European Cars from the 2015 Greystone Mansion Concours d’Elegance
Story By
John McCabe
The Greystone Mansion Concours d’Elegance yielded a bumper crop of European cars in 2015. Although Ferrari and Rolls Royce didn’t show up en masse as they did in 2014, the larger diversity of European marques easily compensated for their absence. In fact, the range of manufacturers in this year’s field signified a substantial leap in the quality of the show. In 2014, the Concours celebrated Ferrari’s 60th anniversary, and rightly so. In retrospect, however, the plethora of Ferraris, Rolls Royces and Mustangs (which were in abundance to celebrate the model’s 50th anniversary) was probably a negative to the overall experience for 2014 attendees. Fortunately, there was no over-saturation of any single badge for 2015's show, and for that the organizers must be commended. Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting a great show this year, but was very pleasantly surprised by the 2015 Greystone Mansion Concours d’Elegance, and it was best exemplified in the European sections of the mansion’s parking lot. The most well-represented marques this year were Porsche and Mercedes Benz. The Porsches section consisted of about a half dozen 911s parked together, as well as some truly special models dispersed throughout the lot in higher-visibility areas, including the Petersen Museum’s perfect Continental. The Petersen’s car won best-of-class for the Porsche 356s. There was an abundance of manufacturers represented. One of the coolest cars discovered at this show was a 1952 Siata 400L. Fiats, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, and Lancias helped Ferrari to raise the Italian flag. An increase in the number of MGs, Triumphs, Sunbeams and Jaguars boosted the numbers for the Brits, and let’s not forget all of the Porsches and Benzes. Although there were just a few French cars, the Mullins brought a beautiful 1951 Delahaye 235 to the show and were rewarded with a best of class award in the Touring category. Fret not, Ferrari lovers; a diluted field didn’t diminish the quality of the cars representing the storied marque in 2015, as a 1962 GT250 SWB won best of show in the sport division over many European and American models. Although Rolls didn’t defend their Best of Show award from 2014, three Rolls Royces and a Bentley left the Greystone with hardware, including the Mayor’s Choice and Spirit of Greystone awards. Enjoy a gallery of some of those wonderful European cars from Greystone Mansion Concours d'Elegance below:
