One of the most out-of-this-world-looking vehicles took home Best in Show honors at the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Despite the fact that there was some extremely strong competition from 229 cars this year, the winner — a 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo — was clear and obvious the second I walked onto the 18th fairway on Sunday morning, and it seems like most people had the same thought. Quite simply, there’s nothing else like this in the world, and no other car really stood a chance.
I’m sure you’ve never heard of the Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo — commonly known as the Tulipwood Torpedo — before yesterday, because I certainly hadn’t, but what we’ve got here is an aero-inspired wonder made out of mahogany with a shape that more closely resembles a boat than a car. It was first commissioned by André Dubonnet, a World War I ace fighter pilot who also just so happened to be the heir to the Dubonnet fortune. He wanted to go racing, and what better car to go racing in 100 years ago than a wood-bodied behemoth with an 8-liter inline-six that pumped out a whopping 45 horsepower. The car raced at both the Targa Florio and Coppa Florio.
Designed by Henri Chasseriaux, the car was constructed out of strips of mahogany, with each one being individually carved to shape and joined to an inner rib system by about 8,500 rivets. In total, the body is super lightweight, and only weighing in at around 160 pounds. That’s some impressive craftsmanship, no?
The road to Pebble Beach
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