2025 International Historic Motoring Awards winners announced

This year’s winners were announced in front of more than 390 guests at a sold-out ceremony, and the evening was hosted by renowned broadcaster and racing driver Amanda Stretton.

David Lillywhite, Editorial Director of IHMA organizers Hothouse Media, said: “The classic car world continues to defy economic trends. The events get bigger and better every year, the restoration companies and specialists set the quality of work higher and higher, and the owners themselves continue to indulge in their passions for the driving and ownership of these remarkable cars. The industry is thriving, and the record attendance of the International Historic Motoring Awards from all around the world is further proof of that.”

Legendary and proflific designer Giorgetto Giugario was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, for his seven decades as one of the most influential automotive designers of all time.

Giugiaro was 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 and the Lotus Esprit. At the awards, he was reunited with the one-off Aston Martin DB4 GT Jet, which he said he last saw when it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961.

Other highlights included the Personal Achievement of the Year award, presented to Tomas de Vargas Machuca for his 37-day, 14,899km drive through 12 countries from Paris to Peking in a 1925 Bentley, and the presentation of the Industry Supporter of the Year to the Heritage Skills Academy, which trains young people in traditional car restoration skills.

Geoff Love, Managing Director of IHMA organizers Hothouse Media, said: “The IHMA’s near-400 crowd and our winners from across the world made one thing clear: historic motoring is in very good hands. Yes, we celebrate the past, but it’s the fresh thinking, the new generations coming through and the incredible craft on display that give this world its real momentum.”

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 Corse Historique (Modus Vivendi)

Museum or Collection of the Year sponsored by Magneto magazine - 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 Jay Leno, Wayne Carini and Donald Osborne, Le Mans legend Derek Bell and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance chairman Sandra Button.

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.

Lifetime Achievement - Giorgetto Giugiaro: Giorgetto Giugiaro is 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.

Shortlist
Sunbeam 350hp ‘Blue Bird’
Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 158
Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo
Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen
Boreham Motorworks  Alan Mann 68 Edition
Alfa Romeo Tipo B (P3)
BRM P5781 ‘Old Faithful’

Winner
Ford Escort Alan Mann 68 Edition by Boreham Motorworks

This perfect recreation of one of the greatest British Saloon Car racers of all time is fully backed by the Ford Motor Company and approved for historic racing by the FIA. Unlike the other awards, it was chosen by the public, attracting a record 6000 votes.

Shortlist
R33 Stradale by Automotive Artisans
Alan Mann 68 Edition by Boreham Motorworks
Rolls-Royce Corniche ‘Henry II’ by Niels van Roij Design
Wood & Pickett Mini by CALLUM
Lightweight GTR by Eagle
Veloce12 Barchetta by Touring Superleggera
Battista Novantacinque by Pininfarina
Batur Convertible 'One-Plus-One’ by Bentley Mulliner

Winner
Eagle Lightweight GTR

Eagle’s three decades of restoring and developing Jaguar E-types, and its obsessive attention to detail, resulted in the stunning sub-1000kg high-performance Lightweight GTR.

Shortlist
Jaguar C-type by Tony Purnell / Pendine / CKL Developments
Aston Martin Two Litre Sports by RS Williams
Hispano-Suiza H6C Type Sport Torpedo by RM Auto Restoration
Ferrari 410 Superamerica by Paul Russell & Company
Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Boulogne’ by Jonathan Wood
Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Alloy by Tom Hartley Jnr
Siata 208 CS Balbo by RX Autoworks

Winner
Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Boulogne’ by Jonathan Wood

Owner Simon Kidston’s very personal quest to restore the car his uncle once owned and restorer Jonathan Wood’s dedication to the task saw the H6C Boulogne take the prize.

Shortlist
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
The Amelia Concours
The Bridge
Salon Privé
ModaMiami
The Aurora
Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

Winner
Audrain Newport Concours & Motor Week

The judges were impressed not just by the quality of the world-class concours but also by the wide breadth of events that Audrain organises throughout its Motoring Week.

Shortlist
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Le Mans Classic
Silverstone Festival (including the World Champions Collection)

Winner
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

The way that this long-running event has upped its game caught the attention of the judges, with this year’s IROC reunion and 75th anniversary of the Formula 1 championship adding to the appeal for 2025.

Shortlist
The Royal Automobile Club Concours
Concours of Slovakia
Pearl of India Rally
The Ayrburn Classic
Icons Mallorca

Winner
The Royal Automobile Club Concours

The quality of the Royal Automobile Club’s first ever concours at its Woodcote House headquarters in Surrey won over the IHMA judges.

Shortlist
Super Sprint (Equipe Classic Racing)
Alfa Revival Cup (Canossa Events)
Endurance Racing Legends (Peter Auto)
GT & Sports Car Cup (Automobiles Historique)
IROC (IROC Holdings
Silverline (Formula Junior Historic Racing Association

Winner
Endurance Racing Legends

Peter Auto’s Endurance Racing Legends has successfully opened up historic racing to a new generation of drivers, owners and spectators with the crowd-pleasing GTs and prototypes from the 1990s and 2000s.

Shortlist
Tour de Corse Historique (Modus Vivendi)
Terre di Canossa Rally (Canossa Events)
Flying Scotsman (HERO-ERA)
Rallye des Princesses (Peter Auto)
Oman Classics 2025 (HK-Engineering)

Winner
Tour de Corse Historique (Modus Vivendi)

This year’s 25th Tour de Corse Historique saw a record 420 cars attacking a record 22 special stages across five legs, with entries including several former works drivers and cars – an amazing eight-day celebration of Corsica’s illustrious rallying history.

