The 50th anniversary Don Ridler Memorial Award, also known as the Ridler, was awarded to a 1940 Ford owned by Ron and Deb Cizek of Bennington, Neb.
DETROIT- This year’s Detroit Autorama marked the 50th anniversary of one of the most prestigious awards in the hot rodding and custom car community.
The 50th anniversary Don Ridler Memorial Award, also known as the Ridler, was awarded to a 1940 Ford owned by Ron and Deb Cizek of Bennington, Neb.
The award, named after the first promoter of Detroit Autorama, Don Ridler, has attracted the finest custom car builders in North America to unveil their vehicles for the first time at the famous show.
Of the 900 vehicles displayed at this year’s show, about 80 were contenders for the award.
Besides the 1940 Ford, the “Great 8” finalists at the 2013 Detroit Autorama included a 1956 Chevy pickup owned by Alan Beers of Oklahoma; a 1934 Ford Coupe owned by Christian Harker of Minnesota; a 1935 Ford Phaeton from John Mayer of Illinois; a 1934 Ford owned by Ken Serensun, of Arizona; a 1972 Chevy pickup owned by Buddy Schutz of Texas; a 1956 Buick Special owned by Mark Williams of Iowa; and a 1965 Chevy Corvette owned by Allan Woodall of North Carolina.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Ridler Award, Detroit Autorama organizers had the trophy gold plated and invited all of the 50 past winners to bring their vehicles back to Autorama.
All of the Great 8 received $1,000. The winner of the Ridler received $10,000.
Embedded is a look at all of the award winners from the past 50 years. What's your favorite?