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2005 New York City Concours d'Elegance
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Click here to open the slideshowIntroduction
Transportation and particularly cars are an essential part of everyday life in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Cars are everywhere in this dense metropolis, and limousines and taxi cabs are commonplace, but when an award winning beauty such as a 1938 Horch is driving through Central Park, bystanders heads simultaneously follow and jaws drop.

Wollman rink in the southeast corner of the 843 acre refuge is covered in ice for at least six months of the year but for one weekend in early October it was home to millions of dollars worth of spectacular automotive examples. The inaugural New York City Concours d�Elegance displayed approximately 85 different historic cars over the three day event.

The represented car manufacturers were as diverse as the �Big Apple�s� population, with cars arriving from all over the United States, as well as overseas. The Concours was originally organized as two shows of approximately 50 cars each with Friday and Saturday�s including anything vintage whereas Sunday was reserved for Ferrari only. Evidently the poor vehicle attendance and rumored border delays for out-of-country entries resulted in some vehicles in attendance for the entire weekend, as well as the Sunday show opening up to much more than just Ferrari. This prestigious event was clearly more focused on quality, and not quantity.

Friday-Saturday
Audi�s major sponsorship of the affair allowed them to introduce the brand new Q7 sport-ute to the American public as well as several other current Audi models and their 1929 Imperator. Fewer cars than a traditional Concours meant that the spectators could take more time to appreciate every vehicle on display, but also made for only eight classes. Surprisingly there wasn�t a Duesenberg, Cord, or pre-war Cadillac in the field but a brilliant green and black Auburn Boattail Speedster took honors in the Pre-War Tourers and Speedsters class. American Muscle was in full force with a Yenko Camaro, Shelby GT500 and an impeccable Chevelle SS, however none went home with a class award. Jaguar was well represented with an E-Type, XK-120, C-type, and the 1957 LeMans winning Jaguar D-Type. Thierry Morin of London, England received many thanks over the weekend for bringing three completely original Concours icons; a Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, a Ferrari 410 Superamerica, and a Maserati Tipo 60 Birdcage, which won its class award, and a special award for �Best Preserved Automobile�. Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Porsche, Isotta Fraschini, and Fiat were also in attendance, but it was a familiar Horch 853A that took the Best in Show credit this year.

Sunday
The �Ferrari only� show turned into �Italian only�, and finally ended with �Italian, Aston, Porsche, and modern Supercars only�. A wide array of fantastic cavallinos were shown ranging from a 512 M, to three Superamericas, to an Enzo. Racer Derek Bell was in attendance as a judge and was also reunited with the Ferrari 312 F1 he raced in the 1968 US Grand Prix. One Lamborghini, one Maserati, and six Ferrari class awards were handed out as well as three special awards. Jack Thomas has been touring around the Concours circuit for the past few years showing his Ferrari 375 America Pinin Farina Speciale with great success, winning awards at Pebble Beach, Cavallino Classic, Greenwich, FCA, and now a Ferrari Best in Show at the First Annual New York City Concours d�Elegance. This luxury GT was custom built for Fiat supremo Gianni Agnelli and represents a very unique design direction for both Ferrari and Pinin Farina.

Conclusion
Inaugural shows like this rarely go on without a hitch, however none were apparent. Clear skies and unseasonably warm weather definitely assisted the organizers in drawing crowds to Central Park. Ultimatecarpage.com was one of very few automotive media outlets providing coverage for this event, and we�re proud to present a 160-shot slideshow of the weekends festivities.

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Report and images by Rob Clements for Ultimatecarpage.com.