Straight from the show floor at Cobo Center, here are the Pirelli Great 8 finalists for the Ridler Award at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. They’ve selected a fascinating assortment of cars this year—please check them out.
Just a few hours ago at Cobo Center in Detroit, Autorama judges selected the Pirelli Great 8 finalists for the 2017 Ridler Award. One theme evident this year is traditionalism: Of the eight finalists, five are Fords of pre-World War II vintage—a callback to the Autorama’s hot rod roots. There are also two Corvettes, which have long been favorites on the indoor car show scene, and for the sake of variety, there’s a radically customized ’49 Chevy pickup.
Just making the Great 8 is an honor in itself, but on Sunday evening, one of these eight cars will take home one of the most coveted prizes in the automotive world, the Ridler Award. In looking over this group of exquisitely detailed cars, can you identify a favorite or two? Care to make a prediction for Sunday?
Be sure to check back at Mac’s Motor City Garage for full feature coverage of the 2017 Ridler Award winner.
1930 Ford Model A Coupe Ted Hubbard South Bend NE
1932 Ford Tudor George Poteet Gadsden AL
1933 Ford Roadster Steve Frisbie & Buddy Jordan Portland OR
1941 Ford Pickup Ed Sears Annapolis MD
1949 Chevrolet Pickup Robby Collins Mt. Vernon TX
1929 Ford Model A Pickup Dennis Portka Hamburg NY
1954 Corvette Larry & Robbie Griffey Powell NM
1966 Corvette Dennis Johnson & Scott Roth S. Burlington VT
Tradition, sure. But that wasn’t what car customizing was about. We need post-war cars and trucks. What happened to all the old 50s lead sleds? When are we going to see cars from the Eighties and Nineties? Real customs, not Corvettes with big wheels and a leather interior.