Legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro has been presented with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s prestigious International Historic Motoring Awards (IHMA) presented by Lockton.
The winners were announced in front of more than 390 guests at a sold-out ceremony at the luxurious Peninsula London hotel on Grosvenor Place, London, on November 14. The evening was hosted by renowned broadcaster and racing driver Amanda Stretton. Guests included US TV star Wayne Carini, car enthusiast male model David Gandy, comedian Paul Smith and many of the major car restorers, event organisers, collectors and manufacturers from the US, Australia, UAE, Japan, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, France, the UK and more.
More than £7m worth of cars were on display, including the one-off 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet designed by a young Giugiaro while at Bertone, the National Motor Museum’s Sunbeam 350hp ‘Blue Bird’ land speed record car, Boreham Motorworks’ Alan Mann 68 Edition Escort, Eagle’s Lightweight GTR E-type and Bentley’s Batur engineering development car.
The evening was also used to raise awareness and funds for the Race Against Dementia charity, founded by Sir Jackie Stewart following his wife’s diagnosis with the disease. Through an online auction preceding the Awards and a silent auction at the event, more than £20,000 was raised for dementia research and care.
In addition to Giugiaro’s Lifetime Achievement, awards were presented for categories including Car of the Year, Restoration of the Year, Motoring Event of the Year, Personal Achievement of the Year and the new category of Race Series of the Year. The full list of award winners follows below.
Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Lifetime Achievement award came 70 years since he started his first design job, in Fiat’s Special Vehicle Design department. He went on to become one of the all-time greats of design, responsible not just for many of the most iconic cars of the last 70 years but also for motorcycles, watches, furniture, cameras, and even pasta and a cathedral organ. His best known car designs include the original VW Golf and Fiat Panda, the Maserati Ghibli, the Lotus Esprit and the Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet.
The award results were as follows:
Lifetime Achievement Giorgetto Giugiaro
Car of the Year Ford Escort Alan Mann 68 Edition by Boreham Motorworks
Bespoke Car of the Year sponsored by Octane magazine Eagle Lightweight GTR
Restoration of the Year sponsored by the Classic Car Register Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Boulogne’ by Jonathan Wood
Motoring Event of the Year sponsored by Nyetimber Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week
Motorsport Event of the Year sponsored by Revs Institute Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Breakthrough Event of the Year The Royal Automobile Club Concours
Race Series of the Year Endurance Racing Legends
Rally or Tour of the Year Tour de Course
Museum or Collection of the Year sponsored by Magneto Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Specialist of the Year sponsored by Castrol Classic Oils Tom Hartley Jnr
Club of the Year sponsored by Lockton Performance Aston Martin Owners Club
Book of the Year Power Unleashed: Trailblazers who Energised Engines with Supercharging and Turbocharging by Karl Ludvigsen (Evro)
Personal Achievement of the Year sponsored by Petersen Automotive Museum Tomas de Vargas Machuca for driving the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge solo
Rising Star of the Year Ethan Blake-Jones, Paddock Speedshop
Digital Media of the Year Petersen Automotive Museum
Industry Supporter of the Year Heritage Skills Academy
Each category (except for Lifetime Achievement and Car of the Year) was judged by a distinguished panel of experts and prominent figures from the motoring world. The judges included TV stars Wayne Carini and Donald Osborne, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance chairman Sandra Button and Octane Japan editor Shiro Horie.
The Car of the Year was voted for by members of the public including readers of Octane and Magneto magazines.
The esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award was decided by a panel of experts appointed by Hothouse Media.
You can find out more about the International Historic Motoring Awards here.
