The world certainly doesn’t need another classic car concours. Barely a year goes past without a new luxurious car event popping up on the lawn of a stately home, hotel or golf course. But the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best isn’t a concours event – it’s the Oscars of the classic car world, complete with Hollywood greats like Nicole Kidman. This year, the top honors were awarded to a rather beautiful 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B.
The Best of the Best is the brainchild of classic car heavyweights Sir Michael Kadoorie, chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, William E. (Chip) Connor, Bruce Meyer, and Christian Philippsen. Together, they co-founded the Best of the Best in 2015, sponsored by Kadoorie’s Peninsula hotel empire, which has the tough job of pitting together every ‘Best in Show Winner’ from the world’s greatest concours events of the year prior, to select an overall winner. “Our mission remains unchanged: to unite the supreme champions from the world’s most prestigious concours, and to crown one as the finest of them all,” said Kadoorie at the 2026 Best of the Best awards evening in Paris.
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This year’s event saw the winning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B as the automotive guest of honor, beating six rivals to the top – a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B, a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM, a 1996 Ferrari F50 GT, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Spezial Roadster, a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I, and a 1951 Bentley Mark VI Cresta II.
“This unique vehicle exemplifies the golden era of Italian automotive design and craftsmanship. Every time I see it, I am reminded why such magnificent automobiles deserve to be preserved and celebrated,” said Deborah Keller, owner of the winning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B, on behalf of The Keller Collection.
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Launched in 1937, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B was one of the fastest and most exclusive Italian cars of the late 1930s. While most examples wore Touring coachwork, the Keller Collection’s car carries a far more personal story within its sculpted fenders and flowing lines. It was commissioned by celebrated Italian racing driver Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina – Formula 1’s first official world champion – and bodied to a bespoke design by his uncle, Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, the visionary founder of what would become Pininfarina. The exquisite coachwork was crafted by Stabilimenti Farina, the firm established by Nino’s father in 1906.
After a painstaking restoration, the car was completed in 1995 and debuted at Pebble Beach later that year. It was shipped to Europe in 1996, where it appeared at several concours, before taking part in the Monte-Carlo Rally. There, it competed in the Parade of Elegance – winning outright in front of the Hôtel de Paris.
A decade on, Best of the Best stands as an institution within the classic car world. “The number of car-related events and concours have increased dramatically over the recent years,” Philippsen tells me. “But the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best award is unique in recognizing leading [cars], and [in] asking a panel of distinguished judges to crown Best of Show [winner] as the crème de la crème.” Judged by a panel of luminaries including car designer Gordon Murray, Pink Floyd drummer and renowned collector Nick Mason, and former motorsport executive Jean Todt, the award is fiercely contended, with collectors from around the world vying for the top prize.
“Concours events encourage the preservation of our heritage and its sharing with the public,” insists Philippsen. “Their increasing number attracts more visitors and broadens interest in collectors’ cars, leading to the development of a whole new sector of the economy, from restoration to sales to travel.”
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Given the tens of millions that some of the cars entering into the Best of the Best can sell for, it’s unsurprising that the market for blue chip classics like the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B has historically attracted senior collectors, both in terms of authority and age. “With the youngest of the four founding [Best of the Best] members in his seventies, it will soon [pass to] the next generation to steer the award,” Philippsen says.
“If I look [into] my crystal ball, I distinguish an increased interest in rare, unrestored, ‘preserved’ cars and in younger, high-performance machines. Concours will adapt to this evolution and new concepts may emerge.”
The Best of the Best is where the world’s top classic cars compete for recognition.
The event was an exclusive gathering of collectors, judges, and automotive legends.
Once a year, it showcases the craftsmanship, heritage, and design excellence from the world’s top concours winners.
With a 1996 Ferrari F50 GT1 making an appearance in the Best of the Best shortlist this year, it seems the market is already skewing towards younger cars to appeal to the next generation of collectors. Recognizing this, Kadoorie took the first steps towards handing over custodianship of Best of the Best to his auto-obsessed son, Philip, this year in Paris. “In their beauty, grace, and innovation, these cars provide a link between the past and present,” said Kadoorie before announcing his son, Phillip would take a seat on the steering committee.
With a new steward at the helm, the Oscars of the classic car world will need to evolve alongside a rapidly changing landscape, as a new generation of collectors arrives with different tastes and expectations. For now, though, it remains a celebration of motoring’s decadent golden age – an ultra-exclusive annual gathering of who’s who and a north star for what truly matters in the classic car world.
