1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo – Best of Show at Pebble Beach 2012

1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo – Best of Show at Pebble Beach 2012
Paul Andrews with his Concours winning 1928 MB 680S Saoutchik Torpedo. Photo by Andrew Suresh

A Mercedes-Benz won the Best of Show at the 62nd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach, California. The 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Saoutchik Torpedo was announced as the winner on Sunday, beating 220 other cars from 33 states and 15 countries.

“I’m not sure I can put into words how I feel. It’s probably the most wonderful feeling I’ve had in my life. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work by a lot of people. We’re all excited. We’re tickled to death,” said Paul Andrews, who along with his wife Judy, owns the Mercedes-Benz.

Jacques Saoutchik made seven avant-garde Torpedo bodies for the Mercedes-Benz 680S chassis, each differing in their details. The combination of chrome accents and low windshield make this car, first shown at the 1928 New York Auto Show, both a sports car and a luxury touring car. This particular car was restored by Paul Russell and Company, a classic car restoration service based in Massachussetts.

“It’s the whole package. There’s not a bad line on this car. It was the sports car, the high performance car of its era, and then Saoutchik gave it style and grace. It has power and it has beauty,” said Andrews.

Other nominees for Best of Show included a 1935 Duesenberg J Gurney-Nutting Speedster owned by the William Lyon Family of Newport Beach, California; a 1931 Duesenberg J Derham Tourster owned by Joseph and Margie Cassini III, of West Orange, New Jersey; and a 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Figoni Coupé owned by David and Adele Cohen of West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The judging process is two-fold: Class Judges focus primarily on originality and authenticity, while Honorary Judges direct their attention to design, styling and elegance. To be eligible to win Best of Show – the event’s top award – a car must first win its class.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

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