The 1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Speedster by Gurney Nutting has won the Peninsula Classic Best of the Best Award, triumphing over the seven other winners of the world’s greatest concours events from 2023 to claim the ultimate automotive prize. The honour was presented at the Peninsula London, the capital’s landmark hotel.
The Duesenberg was built to the exacting specifications of Maharaja Holkar of Indore. It is one of the 38 supercharged examples and is the only chassis to have been bodied by coachbuilder J. Gurney Nutting, whose workshops were located barely one and a half miles from the Peninsula on Elysian Street. The resulting unique design is dramatically elegant and perhaps the most flamboyant example of British coachbuilding ever created, rivalling the likes of the great Parisians Saoutchik or Figoni et Falaschi.
Finished two-tone in saffron over black (the former hue believed by the Maharaja to be the colour of saints) and featuring multi-coloured wing-mounted driving lights to indicate whether he or the Maharanee was behind the wheel, the Duesenberg qualified for the Best of the Best by winning Best of Show at the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. It had been brought back to Europe for the first time since being dispatched from Gurney Nutting by the family of the late Major General William Lyon, in whose California-based Lyon Estate Car Collection the car resides.
“It is a great honour to receive this award on behalf of my father,” said Bill H. Lyon. “Among elite collectors, the Peninsula Best of the Best Award has long been known as the pinnacle of recognition.”
Among the finalists in this year’s ceremony were The Amelia Best of Show-winning 1935 Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne by Voisin, 1937 Bentley 4¼-liter Rothschild Sedanca Coupe by Gurney Nutting (Cartier Style et Luxe), 1937 Bugatti 57S Roadster by Corsica (Salon Privé), 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster by Sindelfingen (Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance), 1953 Ferrari 250MM Berlinetta by Pininfarina (Cavallino Classic), 1955 Maserati A6GCS/53 Spyder by Frua (Hampton Court Concours of Elegance), and the 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica “Superfast” Coupe by Pininfarina (The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering). Luminaries of the automotive and design worlds, including Ralph Lauren, Nick Mason, Henry Ford III, and Jay Leno form the 25-strong judging panel, and Best of the Best co-founder Christian Philipsen was keen to point out that they were “not looking for nuts and bolts.”
“They are looking for the presence the car has, its design and its history,” he continued. Philipsen also noted with enthusiasm that, of this year’s crop, two cars were presented by female owners, three were postwar entries, and seven different manufacturers were represented in total.
Although the award was presented during a glittering gala dinner, held in typical Peninsula style, there is a brief window to see this impressive Duesenberg for yourself. From the 4th to 14th September, the Gurney Nutting SJ will be on display in The Lobby restaurant at the Peninsula London, where a themed afternoon tea will commemorate it. As an American car with British coachwork, which scooped an Italian Best of Show, we have no doubt that the Peninsula’s renowned attention to detail will see it come up with something truly special.
