Concours on the Avenue at Carmel-By-The-Sea

August 11, 2021 by Daniel Vaughan

The Concours on the Avenue at Carmel-By-The-Sea, Ca. celebrated the finest in automotive design and engineering by showcasing a wide variety of collector vehicles on eighteen blocks of downtown Carmel. The charming and unique setting offered plenty of real estate for the over 175 vehicles on display, carefully grouped into well-curated classes that included Luxury Cars, Muscle Cars, Hot Rods, and Sporting Cars. Vehicles were selected based on originality, provenance, and authenticity.

Best in Show honors were awarded to a 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS 'SuperGioiello' owned by Jonathan Segal of San Diego. Supergioiello is Italian for 'jewel.' The 2500SS is a finely restored example of only four SuperGioiello's built by Ghia in 1950. Better still, of the four built, three were constructed on the standard Alfa Romeo chassis, while this was the only (one) constructed on a more advanced and distinctly post-war tubular chassis manufactured by Gileo Milano. Gilberto Colombo was the chassis designer, Giovanni Michelotti was the body designer, and Ghia was the body builder (Boano owning the company). The 6C 2500SS engine and drivetrain are familiar Alfa Romeo used in road, race, and sports cars starting in 1927 and ending in 1954. Postwar, the inline DOHC 6-cylinder engine displaced 2443cc and produced between 90 and 145 horsepower - depending on application - at around 4,800 RPM.

The unique Alfa Romeo was ordered by SIRCA, Milan's largest car distributor at the time, and the chassis was built to accept the standard Alfa 6C 2500SS mechanical components. The car's early history is not known but by the late 1950s, it was registered in England, where, decades later, it resurfaced in unrestored condition in the late 1990s.

Although there were many deserving vehicles of Best of Show, the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS was easily the most elegant and deserving vehicle at the Concours on the Avenue.

The Concours on the Avenue is one of the many events that make up the area's internationally known Monterey Peninsula ten-day collector car gathering, culminating with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elgance.