THE-PENINSULA-HOTELS
9.2.2021 07:02:26 CET | Business Wire | Press release
The Peninsula Hotels, whose international hospitality brand has epitomised glamour and luxury for nearly a century, today announced the winner of its sixth annual classic car showcase, The Peninsula Classics 2020 Best of the Best Award. The winning car, the 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza, coachwork by Scaglietti , has achieved distinction both for its impressive racing history and its exacting restoration. It became eligible as a Best of the Best Award contender after winning Best of Show at the 2020 Palm Beach Cavallino Classic.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210208005295/en/
The Best of the Best Award was co-founded in 2015 by The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (owner and operator of The Peninsula Hotels), along with William E. (Chip) Connor, Bruce Meyer and Christian Philippsen. The Award celebrates the fine engineering and design of classic cars built by internationally renowned manufacturers, selected from an exceptional short list of winners from the most exclusive concours. This year’s award has a contracted list of nominees due to cancellation or postponement of partner concours in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19.
The 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza was chosen from a selection of four nominees crafted by automakers from Italy, Germany, and the United States, including a 1969 Porsche 917 KH Coupé, coachwork by the Factory, 2020 Best of Show, Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace, 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza Spider, coachwork by Zagato, 2020 Best of Show, Salon Privé and a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Town Limousine, coachwork by Murphy, 2020 Best of Show, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
The winner was selected by The Best of the Best Award’s esteemed panel of judges, including, amongst others, designers Gordon Murray (former Formula 1 designer for Brabham and McLaren) and Anne Asensio (Vice President of Design Experience at Dassault Systèmes), and prominent classic car collectors Laurence Graff and Jay Leno.
“It was a difficult task for our judges to select a winner this year. Our judging procedures had to be carried out remotely and unfortunately the main awards event had to be cancelled, with social distancing measures and safety our top priority,” said The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie. “With such a prestigious collection of nominees, choosing one winner was especially challenging. However, it is always a great pleasure to spotlight the remarkable achievements of the automotive industry, and to create a small spark of joy in the current challenging times. These classic vehicles are an enduring testament to human artistry and ingenuity.”
The winning 750 Monza made its original debut with a 2-litre motor at the Inaugural Grand Prix of the Imola Autodrome in June of 1954. After driver Umberto Maglioli secured first place for Scuderia Ferrari with the car, it was subsequently fitted with a 3-litre engine and went on to compete in several other major races that year, including the Monsanto Grand Prix (where it won), and Nassau Race Week – where it was driven by its original owner, Alfonso de Portago, and secured a 1st and two 2nd places.
The car’s next owner, Sterling Edwards, raced the 750 Monza over the next two years mainly in California, including the Pebble Beach Road Races (an event he founded) in 1955 and 1956 – garnering four 1st-place and two first-in-class wins in the car. After the tragic death of his friend Ernie McAfee prompted Edwards to stop racing altogether, he sold the car to his engineer Bob Whitmer, who replaced its engine with a Chevy V8 and continued to successfully race it through the early 1960s.
The car spent most of the ensuing 50 years disassembled, though its chassis, body, engine, and gearbox were all carefully preserved in a small San Francisco-area warehouse. In 2016, a complete restoration of the car was initiated under the direction of Bob Smith Coachworks, located in Gainesville, Texas, a process that took new owners Tom and Jill Peck of southern California over two years to complete.
The refurbishment was guided by several noted Ferrari historians: Marcel Massini of Switzerland, Alan Boe of Braselton, Georgia, David Seielstad of Hawaii, as well as past owners Sterling Edwards’ son Hammond and Bob Whitmer, both from northern California. The vintage certification team at Ferrari Classiche in Maranello, Italy, was also helpful in piecing together the early racing career of the car while campaigned by Ferrari. Bringing their combined wealth of knowledge to the project, these experts employed many of the vehicle’s preserved original documents and instruments, including the original owners’ manual, toolboxes, build sheets, and a treasure trove of original photographs of the car. Computer modelling of these photos was employed to repair flaws in the body from the car’s racing days, and 3-D printing technology was utilised to duplicate some parts that were irreparable. The vehicle’s livery was restored to that which it sported in its first Carrera Panamericana race in 1954.
Once fully restored, the 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza won the Enzo Ferrari Award at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and 2020 Best of Show at the Cavallino Classic, before being named winner of The Peninsula Classics 2020 Best of the Best Award.
“It is a true honour to be recognised by the venerable judges of The Peninsula Classics,” said Mr. Peck of his car’s latest success. “Like so many classic cars, this one has been both a labour of love and the product of dedicated teamwork. The Best of the Best Award is a crowning achievement for everyone involved.”
