The organizers of the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award named the best classic car of 2021. It was the 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione sports car, which won the elegance competition at Villa D’Este. Among Berlinetta’s competitors were such models as Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, Mercedes-Benz 540 K, Hispano-Suiza H6C Cabriolet, and Avions Voisin Type C27 Aerosport Coupe.
The Peninsula Hotels hotel chain, whose hotels are located in Japan, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States, has chosen the most beautiful classic cars for the seventh time as part of the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. The winners of prestigious elegance competitions, such as the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, can claim the award, and this year (the award is awarded based on the results of the previous year), the organizers decided that the 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione was worthy of it.
Only nine such machines were built. Specifically, this instance participated in the Mille Miglia races, the 1959 Tour de France, and various hill climes, was modified in the Carrozzeria Scaglietti, and later received an early version of the V12 engine with the index 12B.
In 1968, Berlinetta came to the Danish collector Klaus Ahlefeld, who exhibited it at the Egeskov Veteran Car Museum. Thirty-two years later, Sam and Emily Mann bought the car. They restored the rare car, and it won the Gran Turismo Cup award for Best of Show GT at the Cavallino Classic.
The current owner of the 250 GT, Berlinetta Competizione passed in 2016. The car was immediately sent to the Italian restoration workshop Bacchelli & Villa and then certified according to the Ferrari Classiche program.
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The document confirms the technical compliance of the machine with the original and increases its collector’s value. Then there was a victory at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, and now Berlinetta was awarded the Peninsula Classics 2021 Best of the Best Award.
The best classic car was chosen by a jury of 25 automotive experts and designers. The shortlist of the award, in addition to the 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione, includes the 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France, 1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, three 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K, 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Cabriolet, and 1934 Avions Voisin Type C27 Aerosport Coupe.
Source: Peninsula Hotels