2022 Keeneland Concours Page 2

Saturday Morning: We visit the Keeneland Concours.
A car show is just a car show, but a good car show is a wonderland. There were twenty classes of competitors at Keenland in 2022 and not all were for automobiles. There were carriages and motorcycles, too. Every exhibitor and show attendee may chosen his or her favorite(s), but it was easy for all to be fascinated by individual entries in any class.

The car above is a 1919 Templar 4-45 Roadster entered in Class 1 (Antiques through 1924) by our own Jerry and Lea Smith. Like most exhibitors, Jerry was happy to tell the story of his car and to point out what makes it interesting. One amusing fact is that a Kodak camera was included with each new car in keeping with an advertisng campaign that featured Tempars in exotic settings. Jerry and Lea displayed a period Kodak camera along with other authentic tools and devices that came with the car. Also noteworthy: the steering wheel folds up for the driver's easy entry and exit.

Porsche was the Featured Marque in 2022.

Porsche entries made up four classes: Air Cooled, Water Cooled, 356, and Race Cars. When we arrived, owners were wiping off the morning dew. Then the judges arrived and began their examinations of these remarkable automobiles.

There was much more to see, of course.

The dreams of designers, engineers, manufacturers, coachbuilders, and their customers dating back more than a century were on display. Fortunately signs identified each entry, its class, owner, a short description, and its specifications. This example was posted near an aggresive looking 1983 Renault 5 Turbo.

The Renault was parked near a 1988 Ferrar1 Testarossa. Its 390 bhp from a 4943cc horizontally opposed 12 cylinder engine certainly suggested different purposes and dreams.

Here is a stylish performer from another time: a one of a kind 1947 Bentley Mark VI Figoni et Falaschi Coupe. It has a 4.25 litre 6 cylinder engine producing 132 horsepower.

There were plenty of High Fashion entiries from earlier eras. All were worth taking the time to read about and enjoy. We are lucky that people are willing to preserve these cars and that we are close enough to Lexington to attend the Keeneland Cocours.

SIR folks and judges were seen here and there throughout the day.

There are some cars you are not surprised to find and others that stop you dead in your tracks. The Ferrari 1959 410 Superamerica and 488 GTB were exciting to see, and the 1962 Sunbeam Harrington Le Mans (the red car just inder the Superamerica) was a curiosity, but the rare 1948 Akllard M1 Drophead was a totally unexpected surprise. You see photos of certain cars in automotive literature but never expect to see them in person.

American cars were represented, too. Detroit stylists gave us these in the 1960s and '70s: the 1957 Desoto Firesweep Sportsman, 1965 Ford Thunderbird and 1956 Buick Roadmaster.

Several cars in the Loud and Furious Class got everyone's attention and maybe their secret desire to have something similar in their own gagrge.

Finally, but farthest back in time, there wass a class for carriages, and these were kind of delightful. Pictured here: an 1895 Brewster & Co. Private Road Coach, a 19th Century Six Passenger Swell Body, and a 1903 locke Ladies Wicker Phaeton.

See the 2022 Winners Here

This was our second trip to the Keeneland Concours. No doubt many will attend again with or without the extra activities enjoyed on page 1. For some, the cars were the real attraction.

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