Elegant 1933 one-offs take top honors at the Concours d'Elegance of America

Two elegant cars from 1933 were named Best in Show at the 2012 Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's on Sunday. Jim Patterson's 1933 Delage D8S was crowned best European car, while Joseph Cassini's 1933 Chrysler Imperial Phaeton with body by LeBaron took the top honors for American-made cars. The concours awards two top honors each year.

Cassini, from West Orange, N.J., purchased the big Chrysler this past February during the auction of various items from Florida collectors the Milhous Brothers.

“I saw this car at Pebble Beach 16 years ago and wanted to buy it ever since. But the Milhous Brothers owned it and their collection was basically private, so this car really hasn't been seen since that time. It won its class that year at Pebble and also won Most Significant Open Car, which is quite an honor considering the European competition for the award,” Cassisni said.

“I feel very fortunate that I was able to buy this car,” Cassini said, “And honored to win here. It's nice to be able to bring this car back to Detroit, where it was built.”

Patterson's car is also no stranger to winning awards at Pebble Beach, taking Best in Show in 2010. Delage and de Villars collaborated on the car that was built for the Paris Salon of 1934. Under Patterson's ownership, the car was meticulously restored by RM Restorations of Canada just prior to its showing at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2010.

“This is just such a rare and interesting car,” Patterson said. “It has an amazing history. I'm very pleased with the honor.”

This is the second year that the Concours d'Elegance of America staged its event at the Inn at St. John's in Plymouth, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. This was the 34th year of the event previously known as the Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance when it was hosted on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall at Oakland University. Organizers said this year's concours drew in excess of 10,000 spectators.

By Roger Hart