About The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award
Through a shared desire to celebrate the best of what defines the automotive world, The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, launched The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award in 2015 with co-founders William E. (Chip) Connor, Bruce Meyer and Christian Philippsen. Each founder shares a common passion and appreciation of fine motor cars, the preservation of their heritage and immaculate restoration projects. The award, sponsored by The Peninsula Hotels , brings together elite ‘Best of Show’ winners from nine of the renown concours circuits around the globe: Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Cavallino Classic, Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille, Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace, Goodwood Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d’Elegance, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Salon Privé, and The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210208005295/en/
Link:
Social Media:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
90% of IT Leaders See Gaps in AI Threat Readiness, Lenovo Brings Single Point of Accountability to Cyber Resiliency30.6.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
New end-to-end resilience and managed security offerings help organizations reduce security complexity, cut system downtime by up to 50%, and lower remediation costs by up to 40% by bringing devices, security technologies, expert services, and ecosystem partners together under a single operational model As organizations accelerate AI adoption and digital workplace transformation, many are finding that cyber resilience is undermined not by a lack of security tools, but by growing operational complexity and threat sophistication. According to recent research, 90% of IT leaders acknowledge gaps in their ability to defend against AI-driven threats. While security investments continue to grow, many organizations face a different challenge: fragmented accountability. Security operations remain highly distributed and siloed, making it increasingly difficult to coordinate response efforts, maintain end-to-end business continuity, and recover quickly when incidents occur. To help organizations
Tacton Launches Portfolio Performance Intelligence to Help Manufacturers Understand Why Products Win30.6.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
New configuration-aware commercial intelligence capability connects customer requirements, configuration decisions, and business outcomes to optimize win rates, margin and product strategy. Tacton, a global leader in Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions for manufacturers of complex products, today announced the launch of Portfolio Performance Intelligence, a new analytics capability designed to help manufacturers understand why products win, where margin is created or lost, and which decisions consistently drive successful business outcomes. Manufacturers don't lack data. They lack the context needed to understand why products perform the way they do and why customers choose them. ERP systems show what was sold, CRM platforms track opportunities, and BI tools visualize trends. But when manufacturers try to understand which customer requirements drive demand, which configurations consistently win, or why margins vary across products, regions or segments, the answers are often unclear
SC Therapeutics Initiates REACH2 Trial for Refractory Chronic Cough30.6.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
First-in-class disease-modifying therapeutic aerosol targeting mechano-sensitive ion channels advances into phase 2 clinical evaluation in UK SC Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering therapies that deactivate mechano-sensitive ion channels (MSCs) to treat respiratory and cardiovascular disease, today reports initiation of the REACH2 trial. The study will evaluate the Company's lead product candidate in patients with refractory chronic cough (RCC) – a debilitating condition for which no disease-modifying treatment options currently exist. The trial will be run in three major cough centers across the UK. A Novel, Disease-Modifying Mechanism of Action SC0032, SC Therapeutics' most advanced product candidate, is a proprietary therapeutic aerosol composed entirely of ions endogenous to human airways. Unlike current symptomatic investigational drugs – including P2X3 receptor antagonists and neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonists that seek to dampen neural hyper
Riskified Study: As AI Drives a Summer Travel Boom, Clunky Security and Scam Fears Threaten Merchant Conversions30.6.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
New 2026 Summer Travel Survey from Riskified finds that digital and AI tools are reshaping how trips are planned, while security and authenticity concerns continue to influence checkout decisions Riskified (NYSE: RSKD), a global leader in ecommerce fraud and risk intelligence, today released findings from global survey conducted ahead of the 2026 Summer Travel season, exploring consumer travel behavior, booking experiences, and trust in digital and AI-enabled travel tools. The survey, conducted among more than 4,000 consumers across the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, shows strong demand for travel heading into the summer season, alongside continued adoption of digital and AI tools in trip planning. Key findings from the Riskified 2026 Summer Travel Survey include: 81% of consumers use digital platforms for travel planning, with 26% already relying on AI like ChatGPT or Gemini. Leisure remains the dominant purpose of travel at 63%, followed by
Corpay Cross-Border Named the Official Global FX Partner of Fever30.6.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
Providing access to currency risk management and cross-border payments solutions Corpay, Inc.*, (NYSE: CPAY) a global leader in corporate payments, today announced that its Cross-Border business has entered into an agreement with Fever, a leading global live-entertainment discovery and ticketing platform that specializes in immersive experiences, candlelit concerts, and interactive pop-up events. Under the agreement, Corpay becomes Fever’s exclusive and Official Global Foreign Exchange (FX) Partner. Through this partnership, Fever’s global operations across North America, Mexico, the UK, EMEA, and APAC will be able to leverage Corpay Cross-Border’s innovative solutions to help manage foreign exchange exposure arising from day-to-day business activities. “Fever represents the future of global live entertainment and event ticketing technology, and we are honoured to be named their exclusive and Official FX Partner,” said Brad Loder, Chief Marketing Officer, Corpay Cross-Border Solutions.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom