- Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Richard Mille) – The Bonneville Salt Flats Land Speed Racing
- Museum Or Collection of the Year – Petersen Automotive Museum
- Specialist of the Year (sponsored by Historic Promotions) – Crosthwaite & Gardiner
- Restoration of the Year (sponsored by 21 Gun Salute) – 1966 Ford GT40 P/1046
- Publication of the Year (sponsored by Hortons Books) – Porsche 917 Archive & Works Layout 1968-75, by Walter Näher
- Motorsport Event of the Year – Le Mans Classic
- Rally or Tour of the Year (sponsored by Historic Motorsport International) – Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
- Club of the Year (sponsored by Footman James)– De Dion Bouton Club UK
- Race Series of the Year (sponsored by Lister) HRDC Academy Series
- Motoring Event of the Year (sponsored by EFG) – The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance
- Industry Supporter of the Year – Bicester Heritage
- Personal Achievement of the Year (sponsored by HERO) – Peter Mullin
- Car of the Year (sponsored by Octane) – Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta ENASA Cúpula
In a break with tradition, the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2016 International Historic Motoring Awards, in association with Octane magazine and EFG private bank, went to a place and the events held there, rather than to a person. At a glittering gala dinner at London’s magnificent Guildhall, the highest accolade of the evening went to America’s Bonneville Salt Flats Land Speed Racing, in tribute to over 100 years of inspirational achievements in a unique location.
Octane Publishing Director Geoff Love explained: “For over a century the Bonneville Salt Flats have been the scene of innumerable speed record attempts. We all know of the successes there of Sir Malcolm Campbell, George Eyston, John Cobb and Al Teague for example, but everybody from car and tyre manufacturers to college students with trucks powered by used vegetable oil have travelled to this vast expanse of land to try to set their own records. I can think of nowhere else that has inspired so many people to such a level, and this award goes to the place itself and to all of those enthusiasts who have endeavoured to take a minute, a second or a fraction of a second off a speed record there.”
Celebrating ‘the best of the best’ in the international historic motoring industry, the Guildhall saw the great and the good of the industry come together from around the world to discover who had won the hotly-contested awards. A panel of expert judges including former World Sportscar Champion Jochen Mass, car designer Peter Stevens and Le Mans icon Derek Bell combined their experience and expertise to select the winners from a wide range of worthy finalists.
The Petersen Automotive Museum (USA) took top honours in the Museum or Collection category, following its outstanding redevelopment unveiled during the past year. And the Museum’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Peter Mullin – who has been highly instrumental in leading the Museum’s grand redesign and renovation – was called on stage again later in the evening, to collect the Personal Achievement award.
Two British organisations triumphed in the Specialist and Industry Supporter categories, with Crosthwaite and Gardiner scooping Specialist after a year which has seen them undertaking some very challenging projects, while Bicester Heritage topped 12 months in which it has delivered its concept to create the world’s first historic car business campus by winning Industry Supporter. And another British win came when the remarkable achievements of the De Dion Bouton Club UK to celebrate its 10th anniversary were rewarded with the Club of the Year title.
RK Motors in Charlotte, USA, received the Restoration award for their stunning and meticulous restoration of P/1046, the GT40 that headed Ford’s famous 1-2-3 finish at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours. And a meticulous endeavour of another kind – the astonishingly detailed collation of archive material in ‘Porsche 917 Archive & Works Layout 1968-75’ – secured the Publication category for Germany’s Walter Näher.
Historic cars out on the road or race track or taking part in a rally or concours are a joy for owners and spectators, and IHMA has four categories to celebrate this. The superb Le Mans Classic, which brought together 550 cars on track, 1000 drivers and 10 former winners of the 24 Hours, won Motorsport Event, while the equally impressive Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance took top honours in Motoring Event. One of the most famous historic motoring events in the world – Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run – took home the Rally or Tour award, while HRDC’s Academy series, which has brought a surge of new drivers to the historic racing sector, was first across the line in Race Series.
Finally, in the one category decided by public vote, the Louwman Museum’s splendid Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta ENASA Cúpula – which this year emerged from restoration to win Best in Show Concours de Sport at Amelia Island – was voted Car of the Year.