A 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini III of West Orange, New Jersey, was named Best of Show at the 63rd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, held Sunday August 18. The event showcased 248 cars from 36 states and 12 countries, and raised $1,277,007 for charity.
“This Packard is the epitome of American style and grace in the Classic Era; it embodies that period,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “It is understated but elegant, and it has a striking but quiet presence. When it drove onto our show field this morning, and I stepped forward to greet the Cassinis, I could barely hear the engine running.”
Apart from a win by the 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster known as the Mormon Meteor in 2007, this win marks the first for an American car in nearly 20 years.
“That makes this win even more special,” said Joseph Cassini III. “It’s nice to see that even the European judges found this car significant enough to win Best of Show.”
The Cassinis previously won the top award at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with a 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet. “This win is more emotional,” said Cassini. “This is the Olympics of car shows, and you would never think that you could win the Olympics twice.”
The Packard Twelve is considered to be one of the most significant creations of the Classic Era. While the majority of Packard Twelves were initially delivered with factory bodies, Packard offered a catalog of custom bodies, including a Raymond Dietrich Convertible Victoria, and this deep green beauty was further customized for its first owner with distinctive features such as teardrop fenders and dual rear-mounted spares. When Cassini purchased the car three years ago, it was in pieces, but he had it meticulously and thoughtfully restored, working with RM Restorations. Some 10,000 hours went into the effort.
Other nominees for Best of Show included a 1932 Lincoln KB Murphy Roadster owned by John and Heather Mozart of Palo Alto, California; a 1934 Hispano-Suiza J12 Vanvooren Coupé owned by The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie of Hong Kong; and a 1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Van den Plas Belgium Torpedo owned by Dr. Terry Bramall CBE of Harrogate, England.
This year’s concours also hosted a special gathering of Alfa Romeo 8C automobiles—the largest recorded gathering of these iconic sports cars—before they headed off on a challenging 1,000-mile tour of the Rocky Mountains.
Of the original 230 Alfa 8Cs built between 1931 and 1939, a total of 110 remain in existence, and nearly 30 were on the concours show field at Pebble Beach.