Shortlist
Silverstone Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum
National Motor Museum (Beaulieu)
Autoworld (Brussels)
Museo Alfa Romeo
Nationales Automuseum The Loh Collection
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

Winner
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

With a complete refit, adding a new mezzanine area and opening up the basement for extra galleries, plus state-of-the-art interactive features, 2025 was the revamped Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’s year.

Specialist of the Year sponsored by Castrol Classic Oils

Shortlist
Tom Hartley Jnr
HK-Engineering
RM Sotheby's
Rally Preparation Services
Aston Martin Works
Lamborghini Polo Storico

Winner
Tom Hartley Jnr

Having sold the Bernie Ecclestone collection of Formula 1 cars followed by Mansour Ojjeh’s impressive supercar collection, while also building an impressive new base in the Cotswold’s, this was a year like no other for specialist dealer Tom Hartley Jnr.

Shortlist
Aston Martin Owners Club
Vintage Sports-Car Club
MG Car Club
Porsche Club GB

Winner
Aston Martin Owners Club

The Aston Martin Owners Club has worked hard this year to bring in a new generation of members and increase its overseas membership, along with creating spectacular 90th anniversary celebrations.

Shortlist
Spy Octane: The Vehicles of James Bond, by Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury (Porter Press International)
Joseph Figoni: Le Grand Couturier de la Carrosserie Automobile Vol. II-IV: Bugatti, by Peter M Larsen and Ben Erickson (Moteurs!)
Power Unleashed: Trailblazers who Energised Engines with Supercharging and Turbocharging, by Karl Ludvigsen (Evro)
Twice Around the Clock – The Yanks at Le Mans Vol IV-V, by Tim Considine (David Bull)
The Aston Martin ‘Project’ GT Racing Cars, by Stephen Archer and David Tremayne (Palawan Press)

Winne
Power Unleashed: Trailblazers who Energised Engines with Supercharging and Turbocharging, by Karl Ludvigsen (Evro)

This life’s work by Karl Ludvigsen on the history and impact of supercharging and turbocharging was rewarded for its depth of information and high quality of presentation.

Shortlist
Guy Moerenhout for establishing the SQUADRA Abarth & Rally Collection museum
Luigi Orlandini for the success and expansion of Canossa Events
Tomas de Vargas Machuca for driving the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge solo
Fritz Burkhard for driving a Bugatti Atalante 4000 miles to display it at Pebble Beach

Winner
Tomas de Vargas Machuca

Tomas’s record-breaking 37-day, 14,899km drive through 12 countries from Paris to Peking in a 1925 Bentley was undoubtedly one of the most heroic drives of all time.

Shortlist
Ethan Blake-Jones (Paddock Speedshop)
William Garrett (Hilton & Moss)
Alex Hearnden (96 Engineering)
Will Marsh (VSCC)

Winner
Ethan Blake-Jones, Paddock Speedshop

Ethan Blake-Jones’s dedication to creating a youthful perspective on classic cars with Paddock Speedshop TV stood out for the judges, even in this inspirational shortlist of young achievers.

Shortlist
The Late Brake Show (Jonny Smith)
Richard Hammond’s Workshop (Richard Hammond / Chimp Television)
Harry’s Garage (Harry Metcalfe)
Jay Leno’s Garage (Jay Leno)
Petersen Automotive Museum, video and social media
Vintage Velocity podcast (VSCC)
Hagerty Media, multi-media platform

Winner
Petersen Automotive Museum

The judges chose the Petersen Automotive Museum for its wide breadth of contents across several channels and the in-depth knowledge it’s sharing on a very limited budget.

Shortlist
BMW Group Classic
Heritage Skills Academy
Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance
Association of Heritage Engineers
Motul
Piston Foundation
Mercedes-Benz Heritage

Winner
Heritage Skills Academy

Heritage Skills Academy has worked extra hard this year not just to train its students in all aspects of classic car restoration and maintenance, but also to publicise its work with – among others – an inspirational display of skills at the 2025 Goodwood Revival.

About the International Historic Motoring Awards - The International Historic Motoring Awards (IHMA) presented by Lockton were launched in 2011 by the team behind Octane magazine. The aim of the awards was to celebrate the achievements of the global collector car community, something which no other awards has ever done.

The IHMA’s first venue of The Renaissance St Pancras was soon outgrown, and the event moved to a series of prestigious London locations over the following decade.

In early 2024, the IHMA and Octane magazine were acquired by Hothouse Media, led by two of the original founders of the awards and Octane. The new team relaunched the awards, with a focus on even higher quality, at the new venue of Peninsula London.

About Hothouse Media, IHMA organisers - Hothouse Media was born from the desire of its two founders, Geoff Love and David Lillywhite, to celebrate the best of the classic and collector car world through events and print and digital media.

It organises the International Historic Motoring Awards, which has been running since 2011, and the Concours on Savile Row, London’s most stylish motoring event.

Hothouse Media also publishes the monthly Octane print magazine, the quarterly Magneto print magazine, the annual The Concours Year book and produces content and publications for Thorough Events, M1 Concourse, Meyers Manx, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and others.

Octane is one of the most widely read magazines in the classic car market, translated into five languages around the world. Magneto continues to win award after award for its design and editorial excellence. The Concours Year celebrates the leading 50 concours events from around the world, and the Concours on Savile Row is a unique event that celebrates the craftsmanship of tailoring and the very best car design. Hothouse also reintroduced Vantage, the independent Aston Martin magazine, in 2025.

In addition, Hothouse’s contract publishing division has produced content and publications for the likes of M1 Concourse, Radical Motorsport, Meyers Manx, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Thorough Events, Rimac Automobili and others.

See www.hothousemedia.co.uk

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