A century-old vision of speed, style, and engineering mastery has taken the highest honor in the collector car world. At the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the coveted Best of Show award went to the 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo – better known as the “Tulipwood” Torpedo – shown by Penny and Lee Anderson Sr. of Naples, Florida.
“This Hispano-Suiza ticks every possible box,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “The underpinnings are technically advanced. The body is meticulously hand-crafted, light, and lovely. It was, notably, commissioned by aperitif scion André Dubonnet, and he raced it in both the Targa Florio and the Coppa Florio.”
The car’s most distinctive feature is its coachwork: mahogany strips carved and shaped with precision, then secured to the inner frame with more than 8,500 rivets. Weighing just 160 pounds when completed, the body was built by French aircraft manufacturer Nieuport-Astra and drew heavily on aeronautical principles. The result was as much a feat of engineering as it was a work of art.
Following an exhaustive multi-year restoration by RM Auto Restoration, the “Tulipwood” Torpedo returned to Pebble Beach in its original 1924 form. More than 12,000 hours of work went into re-creating details lost to history, including the painstaking re-creation of its torpedo fenders. “To me, this is the Mona Lisa of cars,” said Gord Duff, President of RM Sotheby’s. “The fact that our team was entrusted to restore something this important is an incredible honor.”
For Lee Anderson, the car’s wooden body was the ultimate draw: “I like wood! I’m a wood boat antique collector. I’ve always loved varnished wood, and when I saw this I said, my gosh! This is right in my wheelhouse.”
The Andersons are no strangers to the Pebble Beach stage, having also won Best of Show in 2022 with a Figoni-bodied 1932 Duesenberg J. “Winning Pebble Beach is probably the highest award you can get in automobile collecting,” Lee added. “We are very fortunate to have done it twice.”
The “Tulipwood” Torpedo’s victory cements its place among the most important automobiles ever created. Born from racing ambition, shaped by aviation expertise, and preserved with extraordinary care, it is a bold reminder that true design brilliance endures across generations.
This year’s race for Best of Show featured several strong contenders, including the 1939 Maybach SW38 Spohn Sport Zweisitzer presented by Dana and Patti Mecum of Geneva Lake, Wisconsin; the 1933 Invicta 4½ Litre S Type Corsica Drophead Coupé shown by SBH of Riffa, Bahrain; and the 1956 Maserati 200SI Fantuzzi Open Sports Racer presented by Phillip Sarofim of Beverly Hills, California.
List of 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Winners
BEST OF SHOW
- 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo
- Penny & Lee Anderson Sr., Naples, Florida
BEST OF SHOW NOMINEES
- 1939 Maybach SW38 Spohn Sport Zweisitzer
- Dana & Patti Mecum, Geneva Lake, Wisconsin
- 1933 Invicta 4½ Litre S Type Corsica Drophead Coupé
- SBH, Riffa, Bahrain
- 1956 Maserati 200SI Fantuzzi Open Sports Racer
- Phillip Sarofim, Beverly Hills, California
ELEGANCE AWARDS
Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible
- 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Brewster Henley Roadster
- Lehrman Collection, Palm Beach, Florida
B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car
- 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Rolltop Coupé
- The Pearl Collection, Zug, Switzerland
Jules Heumann Most Elegant Open Car
- 1951 Ferrari 340 America Touring Barchetta
- Nikolay Miroshnichenko, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car
- 1953 Siata 208 CS Balbo Coupé
- Jonathan & Wendy Segal, San Diego, California
SPECIAL AWARDS
Alec Ulmann Trophy
- 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Hooper Saloon Limousine
- Simon Kidston, Milan, Italy
Ansel Adams Award
- 1908 Welch Model 4L Seven-Passenger Touring
- Bob & Linda Welch, West Vancouver, Canada
ArtCenter College of Design Award
- 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Scaglietti Berlinetta
- William H. & Cheryl K. Swanson, Pebble Beach, California
Briggs Cunningham Trophy
- 1956 Maserati 200SI Fantuzzi Open Sports Racer
- Phillip Sarofim, Beverly Hills, California
Chairman’s Trophy
- 1989 Ferrari 640 Formula 1
- Simon Furlonger / Egon Zweimueller, Ennsdorf, Austria
Charles A. Chayne Trophy
- 1910 Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich Renn Wagon
- Mercedes-Benz Classic, Stuttgart, Germany
Classic Car Club of America Trophy
- 1937 Lincoln K LeBaron Coupe
- James Farley, Birmingham, Michigan
Elegance in Motion Trophy
- 1965 Bugatti Type 101C-X Roadster
- General William Lyon Family, Newport Beach, California
Enzo Ferrari Trophy
- 1964 Ferrari 250 LM Scaglietti Berlinetta
- Peter & Jan Harburg, Brisbane, Australia
FIVA Prewar Trophy
- 1906 White Model F Roi des Belges Touring
- Joe & Janice Conzonire, San Marino, California
FIVA Postwar Trophy
- 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Sunroof Coupe
- Craig Kappel & Meg McCarthy, Orlando, Florida
The French Cup
- 1910 Renault BZ Moore & Munger Town Car
- Peter & Monica Kumar, Astoria, New York
Gran Turismo Trophy
- 1931 Invicta 4½ Litre S Type Carbodies Tourer
- Steve & Marilee Hamilton, Washoe Valley, Nevada
The LAP of Luxury Award Presented by LAPIS
- 1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Cesare Sala Guida Interna Super Sport
- Museu Carde, Campos do Jordão, Brazil
Lincoln Trophy
- 1929 Lincoln L Rollston All Weather Non-Collapsible Brougham
- Mike Anderson, Elkhart, Indiana
Lorin Tryon Trophy
- Bruce Meyer
Lucius Beebe Trophy
- 1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Hooper Landaulet
- Stephen Brauer, St. Louis, Missouri
Mercedes-Benz Star of Excellence Award
- 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster
- The Keller Collection at the Pyramids, Petaluma, California
Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy
- 1935 Aston Martin Mark II Bertelli Sports Saloon
- Neil Pickstone, Stockport, United Kingdom
The Phil Hill Cup
- 1970 March 701 Formula 1
- Tom Hartley Jnr., Swadlincote, United Kingdom
Tony Hulman Trophy
- 1967 Lotus 49 Formula 1
- Chris MacAllister, Indianapolis, Indiana
Pininfarina Trophy
- 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet Series 1
- Roy & Janice Brod, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Spirit of Virgil Exner Trophy
- 1955 Chrysler Falcon
- Joe Bortz Auto Collection, Highland Park, Ilinois
Image Source: RM Sotheby's
