20th Anniversary of the best car show this side of the Mississippi
Story and Photography by Terry Check
The Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance has selected Anne Brockinton Lee as the 2022 Pinnacle Collector. After 40 years of collecting vintage cars, Anne and her husband, Robert Lee, who passed away in 2016, assembled 200-plus car collection and a world-class restoration shop. For years the cars were dispersed throughout the United States and several countries, until they decided to transport the collection to Reno, Nevada offering an excellent dry climate and an abundance of skilled restoration talent because the 1,500-car collection of the late William Harrah was located nearby. After her husband passing, many folks though that Anne would sell the collection. To their surprise and maybe Anne’s, she decided to become the caretaker of the vintage car heritage to past onto future generations.
Even though Anne lives in Nevada, she is a Southern Belle, raised in Charleston, South Carolina. With her sweet and demure persona and business-like independence she is well-respected in the car community. For the Pinnacle Collector exhibit, Anne decided to show five vintage cars including a silver gray 1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet with long curvaceous fenders, dual spare continental kit, 5-liter straight 8-cylinder engine. This stunning car won the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Best of Show Honors in 2009. “I didn’t eat or sleep for four days before the show that year. – I was a nervous wreck,” Anne told a Pebble Beach writer, Kate Constantin. “This car was especially dear to Bob and me because we had it restored in-house by our meticulous team – headed by James O’Brien – and it won!”
The sport cabriolet remains a bit of a mystery. During WWII the Voll & Ruhrbeck factory was destroyed, and the car was seized by the French government, transported to Switzerland and changed owners several times. In 1988 Robert Lee first noticed the car at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and eventually purchased the car in 1997 from Dr. Herbert Boyer in San Francisco. The frame-off restoration started in 2006 with body panels refurbished, and the hood and bumpers fabricated. The car color changed from black to today’s metallic gray as offered by Horch, like the original paint using fish scales in the lacquer paint for a shimmering look.
Big Band Swingin’ Shag Show
featuring The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra
A great way to kick off the Hilton Head Concurs d’Elegance was with Jeremy Davis, Clay Johnson and The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra for a special evening of music, dining and libations at the Westin’s Oceanfront Deck. Inspired by their Louisiana musical heritage The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra played a tribute to Sinatra style classics, unique arrangements of Beatles tunes, Motown, Beach Boys and songs perfect for shag dancing under the stars.
The two best friends, Jeremy Davis and Clay Johnson, met in grade school and have been together ever since. Jeremy as bandleader orchestrating music arrangements and playing the saxophone, and Clay as the lead vocalist, have traveled the world with the band musicians playing their version of the Great American songbook classics.
Check out the story and music of The Equinox Orchestra at:
For the upcoming performance schedule and tickets, contact the website:
In conjunction with the Hilton Head Concurs d’Elegance, several exclusive restaurants offer attendees and local folks the opportunity to savior the best cuisine in South Carlina. One such restaurant is NUNZIO Restaurant and Bar. As the executive chef and owner, Nunzio Patruno and family from the Puglia region of Italy were raised in the heartland of “simple and fresh” renowned cuisine of Southern Italy. Together with his wife, Maribel, Mr. Patruno, everyone simply calls him, Nunzio, is the lifeblood of the restaurant, whether creating the finish Italian cuisine in the kitchen or often cheerfully conversing with the patrons. He is a friend to all come to the restaurant.
As Nunzio mentioned in his website, “This restaurant is the home of two southern hearts coming together as Nunzio Restaurant + Bar. They share the love of relaxed dining, toasting wonderful vintages & spirits, and celebrating life every day. Whether you are soaking up the sun on southern Italy’s Adriatic coast or kicking back on the sandy beaches of Hilton Head Island, Nunzio Restaurant + Bar is the place to be.”
During the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance Nunzio prepared an amazing menu, Giacomo Borgogno Wine Dinner – Centuries of Excellence. The seven-course dinner together with four wine pairings was a culinary delight seldom experienced. Nunzio’s Housemade Passion Fruit & Cherry Cream Liquor is a closely guarded family recipe which complements a perfect dinner.
