Pebble Beach is the ultimate concours event. James Nicholls was there
By James Nicholls
Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.
Nothing really changes
It’s amazing how little things have really changed over more than 120 years of the automobile. The ‘Unorthodox Propulsion’ class featured vehicles dating from 1900 to 1963 and included wood-burning, jet turbine, hybrid, steam, and of course, electric vehicles.
The class was won by the 1907 Columbia Mark XIX Park Surrey, which was beautifully restored and ran silently and efficiently — as all electric cars should. It is believed to be the only electric Park Surrey in existence. When new, the Columbia cost US$1900, so it was clearly a vehicle that could have been attained by few at that time. Proving yet again that nothing is ever new was a three-seater, a 1925 Julian Fleetwood Sport Coupe presented by the National Automobile Museum, in Reno, Nevada, and created well before any Ferrari Tre Posti or Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1.
A remarkable warrior
By 1921, cars had taken on more of the pattern we recognise today, and this Hispano-Suiza H6B Chauvet Phaeton won the ‘Prewar Preservation’ class.
This truly remarkable warrior has been incredibly well looked after by its owners, as befits a limousine of such style and quality. Here it is seen arriving early onto the fabled Pebble Beach 18th fairway, ready for the admiration of all.
The Carrosserie Graber arose in 1926 from Hermann Graber’s father’s horseless carriage business. Born in 1904 in Berne, Switzerland, Hermann Graber took over the shop when his father died. He produced beautiful cars of style and grace from the 1930s until his death in 1970. The Concours d’Elegance devoted two classes to his work – ‘Coachwork Early’, featuring Duesenberg, Voisin, Bugatti, Packard, and Delahaye, and ‘Coachwork Late’, featuring some lovely Alvis, a wonderful 1956 Aston Martin, and two Bentleys, including the class-winning 1953 Bentley Mark VI Graber Drophead Coupé.
European Classic Early Open
The 1931 Bentley 4½-litre tourer, with its Vanden Plas coachwork, exhibited an enormous amount of style, history, and provenance, making it a worthy winner of the class entitled ‘European Classic Early Open’.
Mention must be made of the 1930 Lancia Dilambda Carlton Carriage Co. Drophead Coupé. This lovely Lancia, owned by the Italian restorer, Filippo Sole, of Milan, had been driven across the continent from New York. It had arrived there by ship from Europe in time to attend the festivities here at Carmel-by-the-Sea in Monterey, California. Not a bad effort for this 92-year-old work of art by its charismatic pilota!
In the ‘Postwar Preservation’ class, the honours went to the very special 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS Coupé from the Audrain Auto Museum of Newport, Rhode Island. It is surprising to think that this mid-20th century sports racing car has made it relatively unscathed, and certainly unrestored, to the present day.
The winner of the ‘Postwar Racing’ class had travelled all the way from Fife in Scotland. The 1953 Aston Martin DB3S belongs to Wayne and Ruth Gray.
My favourite
This writer’s favourite class was ‘Postwar Touring Closed’, which featured, amongst others, an incredible 1952 Jaguar XK120 Ghia Supersonic Coupé, a gorgeous 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Riva Serenissima Berlinetta, and – not to be outdone in the name stakes – a stupendous 1949 Lancia Aprilia Ghia Supergioiello Coupé; a veritable super jewel indeed that belongs to Canadian Nigel Churcher of Toronto.
Representing the southern hemisphere with his fabulous 1962 Ferrari 196 SP Fantuzzi Spyder was Peter Harburg of Brisbane, Australia. Chassis 0806 is the last of the five Dino 196 SPs built as part of the Scuderia’s 1962 Sports Prototype team and was the first-ever rear-engined Ferrari race car.
This makes it an incredibly important vehicle in the heritage of Ferrari, as up until this point Enzo had always maintained that the engine should be in the front of his cars. For those who did not make it to Pebble, the opportunity to view this amazing shark-nosed Ferrari may well come in Sydney in March 2023, as its owner is planning to show it at the fifth edition of the Sydney Harbour Concours d’Elegance.
Famous drivers
Winner of the ‘Ferrari Competition’ class was, however, an earlier front-engined car, the 1955 Ferrari 410 S LWB Scaglietti Spyder. Highly successful, and one of the most powerful sports racing cars of the period, it numbered among its pilots Peter Collins and Luigi Musso.
The 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé of Fritz Burkard from Switzerland won the top spot in a class of truly spectacular cars, ‘European Classic Closed’. This Art Deco masterpiece was in the running for this year’s coveted Best of Show but was pipped at the post, with that ultimate honour going to the 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo belonging to Lee R Anderson of Naples, Florida.
“This rare Duesenberg marries American might with European style,” said concours chairman Sandra Button. “It did well in some early rallies and concours. Then, its history took a turn, with chassis separated from body. The story of its resurrection is one of pure passion.”
“We’ve been doing this for years, and we’ve come close in the past,” said Lee Anderson, “but we’ve never actually won. All the preparation, the story behind this car is just amazing. There’s only one Figoni Duesenberg, ever, ever, and it’s this one right here. So, it’s like all these things coming together to make a real champion.”
Stupendous Monterey Car Week
An American car last won Best of Show in 2013, when a 1934 Packard Twelve took the top spot. Duesenberg has won six times previously, with this win bringing its total to seven – more than any other marque since the first Pebble Beach Concours in 1950.
The Concours d’Elegance was a fitting end to what was once again a stupendous Monterey Car Week, with its scenic setting of the beautiful and mystical Central California peninsula coastline; one of the wealthiest parts of the USA – home to Clint Eastwood, former mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, and inspiration to many painters and writers, including John Steinbeck, Jack London, and Sinclair Lewis.
