rare models as a 1932 Stutz DV32 boattail speedster and a 1933 12-cylinder Packard Cabriolet-DeVille with coachwork by Fernandez-Darrin of Paris. Also featured is a superb 1938 Horch 853 Special Roadster with coachwork by Erdmann & Rossi.
A 1971 Tupolev, half-boat half-airplane, will also be on display all weekend at the Greenwich Concours. The monstrous machine was specifically designed to skim across open water, marsh or Siberian tundra at speeds up to 90 mph to pick up cosmonauts who just returned from space.
In addition to classic Duesenbergs, Pierce-Arrows, Packards, Auburn Speedsters, V16 Cadillacs, Mercedes-Benz 300SL gullwings, and popular American muscle cars, visitors also can check out new cars from Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Fisker, Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce.
Chubb Personal Insurance will be on hand to advise show goers on how to insure their valuable collector cars. "Automobile Magazine" is the Title Sponsor of the Greenwich Concours, and sister publications "Motor Trend" magazine and "Motor Trend Classic" are also involved.
The Greenwich Concours Americana and the Greenwich Concours International are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. Tickets can be purchased at the event; admission is $30 per day, or $45 for both days, and children 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Parking for the event is free, and food service is available on-site.
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