Winner Takes It All

The Black Rat wins Car of the Year! Steve Havelock revisits this stunning ’Vette, which was first featured in Classic American 13 years ago.

- Steve Havelock

The eight worthy heat winners of the prestigious Footman James Car of the Year competition offered themselves up for final judging on the Classic American stand at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC on November 11-13, 2016. An independent panel of judges closely scrutinised these gleaming masterpieces, but what were they looking for? To quote the rules of engagement, published in May’s issue of Classic American, “We’re looking for original or restored top-notch cars that are as stock as possible (i.e. as they would have left the factory, no aftermarket wheels or custom touches) with correct interiors and correct paint (i.e. as close to the factory colour as possible). Eligible vehicles cannot have been entered in the Car of the Year event within the last 10 years.”

After much pencil-sharpening, teeth-sucking and head scratching, the judges reached their decision and declared John Mayes’ Tuxedo Black 1966 427cu in big-block Corvette C2 Coupe the winner. Those of you with elephant like memories may recall that this car was displayed as a dilapidated barn-find on Classic American’s stand at the NEC way back in 2003. It’s amazing what a jet wash and a lick of polish can do. Or rather, a meticulous and expensive four years, body-off, nut and bolt rebuild, using NOS (new old stock) parts, if possible, whenever the original factory item was beyond help. A full feature of this car appeared in CA Issue 261, January 2013.