While Las Vegas will become the epicenter of motorsport as the next stop of the Formula 1 season later this month, Nevada’s “City of Lights” was the focal point for the collector-car community this past weekend with the 2024 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas. The third edition of this combined competition and exhibition bejeweled the Wynn Golf Club’s exquisitely manicured course with a total of 275 hypercars, supercars, and classics appreciated by a few thousand in attendance.
“If we look back at the first year, we just didn’t know what we didn’t know, and we met all the right people,” says Brian Gullbrants, the COO of North America for Wynn Resorts. “All of a sudden there’s this community that we weren’t a part of, and slowly became a part of after a few of these shows. We want to continue to listen and elevate this event to an experience, not just a car show. We’re in our infancy, but we’re maturing quite nicely.”
The entire presentation was based on what organizers refer to as the event’s four pillars: Hypercars, Electric/Alternative Fuel, Concours d’Elegance, and Concept and Culture. The categories judged comprised American Pre-war, American Post-war, British Automobiles: Pre-1985, German Automobile: Pre-1985, Italian Automobiles: Pre-1990, European: Pre-1950, and Ford Mustang: 60th Anniversary. Examples solely included for display ranged from restomods to Formula 1 race cars to the latest unicorns from such marques as Rolls-Royce and Pagani. The automotive showcase has already garnered acclaim.
“You can just see it growing year after year after year,” says actor Aaron Paul, one of the notable names perusing the A-list vehicles. “I think it’s going to be one of the biggest car shows in the world.” When asked about which makes and models he finds most compelling, Paul is quick to respond. “I’m such an old, classic-muscle-car head, that’s just where my heart is . . . the ’65 Shelby was always my dream car.” There were certainly dream machines to sate every car cognoscente’s appetite. Here, our favorites from the field.
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1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski A mechanized manifestation of the Art Deco movement, the one-of-a-kind 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia also owes much of its design ethos to aviation. Founded in 1904, Barcelona-based Hispano-Suiza later built a reputation for airplane engines as well. The latter inspired André Dubonnet, a combat aviator in World War I, a winning race-car driver, and an inventor whose wife was named Xenia. All of those elements comprising Dubonnet’s life came into play with his custom Hispano-Suiza H6B.
According to the now-closed Mullin Automotive Museum—where the car had long been housed—the Xenia was fit with Dubonnet’s own innovative coil-spring hyperflex suspension, as well as bodywork conceived by aerodynamicist Jean Andreau and brought to reality by French coachbuilder Jacques Saoutchik. Powered by a 160 hp inline-six engine, the car, with its aircraft-canopy-like roof, seems to be only missing wings to complete its rarified air.
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1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski Racing provenance adds exponential value to a collector car, especially when it comes from Scuderia Ferrari’s early successes. In the case of this 1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta, its competition resume is remarkable.
“This car ran in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949; it was one of the factory team cars but it unfortunately crashed out during the race—the other two cars took first and second,” says the owner’s caretaker for the vehicle, Fred Russell. According to Russell, it also ran in the Mille Miglia (where the model gets its “MM” moniker) that same year, taking second to another factory-team car. “But when it got to the 24 Hours of Spa, Luigi Chinetti drove it to win there,” says Russell, who adds that it was one of the first Ferraris to come to North America, circa 1950. “Then the car went to California, and it won the Pebble Beach Grand Prix,” shares Russell. “So it became the first Ferrari to ever win a car race in California and only the second Ferrari to win a car race in America.”
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1962 Triumph Italia 2000 Vignale Coupe
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski A singularly striking example of British and Italian artistic collaboration, this 1962 Triumph Italia 2000 Vignale Coupe, from England’s Standard Motor Company, was an unexpected jewel in the automotive treasure trove on the field. “Approximately 330 were built over four years,” says Kurt Oblinger, who co-owns this example with his wife Sharon. “It’s a complete Triumph TR3 chassis and drivetrain that was then shipped to Italy, to Vignale in Turin, and bodied to a design by Giovanni Michelotti.”
Oblinger, who had been looking for one, wasted no time when, “in 2012, this car popped up on eBay of all places,” he notes. To be expected, it was far from concours quality at the time. “It was in poor shape,” says Oblinger. “It was very complete—it only had two owners—but it had significant rust.” His solution was to take the Triumph to British Sports Cars in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where it underwent a 7.5-year restoration. By all accounts, it appears to have been both time and money beautifully spent.
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1964 Orbitron
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski The character arc of automotive creative Ed Roth’s 1964 Orbitron has the makings of a Tarantino film. With a cartoon aesthetic only the early Space Age could deliver, the fanciful four-wheeler was not fully appreciated in its time. “This car was Ed Roth’s least favorite of all his creations, I think,” says Dave Shuten of Galpin Speed Shop in Los Angeles, adding that a friend found it being used as a dumpster in Juarez, Mexico, and returned it stateside.
“It was bought by Beau Boeckmann of Galpin Ford, and I led the restoration to put it back to the way it was in ’64,” says Shuten. “I’ve restored a number of Ed Roth’s vehicles, and the trick is to restore it without removing any of his fingerprints. You leave all the mistakes and just make it as good as you can.”
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1966 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski According to Ford, the development of its seminal Mustang model was based on the realization that the automobile market was growing exponentially bigger while reducing in age. Per Ford, the number of at least two-car households jumped from 1 million to 13 million between 1959 to 1963. The Mustang was developed to be athletic and functional at a price point that would seal the deal. The automaker notes that after the car debuted in 1964, a total of about 420,000 examples were sold the first year. The Woolcott family were among the early adopters.
