The 2015 Sinaia Concours d’Elegance, in Romania, took place back in July. Just a few pictures to describe the event, starting with this 1954 Kaiser Darrin.
This is the Best of Show winning Cord 812. I couldn’t really grab any more pictures of it, as it was at any time surrounded by curious people.
This 1958 Mercedes took second place in its class. I could have gotten an award for the color alone, a very refined shade of blue.
It also got a prize for the greatest distance covered to the concours.
This 1904 Oldsmobile was a real treat, only the cloud of blue smoke that often accompanied it making for something of a disappointment.
Although the grounds were full of people, rare moments when you could set up your picture just the way you wanted to did show up now and then.
1909 Maxwell A Runabout. It appeared to be in very good condition aesthetically, but its overall condition could only bring it third place in its class.
This Alfa wasn’t competing, but it did make for an interesting sight on the grounds.
This DeSoto was one of the only cars from the 1940’s that I had ever seen. Proportions were really something different than what I was used to.
The Giulia Sprint Speciale won the Competition Cars class. I think it is being used in hill-climb races.
I didn’t have a lot of time for pictures this year, but as I was getting ready to leave, there were still one or two interesting cars to see around.
Another car that looked really good on the day was this 1935 Ford, caught here as it was leaving the event.
I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to for this year’s event, and I’m hoping I will be able to post some more in the coming months.
As soon as I saw the lead picture, my first thought was “That’s a Kaiser Darrin – where was this taken?” This was a very limited production car, so anybody anywhere seeing one is a rare event.
This is a terrific assortment of cars and the background of many of these shots is as intriguing as the cars themselves. Thanks for posting these!
Awesome show! I wish I could’ve been there. I love vintage car shows. 🙂
Indeed – I was fortunate to capture one at a nearby car show back in October. I was surprised that there wasn’t more of a crowd around the car since it is so rare.
Though I’ve seen Kaiser Darrins before, this is the first I’ve seen with blackwall tires and poverty caps on steel wheels. And I like it; it looks nice without tarting up with whitewalls and full wheel covers. Reminds me of some of the first generation T-Birds one sees with blackwalls and poverty caps.
How did these unusual cars survive the four plus decades of repressive communism in Romania? How did the cars escape the grab of the monster and his henchmen?
The cars are mostly imported from what I know. Few cars from before the war and the 1950s-1960s survived, but not because of “repressive communism”. After the war there was a natural need for steel, among other things, so many cars became a source of steel. Other interesting cars were just “borrowed” by the armies during the war and others were just hard to keep in good shape in the post-war economical situation. The regime usually bought its cars form wherever it could, and as for people favored by the regime, they just wanted new cars, so weren’t really interested in keeping old cars, regardless of how interesting they were.
Who’d a thunk that taking off the top, putting on blackwall tires and baby moons could so transform the Darrin? I’ve never seen one look so good.
+1 Huuuuge improvement!
You an’ me both, seeing an intact ’74 Camaro, the Kaiser-Darrin, and some of the Pre-and Post-war cars in good shape says a lot about the Romanians that have them, I almost fainted when I saw the Alfa and the Corvette… You DON’T see them that much, and even in a former Warsaw Pact country, but I love it!
I’ve never seen a Cord except from the front, so that made a nice change.
That post war Desoto looked oddly proportioned to you because it’s a “business coupe”, a model with an elongated trunk compartment to carry salesman’s sample cases and with space in the passenger compartment for just the 1 bench seat.
I’m used to seeing Concours in fields, how interesting to see the cars displayed more “naturally”.
The combination of the interesting cars and stunning background makes for some wonderful photos. That little blue Mercedes with the rag top is fabulous. I’ve decided this coming year to check out the antique vehicle club shows and skip the Goodguys type events. I’m more interested in seeing actual vintage production cars instead of candy red 350/350 Camaros.
Beautiful! I wish I could go for a drive in that Mercedes the fabric sunroof pulled back.
It’s really interesting to see a bunch of American cars in this setting, and even more interesting that – aside from the DeSoto – they don’t really look out of place at all. This is a collection that has strong links to Euro style, whether they influenced it or were influenced by it.
More lovely shots Nicolae. My fave is the MB&BMW combo.
Love these photos! I’m especially fond of the photo of the Cord with that fantastic tower in the background.
Thanks for sharing what looks like a really impressive event with us Nicolae!
I don’t think you should be too hard on the 1904 Oldsmobile for emitting smoke, engines were quite primitive then with burning oil part of the design rather than being a fault. Things like oil filters to allow long-term use of oil were still to be developed, so oiling systems were usually “total-loss” that needed routine topping-up.