Fritz Burkard’s 1938 Delahaye 165 Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi was crowned Best of Show at the 2026 Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance, the grand finale of Audrain Motor Week. It was the latest major honour for one of the most significant cars in the Pearl Collection.
One of just two examples built to this specification, the Delahaye debuted at the 1938 Paris Motor Show before later making three appearances at Pebble Beach as part of the Robert and Anne Lee Collection. Now part of Burkard’s Burkard’s Pearl Collection, it returned to Pebble Beach for a fourth time earlier this year, taking First in Class and earning a place among the Best of Show finalists.
For Burkard, the Audrain win is the latest in a remarkable run of concours success that has established his Pearl Collection as a major presence at the world’s leading automotive pageants.
Born in Switzerland, Burkard’s passion for classic cars began when he bought a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro at the age of 20. Nearly four decades later, the US muscle car remains in his collection. In the years since, that personal enthusiasm has evolved into the Pearl Collection, an eclectic group of around 90 vehicles spanning more than a century of automotive history.
Burkard’s approach differs from that of many of his peers on the concours circuit. Rather than collecting according to a rigid formula defined by marque or era, he seeks out individual ‘pearls’ chosen for the emotional response they provoke.
The result is a collection that ranges from an 1897 Bugatti Type 1 tricycle to a 2022 Bugatti Centodieci, with significant Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Aston Martins and others in between. Burkard is also adamant that his cars should be driven and displayed regularly, rather than hidden away in a climate-controlled garage.
The 2020s have seen Burkard’s philosophy reap a wealth of silverware on the international concours circuit. One of the Pearl Collection’s major breakthroughs came in 2022, when his 1938 Delage D8-120 S by de Villars won Best in Show at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace.
That victory kick-started a remarkable run for the Delage. Its Hampton Court success earned it a place in the 2023 Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award, where it was judged against winners from several of the world’s leading concours. It took the overall prize – regarded as one of the most prestigious honours in the concours world – before being named Best of Show at the 2023 Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance.
Burkard’s first Audrain Best of Show win with the Delage also demonstrated his experiential, hands-on approach to collecting. Rather than simply transporting the car to Newport, he drove it more than 300 miles from Vermont to the concours.
One year later came an even more significant achievement. Burkard’s 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports won Best of Show at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, ruffling feathers to become the first preservation-class car to take the event’s top prize. Its original, weathered paint, exposed metal and battle scars were left largely intact, preserving the evidence of a competition career that included a Monaco Grand Prix victory and ownership by King Leopold III of Belgium.
Burkard’s determination to use his cars was demonstrated even more emphatically in 2025. That year, he drove his freshly restored 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Rolltop Coupé on an epic coast-to-coast journey from Newport to Pebble Beach. The remarkable, near 4000-mile journey took 11 days. Securing another Pebble Beach class victory, as well as the JB & Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car award was the cherry on top.
It is telling that Burkard’s unconventional approach to collecting has brought success both on traditional concours lawns and at events that deliberately take a less orthodox view of the hobby. The ICE St Moritz is a case in point, with competing cars displayed and driven on the frozen lake rather than simply presented for static judging.
Burkard has become a familiar figure at The ICE, too. His 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS ‘Teardrop’ Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi was named Best in Show in 2026, his third overall victory at the event after earlier wins in 2022 and 2023.
Over the past four years, Pearl Collection cars have taken eight overall wins at major international concours, alongside a long list of class victories and special honours. As Burkard’s trophy cabinet continues to grow, so too does the sense that his hands-on, experience-led approach offers a compelling alternative to more traditional collecting.
The stature of Burkard’s collection is such that a selection of his Bugattis will be showcased at the National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse, France, later this year. Opening on November 28, the exhibition will chart the marque’s evolution through cars ranging from the Type 1 tricycle and EB110 to more recent models including the Centodieci, Bolide and Mistral.
True to form, eight of the cars will make the journey from Switzerland to Mulhouse in convoy, with stops at the Anneau du Rhin race circuit and Bugatti’s Molsheim factory along the way.
More information on the Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance 2026 can be found here.
