How Judging Real Collector Cars Forged My Real-World Expertise
Newport, RI – November 19, 2026 – “So, what will it take to bring you to the Audrain?”
That was the question posed by Donald Osborne, bowtie-wearing master of ceremonies, Italian-speaker, and the spiritual anchor of one of the world’s most elite concours d’elegance. He and I were in Miami for MODA, the premier automotive event RM Sotheby’s launched following the raid of nearly 30 key employees from Broad Arrow, a competitor founded by Hagerty.
Osborne had been coaxing me to attend the Audrain Concours d’Elegance since its 2019 inception. When he asked about my attendance, a thought sparked. “Make me a judge?” I blurted out.
He smiled, extended his hand, and said, “You’re a judge. See you in Newport.” It was the invitation I hadn’t known I was waiting for.
The Unexpected Initiation into Elite Automotive Judging
My first time at Pebble Beach – the global benchmark for automotive excellence and the apex of “fancy-pants” car shows – I was a novice. Back then, before the age of social media saturation, I truly understood nothing about the rarefied world of concours d’elegance. I didn’t even know what to wear, foolishly assuming the main Sunday show was just another casual “Cars and Coffee.” I’m pretty sure I showed up in shorts and a t-shirt.
Still, I noticed one remarkable thing: Pulitzer Prize–winning automotive journalist Dan Neil was an honorary judge. That seemed pretty prestigious. And then the most dangerous thought for any automotive writer burrowed into my brain: “Why not me?”
The Audrain isn’t exactly Pebble Beach, but many insiders – including Jay Leno – claim it’s superior. They’ll tell you as much. I know this because during The Gathering, Audrain’s answer to The Quail, which takes place at Doris Duke’s incredible Newport summer estate called Rough Point, Spike’s Car Radio hosted a live show with special guest Jay Leno.
Leno pointed out that the Audrain Motor Week reminded him of Pebble Beach fifteen years prior. Leno, who owns, in his words, “a ridiculous house” in Newport, is an integral part of the Audrain. Just last year, the Mayor of Newport issued a proclamation declaring October 2, 2025, as “Jay Leno Day.”
The Art and Science of Judging the Audrain
So there I was, a judge for the main show on Sunday. I was enjoying eggs and coffee at the judges’ breakfast when the head judge, Phil Neff, asked, “Is there anyone here who hasn’t judged a concours?”
Silence. No hands went up, including mine. Now, I’d never judged a high-stakes, formal event like the Audrain, but I have judged the parody show, Concours d’LeMons, so many times that I’ve lost count and have sworn (perhaps futilely) to never do it again. Should I have raised my hand? Maybe. But it’s cars, right? How hard could it be?
Remember, my ego remains undefeated. Why not me?
Neff and his team paired me with Ray Evernham, a NASCAR Hall of Fame crew chief who has won everything, often with Jeff Gordon. Evernham and I hit it off immediately, realizing we’d both raced at Pikes Peak. We were tasked with awarding the Sporting Choice Award—essentially, we were scouting for the best sports cars or the most sporting cars on the lawn.
I approached Head Judge Neff for clarification. Did he want us to focus more on classic sports cars or actual race cars?
“Yes,” he replied, smiling.
This meant we were responsible for reviewing every car that had either two doors or no doors. That’s well over 100 cars, and we had only two hours to complete the assessment.
Finding the Best Sports Cars
Sporting our official judge hats, medallions, clipboards, pencils, and navy blazers, Evernham and I stepped onto the lawn with a strategy. Like at all concours, the cars are divided into specific classes. Our plan was simple: analyze each class, identify cars that “popped,” and compile a list of our top four or five favorites.
We were specifically instructed not to get bogged down in the nitpicky minutiae that can plague modern car judging. Who cares if the trunk lining isn’t period-correct? In fact, don’t even open the trunk. The objective was to look for the most sporting machines that made us want to get behind the wheel and drive.
The Challenge of Judging True Excellence
Two of the classes immediately clarified why I had been asked to judge.
Class D featured Ford GT40 homologation specials—six cars that were nearly identical in quality. Each one looked incredible, and without checking every carburetor bolt (as we were instructed not to do), I have no idea how you’d pick a winner. And honestly, we couldn’t. Put another way, the judges assigned to Class D needed to be true subject matter experts to make such a call.
The same applied to Class A, the prewar Alfa Romeo division, which consisted of six jaw-droppingly beautiful 8Cs. I honestly couldn’t begin to explain why the winner was chosen—it was a burgundy beauty that eventually went on to win Best of Show, and somehow, that felt right.
Balancing Beauty, Provenance, and Sporting Spirit
We still managed to narrow down our favorites, though some sacrifices had to be made.
There was a Lamborghini 3500 GTZ Zagato Coupe that blew my mind—I’d never heard of it. It turned out to be one of only two ever built, and the other is kept away from the public. However, I realized that as novel and \”Wow!\” as the Zagato Lambo was, it wasn’t going to win the Sporting Choice Award.
For his part, Evernham was enamored with an exceedingly rare Allard JR that raced at the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, I quickly discovered he owns three Allards, and we decided to strike this JR from our list. It remains the most successful of the seven Allard JRs built and is fitted with a Jaguar C-Type body to meet Le Mans regulations, while still powered by a 5.3-liter Cadillac V-8.
Making the Hardest Calls: Sport vs. Elegance
The hardest choice we faced was for third place. It was a toss-up between a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Touring Superleggera Coupe and a 1940 Cadillac Series 62 Bonham & Schwartz Convertible Victoria.
I’m a sucker for postwar Alfas—I don’t know exactly why, but I just love them. It’s perhaps the Bakelite used on all the switchgear that pulls me in. This particular 6C was painted a handsome blue and had a great backstory. Its present owner hadn’t driven it since 1973 until the day before the Concours d’Elegance, during the Audrain Tour d’Elegance.
However, we found the Caddy more sporting. It was one of two custom-bodied in Pasadena, California, by the same folks (Bonham & Schwartz) who did Clarke Gable’s Duesenberg. The candy-red Series 62 just popped. It had that “know-it-when-you-see-it” wow factor that separates the good from the truly exceptional. One of two built, yes, but the only survivor, as its sibling was destroyed in a fire. This car was commissioned by a wealthy Californian oil baron family, the Doheny clan, the founders of the town of Beverly Hills. We awarded the car our third-place vote, or in Audrain-speak, Honorable Mention.
The Final Selection: A Tale of Two Legends
For us, the Sporting Choice Award came down to two cars: an oligarchic 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Figoni et Falaschi Teardrop Coupe and a light-green 1951 Cisitalia 202SC Pinin Farina Cabriolet.
The Talbot “Goutte d’Eau” certainly had the provenance to win. Aside from being the only long-wheelbase T150 C ever built (only 15 short-wheelbase versions exist), this car holds a racing record that will likely never be broken. Built in 1938, this T150 C won the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in 1948, making it the oldest car to ever win a Grand Prix race. Imagine a 10-year-old car winning an F1 race today? That alone was almost enough to sway our vote.
But not quite.
Perhaps it was the Talbot-Lago’s massive sunroof, its dark paint job, or the fact that lengthening the traditionally tidy Figoni et Falaschi shape made it look a bit bloated. Or maybe the Cisitalia was just that good.
Evernham summed it up best: “The Cisitalia just spoke to me. The combination of color, stance, and placement of chrome created a picture in my mind of driving it down a beautiful coastline wearing my vintage Wayfarers.”
Exactly right. There’s a good reason the Museum of Modern Art (Mo
