We’re used to seeing the cream of the collector car world at The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award night, and the latest dinner and car unveiling was no exception – but we hadn’t also expected to see Nicole Kidman at the reception.
Nevertheless, despite the Hollywood actor’s presence, the star of the show was The Keller Collection’s stunning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B, which was selected from the cars that won significant awards at some of 2025’s most recognised concours events.
The Alfa Romeo won Best of Show at The Amelia in 2025, making it eligible for The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. It received the latter accolade at a gala event at The Peninsula Paris hotel on January 26, 2026, which alongside Kidman was packed with well known car collectors and personalities from around the world. Magneto was represented at the ceremony by the rather less glamorous Geoff Love and David Lillywhite.
Nicole Kidman with award co-founder Sir Michael Kadoorie.
“I am thrilled and deeply honoured to accept The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award,” said Deborah Keller on behalf of The Keller Collection, owner of the winning car. “This unique vehicle exemplifies the golden era of Italian automotive design and craftsmanship, and every time I see it I am reminded why such magnificent automobiles deserve to be preserved and celebrated.”
Deborah and her husband Arturo Keller built up the renowned collection over several decades, but Arturo sadly passed away in February 2024. The Keller Collection’s winning Alfa Romeo is unusual in that it is the only 8C 2900B ever fitted with Stabilimenti Farina coachwork rather than the more typical Touring body.
Its original owner was famous Italian race car driver Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina, who would become the first official Formula 1 World Champion in 1950. He commissioned the custom bodywork by Stabilimenti Farina, which was founded by his father in 1906, and it features styling contributions from his uncle Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina.
When the Alfa Romeo was bought by The Keller Collection, it was in partially restored condition. The work was completed in 1995, and the car was shown at Pebble Beach the same year. It was then shipped to Europe the following year to be displayed at other concours and to take part in the Monte-Carlo Rally, where it won the Parade of Elegance in front of the famous Hotel de Paris.
“The winning 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B represents the pinnacle of pre-war performance engineering,” said Christian Philippsen, co-founder of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. “It served as the fastest and most exclusive Italian automobile of its era, and we could not be more thrilled to recognise it as the best of the best.”
Following the awards ceremony, a parade of Bugattis set off from The Peninsula Paris to lap the city behind a police escort. The Alfa Romeo is being displayed at the Rétromobile show from January 28 to February 1, 2026.
Six other exquisite vehicles competed for The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award 2025: a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B, a 1954 Ferrari 375 MM, a 1996 Ferrari F50 GT, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Spezial Roadster, a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom I and a 1951 Bentley Mark VI Cresta II. The owners of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance-winning Hispano-Suiza declined to take part in the award this year.
Among the judges for The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award 2025 were renowned automotive designers, enthusiasts and executives, including Gordon Murray, Ford Motor Company executive Henry Ford III, Italian car designer Fabio Filippini, Jay Leno and several international royal figures.
Launched in 2015 by The Hon Sir Michael Kadoorie, The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award celebrates the preservation and restoration of the world’s finest automobiles. There’s more about it here.
The Alfa Romeo will appear in issue 274 of Octane magazine, out in mid-February.
