Winning the oldest car show award in history requires a very specific kind of car. America’s Most Beautiful Roadster has been given out continuously for seventy years, and it’s given each year to a meticulously judged Roadster from 1936 or earlier. Many hot rod shops will specifically build this kind of traditional roadster for the competition, because the AMBR award is so prestigious.
Personally, I’m partial to a more motorsport-derived fenderless look of the old-school high-speed dry lakebed racers. I can see the appeal in the more over-the-top chrome and candy-coated full-fender roadsters as well, but they certainly feel a bit too winga dinga for my taste. Like the Highlander, there can be only one AMBR winner, and the judges have a tough choice to make.
This year the award was won by George Poteet’s 3 Penny Roadster. Poteet is one of very few people alive who have driven over 400 miles per hour at Bonneville, hitting 436 mph in his Speed Demon. He’s also won the also-prestigious Riddler hot rod award. It’s safe to say he’s deeply involved in hot rod culture, but this is his first AMBR win.
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