Detroit Autorama 2023 Ridler Award Winner

February, 2023

A 1950 Mercury 2-door called “Maximus” received the coveted Ridler Award for being Best in Show at the 70th Detroit Autorama. The car, which was 4 years in the making, is owned by Luigi Deriggi of Toms River, NJ, and was built by Pro Comp Custom of Glenshaw, PA. This makes two in a row for Pro Comp who won the Ridler award last year with “Sho Bird,” a total customized 1931 Chevy Coupe. With the win comes major bragging rights along with a $10,000 check.

The competition came down to a final field of eight which didn’t include a single traditional hot rod. In fact, Maximus was the oldest Build in the group. Although it looked a lot like an iconic Lead Sled, the Candy Root Beer-colored Mercury was actually an up-to-date show car with all the latest features. Maximus has a Coyote V8, Borla Stack Injection, a modern custom interior with high-tech electronics, one-off wheels, Air-Ride suspension, and late-model European headlights. The amount of bodywork and level of detail is off the charts. For example, every fastener on the car has a 12-point head which was also used in the design of the stands used to display the car.

See the below video where Bruce Harvey, owner of Pro Comp, talks about this special Mercury.