For 11 years Peninsula Hotels has been celebrating the best of the world’s concours cars with the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.
The Award is open to “Best of Show” concours circuit winners from around the globe and was founded by Sir Michael Kadoorie, William E. Connor, Bruce Meyer and Christian Philippsen in 2015.
On January 26 in Paris, this year’s winner was named in the form of a stunning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B owned by The Keller Collection.
As part of winning the car went on show at the popular Retromobile show in Paris from January 28 to February 1.
The Alfa Romeo became eligible for consideration after winning Best of Show at The Amelia in 2025.
The Keller Collection’s Deborah Keller says it was a great privilege to win.
“I am thrilled and deeply honoured to accept The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award,” Keller says.
“This unique vehicle exemplifies the golden era of Italian automotive design and craftsmanship, and every time I see it, I am reminded why such magnificent automobiles deserve to be preserved and celebrated.”
Launched in 1937, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B is regarded as one of the fastest and most exclusive Italian cars of the late 1930s.
While most 8C 2900Bs wore Touring coachwork, the winning example boasts a far more personal design.
Its original owner, famous Italian racecar driver Giuseppe “Nino” Farina who would become the first official Formula One World Champion in 1950, commissioned a custom body that reflected his family’s deep roots in Italian automotive design.
The result was the only 8C 2900B ever fitted with Stabilimenti Farina coachwork, which was founded by Nino’s father in 1906. The vehicle also features styling contributions from Nino’s uncle, Battista “Pinin” Farina, one of Italy’s most celebrated automotive designers.
The 8C has travelled the world for concours events, including Pebble Beach and the Monte-Carlo Rally, including a Parade of Elegance, which it won, in front of the Hotel de Paris.
“The winning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B represents the pinnacle of prewar performance engineering,” says Christian Philippsen, co-founder of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.
“It served as the fastest and most exclusive Italian automobile of its era, and we could not be more thrilled to recognise it as the best of the best.”
Six other vehicles competed for the award, including a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B, a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM, a 1996 Ferrari F50 GT, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Spezial Roadster, a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I and a 1951 Bentley Mark VI Cresta II.
Subscribe to Unique Cars Magazine here