Put simply, you can't make up how good the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance is. To adequately put a value on the two days worth of cars that populate the field at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, you basically need to hold your pinky up to your mouth, affect a Dr. Evil voice, and spout some absurd number. And you'll probably come in low. To walk through the concours, is to update your personal bucket list in real time. By the end of the weekend, this makes for a pretty long list.



Day one was, as always, dedicated exclusively to American automobiles. Given the current state of Detroit, the metal arranged before visitors in Greenwich served as an extra-harsh reminder of the glory days that are very much dead and gone today. Of the long-defunct marques, Packard was extremely well-represented, with easily a dozen gorgeous examples bathed in the intermittent sunlight. A couple of Marmons were in on the fun, too, including one Roosevelt, which sported a badge bearing the likeness of our 26th President on its grille frame, as well as a hood ornament sculpted in the shape of a bear. Awesome.




Up near the front gate, a light brown 1930 Cadillac Roadster parked up front was a crowd favorite. Gorgeous. Huge. Long car. Long hood. And under that hood, as advertised by the badge centered on the gleaming radiator grille, resided a V16. The owner hopped in and turned it over for the crowd, who, to a person, were impressed with just how quietly and smoothly it ran. You could almost see "Standard of the World" epiphanies taking place inside people's heads. This is what elegant American luxury was. A few yards away stood a circle of even older cars, among them a 1914 Detroit Electric that was, unwittingly, politically correct way, way before the term entered the vernacular. A small green oasis in this sea pf pistons.



Every year, I fall in love with one particular car on each day. This time around, it was a 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst. This Nimitz-class, fuselage-body Mopar hardtop is the ride I most wanted to drive home at the end of day on Saturday. Chalk it up to nostalgia -- my grandfather had a pair of Imperial Lebaron hardtops when I was a kid ('69 and 71), but this '70 Hurst is the coolest-looking version of all, what with the special white-and-tan paint scheme, integrated rear spoiler, and rally wheels. The hidden headlamps these superbarges sported just put them over the top. A '69 GT500 parked two cars away was no slouch, either. Three NACA ducts on the hood is three times more awesome than no NACA ducts, after all.




Speaking of NACA ducts, day two brought them in abundance with the arrival of all the international rides. Competing for the heart of yours truly were an eye-tearingly beautiful 1977 Lamborghini Countach LP400, an '83 Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer, and an '88 Ferrari 299 GTO. The Ferraris were in a circle dominated by their brethren from Maranello, while the LP400 was mixed in with other newer Lambos, an F40, an M1, and a Nissan GT-R -- which looked positively hulking next to the classic Bimmer supercar. Still, in that ring, the LP400 ruled; drawing visitors toward itself as if it were equipped with a humanity tractor beam.



Over in the circle of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, a pair of Rolls shooting brakes demonstrated what real class and practicality look like, while a brown 1947 Franay-bodied drophead Bentley may well have been the most beautiful car present all weekend. Of course, given the material assembled, opinions were subject to change by the moment. The Bonham's auction tent was home to wildly diverse lots ranging from the yellow Rolls-Royce driven by Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby, to a Fiat 600 Multipla, to an avocado-green '73 Impala with factory airbags.




As usual, the show went on even when you left the grounds, as the parking lot served as an unofficial satellite concours. There wasn't a Lamborghini Miura to be seen in the show, but a yellow SV was parked outside in the lot on day two. You never know what you'll find at the Greenwich Concours, but chances are, you'll be happy you found it. We'll be back again to see what next year holds.












All photos Copyright ©2008 Alex Núñez / Weblogs, Inc.