by Mike Gulett –
Another Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance show car has been destroyed in a trailer fire on the roads of Monterey County. It happened on Wednesday September 4th on Highway 68 and York Road. The last time it happened it was a Ford Probe I Ghia Concept car that burned up the day of the Pebble Beach Concours.
This latest one is a 1934 Hispano-Suiza J12 Vanvooren Cabriolet (see the official description below) that was awarded second in class of the European Classic Touring Early Class. The Monterey Herald reports that the car had an estimated value of $2 million and the trailer’s estimated value was $15,000.
It is owned by The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie who also runs The Quail Lodge and The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering event in Carmel.
It’s tough out here on a show car…they can lead risky and dangerous lives and sometimes their lives are cut short by unpredictable disasters of unknown origin. I do hope this is the last one.
Photo courtesy — Monterey Fire Department
After the fire – photo courtesy — Monterey Fire Department
1934 Hispano-Suiza J12 Vanvooren Cabriolet
The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Hong Kong
Introduced at the 1931 Paris Auto Salon, the Hispano-Suiza J12 was powered by a 9.4-liter V12, all-aluminum, overhead valve engine and offered only as a rolling chassis. The J12 was extremely expensive and approximately 120 were built between 1931 and 1938, when the company returned to aircraft production. This J12 (chassis CH-14019) was commissioned by Belgian-born Baron Jean Empain, and was originally bodied by Fernandez & Darrin as a cabriolet, and then re-bodied three years later with the current Vanvooren cabriolet. Empain used the cabriolet extensively on his travels from Europe to Africa, but the car was appropriated by the Germans during World War II, coming to the US after the war. The current owner purchased the car in 1998 and commissioned a total restoration.
As published in the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Car Guide.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Before the fire – photo courtesy – Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Kind of bizarre that two very important cars went up in flames! Hopefully they had enough insurance to cover them.
“What was surprising to me was most of these fires occurred within 30 to 50 miles of the start of the trip.”
https://www.tirebusiness.com/opinion/fisher-many-trailer-truck-fires-can-be-prevented#:~:text=Wheel%20bearing%2Drelated%20fires%20almost,the%20hub%20cap%20is%20vital.
I wonder if it could be that driving the cars into the trailer could lead to a fire vet pushing it in by hand or having an electric winch pull it by cable would be safer–with a disconnected battery,. That small decision could make the difference. You tell me–I never was rich enough to own a trailer,,,,
How about installing fire suppression systems in the trailers?
The running joke for these kinds of photos on some social media sites is to say “It’ll buff out.”.
Maybe just a little bit more than a buff out is needed Rick.
This is so sad to see a beautiful, rare piece of automotive history destroyed. What becomes of this car now?
I think if I owned a rare and expensive car like this, I would indeed have a fire suppression system installed in my trailer. It is one thing to get paid by your insurance company, and another thing to never be able to replace a car like this.