Fall 2025 RPM Restorer's Award Winners
December 9, 2025
The RPM Restorer’s Award was recently presented at the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance & Motoring Festival and the Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals.
This award honors not just the car, but the craftspeople behind its restoration whose work reflects mastery, passion, hands-on skill, and a deep respect for preservation. Exhibitors may nominate the individual or shop responsible for their restoration or preservation and RPM staff and our advisors then conduct interviews to select the recipient. We place special emphasis on those who have mentored apprentices and students, ensuring the next generation is inspired and equipped. Let's meet our winners!
Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance: Anton Lanesky
Anton Lanesky is the owner and founder of Anton’s Hot Rod Shop and has done high-end custom builds for clients all over the country. A few years ago, he hired a young woman with no prior experience at the age of 17 and has trained her from scratch over the past five years. She did a lot of the work on the 1956 Chevrolet Belair Convertible pictured above with Anton, right, and RPM Foundation Executive Director Nick Ellis. Kelsey is still working in his shop and learning from Anton.
Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals: Tim Mickey
Tim Mickey, pictured center in black t-shirt above, is the owner and founder of Mickey’s Car Barn in Crown Point, IN, and has worked with a local high school automotive program for years to provide co-op opportunities to their students. Several students have gone on to careers in Tim’s shop. Tim was nominated by two separate exhibitors for his work and investment in the next generation.
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The RPM Foundation is proud to announce the we have wrapped production on the first episode our new docu-series, Endangered Skills . This series, being produced with the assistance of Lucky Kraken , is designed to preserve and share the rare, hands-on techniques that are vital to keeping classic cars on the road, many of which are practiced by only a handful of experts across the country. Filming for the first episode took place at LaVine Restorations in Nappanee, Indiana, and featured owner and expert Travis LaVine and RPM Apprentice Jesse Corder. LaVine Restorations is currently mentoring seven RPM Apprentices! Travis and Jesse worked together to demonstrate the essential steps in planning a professional vehicle restoration. This foundational episode sets the tone for what’s to come, giving viewers a detailed look at how expert-level restorations begin. Future episodes will dive into step-by-step instruction of specialized skills such as bending windshield glass, babbitting for bearings, and more. These are the techniques that are becoming increasingly rare, and RPM is committed to keeping them alive. Stay tuned for the release date and information about upcoming episodes. If you have a rare skill that you believe would suit our series, we'd love to hear from you! Please send us a message !
The 2025 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, held in late May in Greenwich, CT, showcased a dazzling array of vehicles spanning vast eras and origins. Among the fantastic automobiles sat a dark green 1986 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole that forced an extended pause by any who passed by. Freshly restored for the Serafino Collection by Bruce Canepa and the Canepa team , the owners' themselves sought to recognize Bruce's master craftsmanship. They did so with a nomination for the RPM Restorer's Award, a bestowment acknowledging not just the beauty of the cars on the lawn, but the skill it takes to achieve such condition. At the event, RPM Foundation Executive Director Nick Ellis presented the award, honoring the Canepa team's abilities in all facets of restoration. Along with celebrating the artistry of restoration and preservation, special consideration is given to RPM Restorer's Award nominees who pass their skillset on to the next generation. Bruce Canepa, who discovered a love for vehicles at a young age himself, has provided mentorship to numerous up-and-coming restoration professionals. For this, and his exceptional capabilities, we applaud him! And the Countach? It is indeed quite a machine. The car underwent a full ground-up restoration at Canepa that included a few custom touches designed to feel as if they came straight from the factory. Among them, a white leather and green Alcantara interior, a tuned 5.2-liter V-12, and subtle bodywork tweaks that make the iconic wedge even sleeker. Congrats to Bruce Canepa and his team on their efforts to preserve automotive history now, and well into the future.
The RPM Foundation is proud to announce that the RPM Restorer’s Award will be presented at the prestigious Greenwich Concours d’Elegance for the very first time this year. This marks an exciting expansion of our mission to spotlight the master craftspeople behind the world’s finest vehicle restorations and preservation efforts. Unlike many awards that celebrate the finished vehicle, the RPM Restorer’s Award honors the hands-on artisans and restoration professionals who make these exceptional vehicles show-ready. These are the welders, trimmers, machinists, painters, and fabricators whose skilled work often goes unseen—but whose craftsmanship is essential to every award-winning car on the field. Exhibitors at the Greenwich Concours will have the opportunity to nominate the individual or shop responsible for the restoration or preservation of their vehicle. From there, RPM Foundation staff and advisors will conduct interviews with selected nominees to learn more about their work, skillset, and—importantly—their commitment to mentorship and passing their knowledge to the next generation. Mentorship is at the heart of the RPM Foundation’s mission. Candidates who have trained apprentices, collaborated with students, or shared their skills with emerging professionals will receive special consideration. The goal is not only to honor today’s best restorers but to support a sustainable future for the restoration trades. The award will be presented during the Sunday award ceremony at the Greenwich Concours, in front of an audience of fellow enthusiasts, collectors, and peers. Past recipients of the RPM Restorer’s Award include highly respected professionals such as Jason Wenig, Travis LaVine, and Jason Manns—individuals known for their exceptional craftsmanship, integrity, and dedication to the craft of vehicle restoration. We are thrilled to bring this tradition to Greenwich, and we look forward to celebrating the remarkable talent and hard work that make the world of historic vehicles not only beautiful but enduring. Stay tuned for more updates from Greenwich and be sure to follow RPM Foundation as we continue to champion the people behind the preservation of our automotive past. Learn more and support the award here.
