1927 Mercedes-Benz S-Type ‘Boat Tail’ wins Best of Show at Concours of Elegance

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 06.09.2018

This year’s event saw 1000 incredible classics gathered on the gardens of Hampton Court Palace

The Concours of Elegance of 2018 was again held on the sprawling lawns of Hampton Court Palace, drawing 1000 top-notch classics and over 10,000 punters.

Best of Show went to a 1929 Mercedes-Benz S-Type Barker ‘Boat Tail’, voted by fellow owners within the show.

The 1929 Mercedes-Benz won out over more than 60 of some of the world’s greatest cars – all vying for the Pullman Trophy. Among the impressive competition was the Porsche 917K driven by Steve Mcqueen in the Le Mans movie, and the Ferrari 500 TRC, the last four-cylinder Ferrari ever built.

For the first time in the event’s history, awards were also given out by decade; with a factory-restored Lamborghini Miura P400S winning the post-1970s class, and an ex-Stirling Moss Maserati 300S winning the 1950s class.

The show-winning Mercedes-Benz ‘Boat Tail’ is based on the 1927 Mercedes S-Type and was one of the most powerful road cars of its time, and was essentially a road-going race car.

The ‘Boat Tail’ body was crafted by English coachbuilders Barker and was recently restored to the specification of its original owner, Earl Howe.

The Concours of Elegance raised a huge amount of money for its chose charities for this year; the Springfield Youth Club Hackney and the College of St. George.

The full list of award winners are as follows:

Best in Show – Mercedes-Benz S-Type Barker ‘Boat Tail’
Pre-1920s – Isotta Fraschini Tipo A FENG
1930s – Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Short Chassis Spider
1940s/’50s – Maserati 300s
1960s – Porsche 917K
1970-onwards: Lamborghini Miura
The RAC Club Trophy – Alvis Speed 25 Drophead Coupe
The RAC Spirit of Motoring – Katie Forrest and her 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
The Jaguar Trophy – Jaguar XK120
The Bentley Trophy (pre-1965) – Bentley S2 Saloon
The Bentley Trophy (post-1965) – Bentley Continental T
Bridge of Weir British Legends – Morgan 4/4
Future Classics – Rolls-Royce Sweptail

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