By David Alvey
Park Place Luxury & Supercar Showcase
The Park Place Luxury & Supercar Showcase sported an impressive roster during its third-annual event. Pictured is Best of Show winner: Craig & Laura Hopkins' 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Special Roadster.
The Park Place Luxury & Supercar Showcase sported an impressive roster during its third-annual event: Rolls-Royce. Maserati. McLaren. Porsche. And others — all valuing at over $100 million.
And while the event showcased the latest models from luxury car brands, it also featured rare classic cars — one of them, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Special Roadster that would go on to Best of Show during the Collectors’ Concours juried showcase.
According to local collector Craig Hopkins, who won the award with his wife Laura, the car was first delivered to The Netherlands. Then, during World War II, its body was completely destroyed. After an American soldier sent the wreckage home, it sat unrepaired for several years; then, a Danish baron took the car and restored it in the late 1980s. The car spent 20 years at the baron’s automobile museum until his collection was liquidated in 2012 — sending the car to Texas. Eventually, the car made it into the hands of marque expert Jim Friswold, who fully restored the Special Roadster.
“The rarity of the ‘long-tail’ special roadster cannot be overstated,” Hopkins said. “Of perhaps 25 to 30 created, only eight received the elegant covered-spare bodywork appearing on this car.”
The Collectors’ Concours showcase was one of several activities held Sept. 28 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, which also included a beer garden, live music, and retail pop-ups. The event raised $141,000 for Baylor Scott & White Irving Foundation.
Other award winners included Raymond Larson, who won the Chairman’s Award for his 1964 Aston Martin DB5, and Greg Brendel, who won the Salesmanship Club Award for his 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.
The full list of winners can be found on the Luxury & Supercar Showcase website.
