The Ponte Vedra Auto Show took place on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Nocatee Station Field.
This year, the auto show celebrated its 24th year with more than 200 classic and collector cars. Several awards were handed out, including the Judges’ Choice Award, which went to Cheryl Buffington and her 1957 Pontiac Bonneville.
The People’s Choice award at this year’s auto show went to Steven Rand and his 1969 Citroen Mehari.
Harold Kelly was given the Spirit of the Ponte Vedra Auto Show award. Kelly is a member of the Jaguar Autosport and Touring Club and owns a 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster.
Stephen Tatoul won Best in Show with his 1949 Packard Boattail Speedster. Tatoul’s Packard is a completely custom car that he designed from scratch. The car has an inline 8 motor that Tatoul saved from the crusher at a salvage yard.
“I always wanted to rebuild an inline 8,” he said.
After Tatoul rebuilt the motor, he started to imagine what kind of car it should go in.
“We wanted to build a hotrod that you haven’t seen before, and I have always admired the 1930s Packard Boattail Speedsters,” said Tatoul.
Tatoul knew that he wanted to keep some of the original elegance of Packard, while also building a stronger, faster car. He hired an expert build team, which included Steve Cooley, who is based out of Homosassa and specializes in paint and body work. Kirk Hum, who is from Crystal River, was also a part of the build team. Hum did all of the mechanical engineer work on Tatoul’s Packard.
There are many unique and special features on the car including wooden headlights from the 1930s and a 1946 grill. The car took a total of five years to build.
“A lot of that time was just waiting around to find certain parts we needed,” said Tatoul.
The car resides at the St. Augustine Classic Car Museum, which is where it had been for almost nine years.
“We took so long building it, we decided it was time to get it out in the wild and let people see it,” said Tatoul.
This was Tatoul’s first year in the Ponte Vedra Auto Show.
2026 Ponte Vedra Auto Show Award Winners
Modern Asian Excellence: 1997 Lexus Sc300, Robert Shakhramanov
Best Truck or SUV: 1967 Chevrolet C10, Mark Boucher
Restomod: 1955 Chevrolet 210, Kerry Hunter
Best Hot Rod: 1949 Packard Custom Restomod Boattail Speedster, Stephen Tatoul
American Pre War: 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood, Nick Dize
Contemporary Corvette: 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible, Greg Ruesch
Classic Corvette: 1963 Chevy Corvette, Frank Recco
Euro Excellence Award: 2027 BMW M440i XDrive, Vince Faulkner
Best Classic European: 1967 Fiat 500, Kevin Doyle
Best of the UK: 1959 Triumph TR3A, Alexandro Levy
Classic Porsche: 1973 Porsche 911 S Targa, Carla Talor
American Classic: 1929 Ford Model A, Steven Katkowsky
Classic Japanese: 1971 Datsun 240Z, Kurt Johnson
Exotic: 1999 Shelby Series 1, Mickey Norris
Judges’ Choice: 1957 Pontiac Bonneville, Cheryl Buffington
Most Outstanding Classic Muscle Car: 1969 Ford Mustang Convertible, Christopher Zima
Best Modern Porsche: 2016 Porsche 981 Spyder, Eric Griffith
Best Contemporary Muscle Car: 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra R, Mark Massey
Race Car: 1970 Buick Skylark, Jeff Spackman
Best in Show in Honor of Larry Weisman: 1949 Packard Custom Restomod Boattail Speedster, Stephen Tatoul
People’s Choice: 1969 Citroen Mehari, Steven Rand
Spirit of the Ponte Vedra Auto Show: 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster, Harold Kelly
