Feast your eyes on a Talbot Lago

It will be a first for Kansas City when this Talbot Lago makes its appearance at the Art of the Car Concours. The 1938 Talbot Lago T150-SS is coming to us from the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, Calif. This stunning vehicle received the 1990 "Most Elegant Car" award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It is one of only nine "Teardrop" coupes ever made and is considered the best in the world. For more information about the Mullin Automotive Museum, visit www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com/. Pictured: 1938 Talbot Lago T150-SS "Teardrop" Coupe; photo © 2006 Michael Furman.

Kemp Museum sending two
award-winning Mercedes


Kansas City audiences will have an opportunity next month to admire two award-winning Mercedes from the Kemp Auto Museum in St. Louis. On the left is a 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster. The vehicle has been presented at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as well as at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, among other venues. On the right is a 1931 Mannheim 370 Sport Cabriolet. Of the 10 Mannheims known to exist in the world, this is the only sport model. The vehicle was an Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance 2011 class winner for pre-war European cars and appeared at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours. Pictured: 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster (left) and 1931 Mannheim 370 Sport Cabriolet (right); photos courtesy of Fred Kemp and the Kemp Auto Museum.

Presenting sponsor returns for 2012

The Kansas City Mercedes-Benz Dealers: Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City and Aristocrat Motors have returned as our presenting sponsors for 2012 . You can learn more about Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City and Aristocrat Motors by visiting their websites at www.mb-kc.com/ and www.aristocratmotors.com/. A big “thank you” to our presenting sponsor and to all our sponsors, without whom the Art of the Car Concours would not be possible. Thanks to them, students at the Kansas City Art Institute will receive needed scholarship funding.

1937 Ford Darrin will be on view

In 1937, Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean, Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for a second term, Walt Disney's Snow White premiered in movie theaters and a beautiful Ford Darrin 78 Cabriolet convertible was built by Darrin of Paris for a gentleman named Percy Morgan. On June 24, that vehicle now owned by J.B. Saunders of Edmond, Okla.  will be on view at the Sixth Annual Art of the Car Concours. The Darrin was the first automobile built in the United States by Howard Dutch Darrin and is the only Darrin built on a Ford chassis. Subsequently, many Packard Darrins were produced. Saunders has owned the vehicle since 1969 and has shown it at several previous events, including the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Pictured: 1937 Ford Darrin 78 Cabriolet; photo courtesy of Stephen Saunders.

New this year: intergenerational exhibitor award

t's not uncommon for multiple generations in a family to share a love of vintage vehicles. To celebrate this fact, Marshall Miller, founder and chairman of the Art of the Car Concours, has announced that among the awards to be given at the 2012 Art of the Car Concours will be a new one honoring two intergenerational exhibitors.

“The Art of the Car Concours is a very family-centric event,” Miller said. My father, my sons and I enjoyed going to these kinds of events together, and we shared a passion for beautiful, vintage vehicles that had special meaning in our lives. Selecting two family-related exhibitors to recognize with an intergenerational award struck all of us as being a wonderful way to celebrate families, and we don't know of another Concours that presents such an award." Pictured: Robert Kenney II (left) and his father, Robert Kenney (right), exhibited a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe and a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Two-Door Sedan, respectively, at the 2011 Art of the Car Concours; photo by Mark McDonald.

Pedal/electric cars


There will be a new award category this year for pedal/electric cars. Be sure to watch for this group the day of the Concours. Pictured above is Don and Joan Hoelscher's 1950s Murray Super Sonic Jet, which the Hoelschers are bringing to the Concours along with three other pedal cars. The Murray Company was founded in 1910 by J.W. Murray. While the Murray name was not actually used on their products until 1940, it is nearly synonymous with the classic pedal car. Murray was one of the larger pedal car producers from the 1950s through the 1970s. Pictured: 1950s Super Sonic Jet; photo courtesy of Don and Joan Hoelscher

Pre-concours events planned for exhibitors

Three events are planned for Saturday, June 23 — the day before the Concours — so that exhibitors will have an opportunity to get acquainted with one another.

Tivol on the Plaza

At 9 a.m. June 23, Tivol will host a special exhibitors breakfast at their store on the Country Club Plaza. Selected vehicles will be on display in front of the store, and the street in front of Tivol will be blocked off. While the breakfast is open only to exhibitors, the public is invited to stop by and view the vehicles.

Armacost Museum

The Armacost Museum (http://armacostmuseum.com/) in Grandview, Mo., will be open for a private showing for Concours exhibitors from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. June 23. More than 100 vintage vehicles will be on display on two floors. For information about bus transportation to and from the museum, and to reserve a seat, exhibitors are invited to contact Barbara Holzmark at bjbagels@aol.com or 913-381-8222.

Exhibitor/sponsor reception

There will be a reception for exhibitors and sponsors from 6 to 8 p.m. June 23 in Vanderslice Hall on the KCAI campus, 4415 Warwick Blvd. Drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. The event is an opportunity for exhibitors and sponsors to meet one another and see the show field laid out for the Concours.

Help us get the word out!

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends, relatives and absolutely anyone else you think would be interested in attending the Sixth Annual Art of the Car Concours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 24 on the beautiful campus of the Kansas City Art Institute! Thank you for spreading the word!

Consider sponsoring the concours

Sponsorship opportunities abound! Please join our presenting sponsor, the Kansas City Mercedes-Benz Dealers: Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City and Aristocrat Motors; sponsors Tivol, Grass Pad, Kawasaki, Shawnee Mission Hyundai, Peterson Manufacturing, Commerce Bank, Baron BMW, Branson Auction, Curves Ahead, Hagerty Insurance, Harley Davidson, Hyman Ltd., Passport Transport and Meguiar's; and community partners McPherson College and Minddrive in supporting this year's Concours. A detailed list of sponsor benefits for 2012 is posted online at www.artofthecarconcours.com.

Sponsorships provide a major boost for student scholarships at the Kansas City Art Institute, where more than 96 percent of the students receive some form of financial aid. Scholarships allow KCAI to attract the best and brightest art and design students from around the world to attend this prestigious four-year college of art and design. Famous former students include Walt Disney, who took Saturday classes at KCAI when he was a teenager (his only formal training in art) and the late Robert Rauschenberg, who attended KCAI after serving in World War II.

Would you like to join the Concours as a volunteer?



Calling all volunteers: We welcome and need your help at the Sixth Annual Art of the Car Concours, now only about one month away! We depend heavily on volunteer assistance to make this great event a success. Last year we had more than 140 volunteers. May we count on you to be a volunteer this year?

Please download, fill out and return the volunteer application form. Volunteers will be invited to attend several training meetings to help better organize the event and make the day’s activities interesting and rewarding for everyone involved. Pictured: A scene from the 2011 Art of the Car Concours; photo by Mark McDonald.

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