Robert S. Jepson, Jr. (center) accepting the Best of Show award for his 1919 Pierce-Arrow. He's flanked by Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance Founders Rick & Rita Case (L), Heather Glace, and Brian Quail, President/CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County (R). Photos by Robert Stolpe unless otherwise noted.
Roscoe Arbuckle was, by all accounts, larger than life. The first movie star to earn a salary of $1 million per year, the nickname "Fatty" was not ironic, and his Don Lee Touring-bodied 1919 Pierce-Arrow 66A-4 was as large and showy as the man himself. Last weekend the three-and-a-half-ton Pierce Arrow, now owned by Robert S. Jepson, Jr. of Savannah, Georgia, took top honors at the 10th annual Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Pierce-Arrow's coachwork was designed for first owner "Fatty" Arbuckle by Harley Earl.
The designer of the Pierce-Arrow's coachwork was a young man named Harley Earl, who had already penned the shape of two previous Arbuckle automobiles during his time with the Earl Carriage Works (which was sold to Don Lee in 1919). From the onset, the star's 1919 Pierce-Arrow was to be a special car, beginning with the 66A chassis and its 825-cu.in. six-cylinder engine, the largest (though not the most powerful) available in a production automobile at the time.
The 10th annual Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance featured over 200 automobiles and motorcycles. Photo by Clay Wieland Photography.
The chassis alone was said to cost $6,000, and the bodywork specified by Arbuckle added between $25,000 and $28,000 to the cost, making the final price somewhere north of $31,000 at a time when the average American family earned $1,518 per year. Custom touches included a compartment hidden below the rear footrests, reportedly used to haul liquor in Prohibition-era Hollywood; Mahogany cabinets built into the backs of the front seats; oversize barrel-shaped headlamps (and matching pillar-mounted spot lamps); and, according to the book I, Fatty, a toilet (though this is no longer a feature).
Brian Caskey (with trophy) poses with his Best of Show 1915 Yale Model 57.
Restored by Lon Kruger of Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2007, the Pierce-Arrow has taken best-in-class awards at Pebble Beach (in 2007) and Amelia Island (in 2009), and in 2015 captured Best in Show at the Pinehurst Concours d'Elegance. Once part of the Blackhawk Collection, the seven-foot-tall touring car (built without windshield wipers or even side curtains, a nod to its Southern California roots) was purchased by Jepson in 2014.
Jay Leno presents the "Jay Leno Big Dog Garage" Award to Bridget Hagood's 1966 Dodge Charger fastback.
The Best of Show award in the motorcycle class went to Brian Caskey for his 1915 Yale Model 57, a bike that had previously captured top honors at the 2016 Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show. Built by the Consolidated Manufacturing Company in Toledo, Ohio, the twin-cylinder model dates to the company's last year as a motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer. In December of 1915, Consolidated switched its focus to building munitions for the war in Europe.
Jay presents the "Jay Leno Big Dog Garage" Award to Jack Wells' 1938 Brough Superior 11-50 with sidecar.
Jay Leno was the guest of honor at the Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance, and handed out "Big Dog Garage" awards for both automobiles and motorcycles. The automobile award went to Bridget Hagood's 1966 Dodge Charger fastback, while the motorcycle award went to Jack Wells's 1938 Brough Superior 11-50 with sidecar.
For a complete list of winners, visit BocaRatonConcours.com.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/1LfilDU
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