“When I was a kid, I had a ’65 fastback, my mom had a ’65 coupe, and my dad had a ’65 convertible, so we have a long history of Mustangs in the family,” says Ken Woolcott, who owns this 1966 Ford Mustang GT Convertible with his son Spencer, who doesn’t drive yet. “This is the final model of the first-generation Mustang . . . it’s a factory GT and not an amalgamation of parts,” says Woolcott of the car he found in Chicago with only about 30,000 miles on it. After the acquisition, he brought it to Southern California–based restorer Joseph DeMeo who has worked on it for the last 10 years, during which time it has won its class at numerous car shows. “I drive it a lot during the off-season,” says Woolcott, “then I bring it back to Joe and he fixes it back up.”
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1969 Porsche 917 K
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski It would be hard to imagine a more impressive car to greet attendees upon entering the concours than this 1969 Porsche 917 K, not only for its iconic shape and Gulf Oil livery but for the fact that this was purchased new by actor Steve McQueen and used as the “hero” car in the race sequences for his 1970 film Le Mans. The 917 K model put Porsche on the endurance-racing map when it came in first at the 1970 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, piloted by Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood. It was the German marque’s first time competing at the race, made even more memorable by the fact that scenes from the movie were filmed during the actual competition.
If that provenance wasn’t enough, the actor wrote on one side of the car the inscription, “‘Finished’ Thanks for staying together” then signed it. Further enhancing its star-vehicle status is the fact that Jerry Seinfeld has been the current owner since 2001. That, however, is about to change, as this 917 K will be available at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction on January 18.
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1990 Porsche 964
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski Perhaps the most instantly recognizable participant in the concours, outside of the iconic cars themselves, was the automotive world’s “Urban Outlaw,” Magnus Walker. The charismatic proponent of all things Porsche brought three examples from his collection, which had also been showcased last year as part of his larger exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. We found his 1990 Porsche 964 restomod especially compelling with its understated façade.
“It’s kind of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a gentleman outlaw,” says Walker of the car. According to Walker, it’s his “most performance orientated build to date,” and was completed in 2015. “This car has more modifications than anything else I’ve done,” Walker goes on to explain. “The goal was to keep the 964 DNA intact, keep it narrow-bodied, but change everything about it. So there’s elements of the 356 in it, there’s elements of Ruf Yellowbird, there’s elements of Sport Classic . . . it’s really a pretty unique build which I’ve never really shown other than that Petersen exhibition.” As for the drive experience it delivers, Walker rapid fires a laundry list of descriptors: “It’s pretty raw, it’s pretty visceral, it’s pretty rowdy, it’s raucous, it’s fast, it’s engaging, it covers all the senses, its analog—so that sort of sums it up.”
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Pagani Imola Roadster
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski Whether the decision to position this Pagani Imola Roadster at the very back of the exhibition lawn was to keep it hidden until its debut, or to keep it from overshadowing the other entrants once presented, one thing is clear—it certainly takes every automotive consideration to redline. The 838 hp rarity is, according to Pagani, “inspired by the Huaryra R,” the marque’s track-only missile. With its chassis made from the automaker’s new combination of composite materials, the vehicle—weighing less then 2,777 pounds—is fit with a 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V-12 mated to a seven-speed automated manual transmission. This power-train configuration allows for a top speed of just over 217 mph. What makes the car even more exclusive is that it’s the last of the model to be made.
“We were excited to unveil an incredibly special Pagani example at the Wynn Concours, Imola Roadster number eight of eight,” says Michael Staskin, CEO of Pagani Automobili America. “This special edition has a unique custom paint work that captures all the colors of the Vegas skyline and showed extremely well on the manicured green of Wynn Golf course’s fairways.” That it did, in spades.
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Best of Show—Prewar: 1931 Duesenberg Model J “Taper Tail Speedster
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski Although the golden age of coachbuilding was primarily in evidence throughout Europe early last century, stateside benchmarks usually wear the Duesenberg badge. Although a Duesenberg race car competed in the 1914 Indianapolis 500, the Indiana-based automaker produced its initial production car, the Model A, in 1921. Seven years later, the Model J came on the scene, equipped with a 265 hp straight-eight engine.
The example that earned Wynn’s Best of Show in the prewar category was a Model J, from the General William Lyon Collection, built in 1931 with a one-off “Taper Tail” body penned by Gordon Buehrig. The car was commissioned by Walter Varney, a San Francisco–based aviator who went on to establish Varney Airlines, which gave roots to what is now United. The automobile’s pontoon fenders and single rumble seat are esoteric enhancements, while the lack of door handles only further refines the extremely clean lines.
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Best of Show—Postwar: 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO
Image Credit: Drake O’Konski The fact that this 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO took the top honor in the postwar category was about as surprising as Meryl Streep winning anything to do with acting. The ne plus ultra of collector cars, the model took first in its class at Le Mans for two consecutive years and won the Tour de France outright in 1963 and 1964. What’s more, it comprises only 36 examples. Obviously, this makes them highly coveted machines, as the Wynn’s winner attests. The figure often cited in regard to its last sale is $70 million, yet that doesn’t keep its owner, David MacNeil, from putting the Prancing Horse through its paces.
“I was doing laps at Road America a month ago and I was running up the straights at 8,500 rpm in the original Le Mans engine with the magnesium, original gearbox,” said MacNeil to the crowd when accepting the award from Le Mans–winning racer and motorsport personality Justin Bell. “You know what? Ferrari’s are meant to be driven.”
Authors
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Viju Mathew
