Thus concludes our 2008 Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance broadcast coverage. It was tough picking only a handful of remarkable and interesting vehicles to tell you more about, but hopefully your lust for the old and the awesome has been sated for at least today. Now, what about that Concours D'Ignorance?

Tipping the scales at only 287 lbs, the Cat III is as much worn as it is ridden. The design is centered around a structural extruded aluminum spine also serving as a four-gallon fuel tank. Off the extrusion is mounted a 500-cc, three-cylinder Honda-based motor with individual spark coils for each plug, hand-formed expansion chambers, and a custom-built transmission. Wait, a three-cylinder 500 Honda motor? In 1976? That didn't exist. That's correct: Rudy took two three fifties, chopped one in half, welded it onto the other block, shortened the stroke with a custom made crankshaft and milled out a new head for the whole thing. Did we mention Rudy is our hero?

Steering is done by way of the "handle bars" mounted directly above the exhaust manifold and controlling both the front wheel and the side wheel — which turns in proportion to the tracking effect (wow). Those tires? Oh, those were originally designed for the Tyrell P34 six-wheeled Formula One car. Though this thing is practically the angel of death incarnate, here's the really crazy part of this story: When Rudy needed to test out his design, his wife performed ballast duties in the side car — now if that's not love, we don't know what is.

Despite its good looks, the Peugeot 402 Darl'mat was intended as a race car which would herald the return of Peugeot to serious Grand Prix racing. While great success was not had at the race track, a hundred of these road cars were sold in roadster, cabriolet and coupe bodystyles. The roadster is by far the best of the bunch. There are about 30 examples of these handsome and sporty cars thought to still survive, and we'd love to see some crazy person run one in the La Carrera Panamericana.

After a successful season in 1935 with a Duesenberg engine sporting hot cams and a supercharger, the Duesenberg engineers adapted a 1,650 cubic inch Curtiss Conqueror V12 to the chassis for 1936. With its running boards removed, the Mormon Meteor was able to run the Bonneville Salt Flats, continuously, for two days with an average 48 hour speed of 148.641 MPH. Shocking that may be, but the 24 hour speed was even higher at 153.823 MPH. Keep in mind, this is a monstrous engine, with streamlined body work running on an essentially unmodified Model J chassis. If you ever get the chance to see this beauty in person, take it. It's a stunning automotive masterstroke and nothing less than a sight to behold.

We were treated not only to the BAT concept reveal, but also to several other fabulous historic cars that were in attendance. Chief among them was a 1957 Mercedes Benz 300 SL, fresh from a 100-point concours-quality restoration at Legendary Motorcar Company, making its worldwide debut. If you watch Dream Car Garage this car will look familiar, as it's been their resto project for 13 episodes. The car is actually owned by Southfield-based BASF, so naturally it's wearing a fresh coat of color-correct BASF paint. Damn impressive car — we'd say it's probably better now than it ever was.

And lets not forget another car in the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, the 1948 Tucker Torpedo. This one is owned by RM auctions, which will be holding a preview event on Friday at Meadow Brook and an auction on Saturdayi. There's a lot on the blocks at this event, including the entrance to the old Packard Plant here in Detroit.

Things actually get rolling on Thursday, with the Second Annual Hangar Party. An event held at the Oakland County Airport, the Hangar Party puts a dozen vintage planes and historical cars together with liquid lubrication and tasty edibles. If you want to get to that one, you better move fast, as we'd bet tickets for the 'oo-la-la' event are getting scarce.

On the list of 'new and improved' for this year is the first-annual "Destination D'Elegance." The full-day event on Saturday before the Concours features free entry, a huge variety of modern supercars, demonstrations on restoration and collecting, a bevy of the worlds most heady modern superbikes and much more. Also notable: If you want to know how the Hyundai Genesis feels from the passenger or driver's seat, Hyundai will be having on-site ride-and-drives of the new kimchi-scented luxo-barge all day. This will be the one the plebes go to, as it's free, and the actual Concours has a steep $25 entry fee. We really want to get there and cover the Pabst-soaked yard-dart contests, but we'll see.

Oh yeah, then there's the actual Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance set for Sunday. If you pay your ducats you can expect to see 225 of the finest motor cars in history. Like we mentioned, on hand will be the Mormon Meteor; a supercharged, inline-8-packing, Duesenberg Model SSJ (you'll see us licking it), a 1932 Helicron (give it a Google, it'll be fun), the only '56 Taylor Aerocar still in flying condition, 16 different V16 powered cars — with their engines displayed, and rarely seen Bill Mitchell styling concepts from GM's "Studio X" (sounds porny). Of course, that's far from everything. This year they've got a field of groundbreaking and historical Ferraris, so, you know, that should be pretty boring, as well as vintage motorcycles with sidecars. A little something for everybody.

Yes indeed folks, if you've never been out to the Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance, this year wouldn't be a bad time to start coming. We'll be there as much as possible, bringing you fresh, wallpaper-quality images and car-induced, delirium-saturated prose. For details on events, times and locations, visit Meadow Brook Concours Online.

This motive force behind the car is BAT aficionado Dr. Gary Kaberle. Dr. Kaberle began his love of the series when he purchased one of the concepts at the tender age of 17. His original was sold to help pay for treatment for his wife when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After she passed away, he decided to build another one in honor of her. He's actually working on a book about his passion for the cars and the process of building this one, and much of the proceeds from his works will go to breast cancer research.

But why is it so awesome? First, because it looks like a Fiat attached to the back of Cessna, yet still manages a cruising speed of 135 mph and a driving speed of 60 mph. Second, it's the only car to be approved both for flying and highway driving. Third, it's still flying today. Fourth, it's the inspiration for a future Aerocar that will probably never be produced.

[Photo: MentalFloss, DetNews]