The fifth annual edition of The Greenbrier Concours d'Elegance at America's Resort, The Greenbrier, attracted a curated list of nearly one-hundred exquisite vehicles to the luxury mountain resort located in the Allegheny Mountains in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Activities began with the Summit Drive on Friday, Cars and Cocktails and a Charitable Dinner on Saturday, and the Concours on Sunday.

Directly in front of the Greenbrier entrance, on the iconic front circle that is flanked at the front and rear by a semi-circle garden of flowers and at the sides by a row of trees, rested both the American and European Classics class. From here, the judges selected a car to be this year's Best in Show.

Horch

Horch was one of the earliest manufacturers of German automobiles and would later become part of the Auto Union. The company was formed by August Horch who was educated at an engineering school, worked for a marine engine manufacturer in Leipzig, and later worked for Karl Benz's motor works at Mannheim. Frustrated by his employer's conservative approach to building automobiles, Horch left to find financial backing for his own venture. While Benz's 'horseless carriage' used a rear-engined design, Horch's vehicle had its engine at the front. Built in 1900, it used a twin-cylinder engine and shaft-driven rear axle, the first time this latter innovation had been employed in Germany. Years later, conflict with fellow directors forced August to leave his company, but he did not abandon the automobile industry; instead, he founded Audi in 1909.

The Horch Automobile Comany hired Paul Daimler, son of Gottlieb, as Chief Engineer in 1923. He designed a 3.2-liter, double-overhead-camshaft, straight-eight engine to power the new '300' automobile. This engine, in various guises, would power many Horch automobiles through the 1920s and 1930s. Fritz Fiedler became Chief Engineer following Daimler's departure, and under his guidance, a single-overhead-camshaft straight-eight model was built - dubbed the Horch 450. This was followed by the Horch 600 and 670 models of the early 1930s, equipped with a 6-liter V12. In 1933, the 830B was introduced, motivated by a 3.5-liter V8.

The Horch Type 853

In the mid-to-late 1930s, Horch introduced the Type 853 and 853A which are considered to be among the most luxurious and refined cars of the era. They benefitted from the innovative technology from Auto Union's racing program and were powered by a Fiedler-designed, ten-bearing straight-eight engine with single overhead camshafts and paired with a four-speed sliding gear synchromesh transmission with overdrive. The solidly built chassis had a 135.8-inch wheelbase, servo-assisted hydraulic brakes, and a fully independent suspension system with semi-elliptic springs, hydraulic shock absorbers, and a de Dion rear axle.

The Horch 853A Special Roadster

The 'First Series' Special Roadsters began as a concept that had been carved out of wood. The factory-built the first example while the second wore a design and coachwork by Erdmann and Rossi from Berlin. These special roadsters competed with Mercedes-Benz vehicles, specifically the 540K, for lucrative contracts for parade cars for the high-ranking members of the Third Reich. Horch would build the first example of the 'Second Series' especially for Hermann Goering, commander-in-chief for the German Luftwaffe. Mercedes-Benz also built a special 540K for him, but with extra protection, which (perhaps) help secure the contract for Mercedes.

A total of five 'Second Series' Horch 853s were built.

The Best of Show at the Greenbrier Concours d'Elegance

The judge's selection for Best in Show was bestowed upon a Horch 853A Special Roadster owned by Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Jepson Jr. It wore coachwork by Erdmann & Rossi and its superb restoration, teardrop fenders, tasteful use of chrome brightwork, long hood, and black paint scheme made it the clear winner for this year's Best in Show.

Gustav Petzold - a banker from Berlin, who also became part of the Ministry of Finance - was the proud first owner. This Horch was confiscated by the Russians during the occupation of Berlin and found its way to Russia. It eventually found its way back to Germany via Poland after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. It was later purchased by a well-known German collector and Erdmann & Rossi specialist, who restored the car in his own restoration shop over a period of more than five years.

Photo credit: Daniel Vaughan
posted on conceptcarz.com

Related Posts