The Concours d’Elegance concluded yesterday at Cobble Beach with the award presentations.
Featuring 44 awards across 18 different car classes, the Canadian Automotive Museum took first place in the Class 3 Domestic Production (1915-1942) category with a 1915 Russell-Knight 32-15 five-passenger touring car.
The 1915 model was the last Russell ever produced. This particular vehicle was donated by Patricia Russell – granddaughter of the car’s namesake, Thomas (Tommy) Russell – who purchased the vehicle from automotive writer Glenn Beckler.
“We were able to trace that back; it was actually Glenn’s own notes,” says Executive Director and Curator at the Canadian Automotive Museum Alexandra Miller-Gerrard. “Because he was an automotive writer, that first indicated who the original owner was, but it wasn’t until restoration that we actually found, between the lining and door panel, the original ownership slip for the vehicle that confirmed who that first owner was.”
This is not the first vehicle the museum has brought to the event. Last year, it entered a 1963 Buick limousine custom-built for former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to get the vehicles out of the museum and engage with the public in this way,” says Miller-Gerrard.
The winner of the Bruce Grey Simcoe Award was Bob Thompson of Port Elgin for his 1922 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which he says still hits the road regularly.
“We drive it constantly; if I’m not driving, my grandson’s driving, or my son’s driving, or my daughter’s driving – they all drive it,” says Thompson.
The Thompson family has not missed a year of the event since it began 15 years ago, with his son and grandson also bringing vehicles this year.
Proceeds from the event support Sunnybrook and the Brightshores Health System Owen Sound Foundation.