Walking the eighteenth hole of the Cobble Beach Golf Resort would be a pleasure most any day as it gently slopes towards the waters of Georgian Bay, providing panoramic views and a fine end to a round. But for two days each year, the only drivers seen here are those piloting some of the world’s finest automobiles as they are positioned, class-by-class, for their appearance in the Cobble Beach Concourse d’Elegance.
This year marks the third gathering for the event and featured Cadillac as the title sponsor, who kindly brought along some very rare, and obscenely valuable examples, in addition to their new models, which were available for test drives. Also in on the customer interaction was Porsche, with a line-up of vehicles for sampling on the nearby cottage country roads.
Arriving on the grounds to the sound of classical music drifting across the fairways set an appropriate tone for the days proceedings. A stroll past the Cadillac tent and around the waterside clubhouse gave me the opportunity to gawk at the worlds only Bugatti Aeroleith, hand-built by Bradford, Ontario’s own, The Guild of Automotive Restorers. After that it was on to the eighteenth hole where the main attractions awaited.
The automotive collection on display was indescribable, at least in a manor that would do it justice; Thankfully, we are a motorcycle magazine and I only need to come up with an appropriate description for the first ever, motorcycle display at the Cobble Beach Concourse…
For 2015, Cobble Beach opened its judging to motorcycles, and more particularly – and exclusively – this year’s featured marque, Vincent Motorcycles. A handful of the finest Vincent Motorcycles from North America, were assessed and scored by a panel of incredibly qualified judges, whom, it should be said, had a very difficult job on their hands.
Top honours went to Gene Brown’s 1952 Vincent Rapide from Denver, Colorado with Bar Hodgson taking home runner up for his 1955 Vincent Black Prince Series D, one of three models Bar had along on the day. Among the bikes Bar brought along was a 1947 Vincent, known as Gunda Din. It’s perhaps the most important Vincent of all and the star of the Bar Hodgson Collection, which was made even more evident when Gunga Din was awarded the prestigious Margaret Dunning “Spirit of Driving” Special Award. Owner Bar Hodgson stated, “I am very proud of Gunga Din’s accomplishment, certainly a most difficult feat for a motorcycle to achieve over many of the finest automobiles in North America.”
There’s some fascinating history to go along with all of the motorcycles that were on display at the 2015 Cobble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, so we’ll be sure to bring you more details (and a more befitting description of their quality) in an upcoming issue of Motorcycle Mojo.
