I have seen the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. And it was good. The 18th edition of the Greenwich Concours brought record crowds from all over Connecticut and the New York City area, and the field of cars gathered on Saturday and Sunday certainly didn’t disappoint. Greenwich is perhaps unique on the concours circuit as it is essentially two events in one, with American automobiles taking center stage on Saturday, while foreign cars appear on Sunday. On offer for Saturday was near perfect weather that nevertheless compelled the crowds to seek shelter from the sun rather early in the day. The field of cars was also refreshingly new with very few repeats from years past, though I was pleasantly surprised to see people remembering seeing cars that were here as far back as nine years ago.

American day featured some fresh metal as well as heavy metal (that would be the brass cars), with quite a few recently completed restorations. The same day also featured the preview of the Bonhams auction that took place the very next day, offering showgoers a chance to see the consignments up close. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some highlights from American day from this year’s Greenwich Concours.

The 1970 Chrysler Hemicuda above perhaps stole the show. This recently-restored racer enjoyed an exciting and eventful racing life in Europe racing for Chrysler, before falling into disrepair in the south of France, where it was unearthed just a little while ago. Hooniverse had the opportunity to speak with Michael Connell, the car’s owner, about its history and we’ll be taking a closer look at it soon. Very soon.

An early Indy car, the Schoof racing special would have taken the award for Loudest Pre-War American Automobile, if such an award was offered (an oversight by the organizers, no doubt). This beast is owned by Lee Duran, who is doubtlessly one of only a handful of people who can drive this car without allowing it swallow up innocent bystanders and shoot them out of its exhaust pipes. I had been around this car a number of times, and never failed to be impressed by just how much skill it takes to control this brute. The clutch action is very sudden so it’s either in or out, which doesn’t make for easy maneuvering at slow speeds. Lee has previously shown this car at Newport Concours 2008 and Greenwich Concours 2009.

One of my favorites among muscle cars this year was this AMC Javelin AMX Coupe from 1972, owned by Thomas Wilson. An AMX appears at Greenwich once every couple years, but I loved the paint scheme on this particular example.

Greenwich always features a few woody station wagons every year, and this year we saw this wonderful Buick Roadmaster from 1952. This Buick is owned by Sharon Poupart.

One of the best surprises on Saturday was this Hupmobile Skylark Sedan from 1941, brought to event by Arthur E. Zimmerman. This was the first time in at least 8 years that a Hupmobile appeared at Greenwich, so it was nice to see this rare American marque. With the company going out of business around this time, this was effectively one of the last delivered cars.

A wonderful Chevrolet Corvette Coupe from 1963, owned by John and Marie Justo. This was one of several Corvettes of this generation at Greenwich this year.

This Ford GT 40 Mark IIA didn’t fail to gather a crowd every time it was started up. This GT40 was just recently purchased by Michael Silverstein.

A spectacular 1963 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Andy and Nancy Cannizzo.

This Chevrolet Corvette R9-G coupe is owned by Ray Zisa, and appeared at Greewich for the first time this year. This Corvette is currently used in vintage races.

A wonderful Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Convertible owned by Bob Weiss.

It wouldn’t quite be Greenwich American Day without at least one of these in attendance. And this year it was a rare cabrio version of the much beloved Cunningham C-3 from 1953, one of five reportedly built. This C-3 is owed by Lucie C. McKinney.

A Corvair Fitch Sprint from 1966, modified by the shop owned by the late John Fitch who was a frequent visitor at Greenwich Concours in years past. This car is owned by Byron H. LaMotte.

A wonderful Cord Sportsman Convertible from 1937, this was quite an impressive sight. This example is owned by Malcolm Pray, who usually brings a car or two (or three) every year to Greenwich.

A spectacular Dodge Charger R/T from 1970, this was one of my favorite muscle cars at Greenwich this year. Needless to say, this example was in excellent condition inside and out. This Charger was brought to Greenwich this year by Bill and Laurie Mann.

The Greenwich Concours isn’t all about vintage automobiles that require a smartphone and that googler thing to identify, and every year there are quite a few late-model cars here. This GT Coupe was one of two examples of this model at Greenwich American day this year.

This 1960 Ford Thunderbird Convertible is owned by Tom Hannigan, and this is the first time it has appeared at this event.

It was a special treat to see this rare 1953 Hudson Hornet Club Coupe, as it has bene quite a while since a Hornet has appeared at Greenwich. This particular example is owned by Louis and Angela Freda.

This was a spectacular 1954 Kaiser-Darrin Roadster, one of which appears at Greenwich almost every year. This one is owned by an and Jo-Ann Tortora.

Best in Show on Saturday went to this 1914 Locomobile Model 48, owned by Piers M. MacDonald of Bedford, New York. The Model 48 came out in 1919, and was powered by a straight-six engine making just a bit over 48bhp. This was one of the best-known models made by the Bridgeport, Connecticut-based manufacturer, and also one of the most expensive cars in the world in its time. Bridgeport, needless to say, is just up the road perpetually-clogged Interstate 95 from Greenwich, so one could say that this is very much a local car. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of it at car events in the near future.

A wonderful Mercury Montclair Convertible from 1956, owned by Joseph and Arlene Nolan. It’s styling always reminds me of some of the last Packards ever made.

And here is one of those Packards, a Packard Caribbean Convertble from 1955 owned by Barbara Ina Anderson. It’s styling always reminds me of the first GAZ 13 Chaikas ever made, zero of which were the field this year.

This was a sharp Pontiac Catalina Convertible from 1962. This example is owned by Patrick Colabella.

A wonderful Stanley Steamer, and a frequent sight at Greenwich almost every year. This particular example hails from 1910 and is owned by Chris and Will Graves.

And last but not least, here’s something you don’t see at every concours event. This 1957 Spohn Convertible is owned by Ralph Marano and Wayne Carini, who is seen driving it here. This car recently took the Most Audacious Exterior award at Amelia Island Concours this year, where it likely encountered little competition. Spohn is perhaps best known at this point in time for a 1949 Spohn Veritas BMW Cabriolet concept car, one very similar in design to this example.

That’s it for American Day from Greenwich this year. Stay tuned for our coverage of Sunday’s Concours Europa.

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[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Jay Ramey]