The Fairfield County Concours
At just six years old, the Fairfield County Concours (held Sept. 12-13, 2009) has the look of a show that’s been around for at least twice as long. Competing geographically with the Greenwich Concours and on the same weekend as The Radnor Hunt Concours in Pennsylvania, the Fairfield County Concours is clearly thriving in spite of the stiff competition and a poor economy.
Where other shows have been hit hard by loss of sponsorship, Fairfield County retained Porsche Cars of North America and added FedEx Auto Transport and AMG. But while sponsors make events like this possible, ultimately, it’s the quality of the cars that are the measure of success. It was in this area that the event made its most significant strides and now truly resembles the national events like Amelia Island and Meadow Brook, if not in scope then certainly in the quality of cars. The 1955 Moretti 1200 Spider and 1946 Lancia Aprilia Barchetta were both unusual and interesting. Certainly not cars to be filed under the “rare and should be” category.
Co-founders Bill Scheffler and John Shuck deserve considerable credit for the careful attention to the field in presenting the right mix of both cars that resonate immediately with attendees and unusual cars like the aforementioned Lancia and Moretti. Returning as MC this year was appraiser and Hagerty’s magazine contributor Donald Osborne, whose New York Metropolitan Opera experience endows the Concours with what is surely the best rendition of our national anthem to be heard at any car-related event this or any other year.
Best of Show (Foreign) was won by the 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C2300 Mille Miglia owned by Oscar Davis and Best of Show (Domestic) was won by the 1933 Duesenberg SJ Beverly owned by Judge Joseph Cassini. The FIVA Preservation award went to Joe Freeman’s amazingly well-preserved 1914 Mercer Raceabout. Next year’s event is scheduled for Sept. 11-12.
