1929 Hispano Suiza H6B Cabriolet

Built in Paris, the Hispano-Suiza H6 offered luxury, speed, and refinement. Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Isotta Fraschini offered one or two of these ingredients, but it was not until the late 1920s that they began to match the H6 in comfort, performance, and exclusivity. For many years the Hispano-Suiza delivered the H6 as a rolling chassis for coachbuilders to body. In 1922 the slightly more powerful H6B replaced the H6.

This particular H6B is fitted with two-seat cabriolet coachwork by carrossier Hibbard & Darrin, a firm established in Paris by Americans Thomas L. Hibbard and Howard 'Dutch' Darrin. The engine is a 6.5-liter, 6-cylinder twin-spark engine that delivers a sporty 135 brake horsepower.

It was sent to Hibbard & Darrin on March 2nd of 1929 to receive its custom coachwork. Upon completion later in the year, it was delivered to the U.S. sales agent for Hispano-Suiza, Clark de Pease. Most of its early life was spent in the United States including thirty years in dry storage. In the early-to-mid-1970s, the car was acquired by car dealer Charles Howard and imported to England. As the 1970s were coming to a close, it was offered by Coys of Kensington at auction. The car's next owner had the vehicle restyled by giving the windscreen a sharper slant and replacing the faux top with a Hispano three-position convertible top. The previous rectangular-shaped windows were replaced by a trapezoid shape.

Many of the updates were made to match the appearance of the 1930s Fernandez et Darrin, including the restyled fenders and door handles, the removal of the dual spare wire wheels, and changes to the running boards.

After the updates were completed, it was sold into private Swiss ownership where it was involved in an accident while being trailered. The car ended up in the ditch with the trailer on top of it. A two-year body-off-frame restoration soon followed with the work tasked to Walter Koeng Coachworks of Basel, Switzerland.

Upon completion, this car won its class and was awarded Best in Show at the European Concours d'Elegance in 2004 held at Dusseldorf Galopp, Germany's oldest and most prestigious horse-racing course. It won its class at Preis des Landes Banen in Württemberg, Germany and exhibited at the Villa d'Este Concours.

The car remained in the private Swiss collection until 2011 when it was sold into new U.S. ownership. It partook in the 2014 Rolex Tour d'Elegance and exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In 2022 it won Best Foreign Classic at the Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance.