Famous French car wins Best of the Best award at Monterey Car Week

(August 19, 2016) LOS ANGELES — Every year the best automobiles in the world gather in Monterey, Calif., for Monterey Car Week — a collection of events honoring the finest vehicles ever created. New for 2016, The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award celebrates automotive design and the art of restoration and preservation, bringing together six of the world’s top concours winners from around the globe to The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in conjunction with the Mullin Automotive Museum has announced that the first ever recipient of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award is the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS ‘Goutte d'Eau' which is currently on display in the Mullin Grand Salon at the Petersen.

The 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS, Chassis No. 90106 was originally purchased by Woolf Barnato, a financier and LeMans winning driver who went on to be the chairman of Bentley, and was later raced by American Grand Prix champion Phil Hill in 1978 at the Pebble Beach road races.  

The T150-C SS is an incredible example of both Art Deco styling and French technological innovation during the interwar period. The Goutte d’Eau featured a powerful 4.0 liter inline six with hemispherical combustion chambers that made it among the most powerful sports cars of its day. It also used the technologically fascinating Wilson pre-selector gearbox which allowed drivers to select what gear they wanted to be in for the exit of a corner, for example, and then merely dip the clutch to shift gears when they were ready.

The Goutte d’Eau’s famous body was designed by French coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi to resemble the teardrop, a shape that they considered to be perfect. The result was an incredibly aerodynamic shape that brought with it staggering beauty.

The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award was decided on by an exceedingly impressive list of 24 judges including Lord March, Ian Callum, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Jean Todt, Gordon Murray, Jay Leno and Ralph Lauren among others. The award itself was created by Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, and parent company of The Peninsula Hotels, together with award co-founders Petersen board member Bruce Meyer along with renowned collectors Christian Philippsen and William E. "Chip" Connor II.

"To be honored with this award is wonderful. It absolutely justifies our commitment to sharing this wonderful car and others with the public,” said Peter Mullin, chairman of the board of directors of the Petersen and founder and chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. “The list of judges for this award is filled with individuals I know and greatly respect and we couldn't be happier that they selected our Talbot as the first winner of what is surely going to become one of the most coveted awards in Monterey."

The Talbot-Lago T150-C SS ‘Goutte d’Eau’ will be on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in the Mullin Grand Salon for 10 more weeks.