UNIQUE JAGUAR SS TAKES TOP HONORS AT HILTON HEAD CONCOURS

The 11^th Annual Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and Concours d’Elegance was held Sunday, November 4, at the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island, S.C. 

More than 500 classic automobiles participated in the event, where Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman for General Motors, served as the 2012 Honorary Chairman and participated at events on Hilton Head Island.

When the judging was over, Frank and Milli Ricciardelli, from Monmouth Beach, NJ and Sarasota, FL, had a lot to celebrate; they were the Concours’ “Honored Collectors” with the organizers honoring them for their years of dedication to the collector car hobby as well as taking “Best Of Show” honors with their one‑off Graber‑bodied Jaguar SS coupe.

This unique Jaguar was re‑bodied by coachbuilder Hermann Graber of Switzerland in 1938. The Jaguar remained in Switzerland throughout the war and into the 1950s, when a Canadian serviceman reportedly bought it and shipped it home. Over the next few decades, it remained in North America, passing through several owners until Gerald and Kathy Nell, prominent Jaguar collectors from Illinois, bought it in boxes in 1990. The SS coupe was then treated to a body‑off restoration by RM Restorations in 1994. The Ricciardellis bought the car, sight unseen, at a London auction in 2010.

After the restoration, the SS was shown at the 1994 Meadow Brook Concours, winning the Designer’s Choice Award. It was a Jaguar Club of North America (JCNA) National Class winner in 1995 and competed in seven JCNA shows (1995‑’99), scoring 99.96 out of 100 possible points. The coupe won a special award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance and won at Eyes On the Classics and Masterpiece of Style and Speed events. The Ricciardelli’s Graber‑bodied SS is considered one of the most elegant Jaguars ever built.

The Ricciardellis, long‑time members of the prestigious Sarasota Café Racers group, have previously won both the Best of Show title at Hilton Head in 2009 with a 1933 Rolls‑Royce Coupe as well as the People’s Choice award in 2004 with their 1935 Duesenberg.

More than 500 classic automobiles participated in the event. Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman for General Motors served as the 2012 Honorary Chairman and participated at events on Hilton Head Island.

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