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Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Coordinates:36°33′49″N121°56′18″W/ 36.56361°N 121.93833°W/36.56361; -121.93833
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Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
GenreConcours d'Elegance
FrequencyAnnual, held in August
Location(s)Pebble Beach Golf Links
Pebble Beach,California,U.S.
CountryUnited States
InauguratedAugust 1950(73 years ago)(1950-08)
Most recentAugust 20, 2023
Attendance15,000

ThePebble Beach Concours d'Eleganceis an annual automotive event held on thePebble Beach Golf LinksinPebble Beach, California.It is widely considered the most prestigious car show in the world and it is the pinnacleConcours d'Elegancecompetition worldwide.[1]

It is the finale ofMonterey Car Weekheld in August every year. AConcours d'Elegance(French,literally "a competition of elegance" ) is an event open to both prewar and postwar collector cars in which they are judged for authenticity, function, history, and style. Classes are commonly arranged by type, marque (manufacturer),coachbuilder,country of origin, or time period. Judges select first-, second-, and third-place finishers for each class in the event, and the judges confer the pinnacle "Best of Show"award on one car from the group of first-place winners, which includes with an engraved trophy and engravedRolexwatch.[2]

In addition, a group of honorary judges—individuals who have made significant contributions to the automotive industry or motorsports—award a number of subjective awards to recognize standout vehicles regardless of class ribbons, as well as memorial awards created to honor specific automotive industry personages.[3]Approximately 15,000 spectators attend the event.[4]

Dozens of world-renowned luxury andsupercarbrands use the event to officially debut new models and showcase their futureconcept cars,with many of the participatingmanufacturershaving their own corporate display building for the duration of the event.[5]Participating brands have includedAston Martin,Bentley,Bugatti,Ferrari,Koenigsegg,Lamborghini,McLaren,Rolls-Royce,and dozens of others.[6][7]

The 72nd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was on August 20, 2023.

History

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2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was founded in 1950 as an adjunct to thePebble Beach Road Race,a race event sponsored by theSports Car Club of Americaand conducted on a circuit of closed public roads. The 1950 and 1951 Concours were held on a practice tee and driving range adjacent to the Beach Club, a private club near the Del Monte Lodge (now known as "The Lodge at Pebble Beach" ). Thirty cars were exhibited on November 4, 1950, and a smaller field of 23 on May 27, 1951. In 1952, the event was moved to the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links, between the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Pacific Ocean, overlooking Carmel Bay.[8]

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has continued since 1950 with one missed year: in 1960, the show was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. In addition, heavy rain at the event in 1963 and 1965 made the lawn area unusable, and so the cars were shown at the old start/finish line of the road race, near the horse stables now known as the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center.

In 2001, the event saw an introduction of a new category for preservation cars. This category was designed to "bear witness to the passage of time",[9]including the so-calledbarn findcar.

1935Duesenberg Model JGurney Nutting Speedster

The 2006 event saw 175 cars lining the 18th green and hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links with 25 judged classes, with cars brought to Pebble Beach from 27 states and 13 countries (including the U.S.). The event describes itself as "Exhibiting prewar and postwar automobiles along with the latest in concept car designs, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is the premiere concours in the world."

24 of the 175 cars in the field come from outside the U.S, representing Italy, England, France, Switzerland, Australia, China, Germany, Mexico, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and the Philippines. The total estimated cost of the vehicles spread across the 18th fairway at the 2006 event was US$200 million. From 227 cars in 2005, the 2006 event had a field reduced to 175 cars. Organizers said the change was made to allow more time to judge each car.

In 2009, the Pebble Beach Concours included classic motorcycles for the first time under the theme of pre-1959 British Motorcycles.[10]

The Concours received the 2011 Motoring Event of the Year award by the International Historic Motoring Awards.[11]

With the 2020 event being scrapped by theCOVID-19 pandemic,the 70th was deferred to 2021.

Each year's Pebble Beach Concours honors a featured marque (manufacturer), coachbuilder, or type. Though the original European "Concours d'Elegance" events of the early 20th century focused on then-new cars and coachwork, the modern Concours show circuit focuses primarily on classic and vintage collector cars.

The competitive field

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1930Bentley Speed SixNutting Coupe, 2009 Concours. This car once belonged toWoolf Barnato,Kimberley diamond heir and three-time winner of the24 Hours of Le Mansrace.

Prospective entrants must submit an application for each car, and the Concours field is selected from each year's pool of applicants. Many collectors spend years and hundreds of thousands of dollars purchasing and restoring a car in hopes of being chosen. Once a car is accepted to the Concours, it cannot again be entered in the event for ten years, with three exceptions; the ownership of the car has changed, the car has been restored, or if the featured marque is obscure, the Concours car selection committee can reach out to invite cars of varying restoration quality—or cars that have previously been entered in the Concours—in order to provide a healthy representation of the marque for exhibition.

Many of the competing cars are valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and more recently into the millions of dollars. For this reason, along with its remarkable setting and amenities, the Pebble Beach Concours is considered the premier concours inthe world,[12]and is the centerpiece of over 50 related events spanning over a week, including vintage racing cars running at theRolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion(formerly called the Monterey Historic Automobile Races) conducted at nearbyWeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,as well as classic car auctions.

Awards

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Best of Show

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Best of Show trophy replica in 2023
Main article:List of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Best of Show winners

The Best of Show award is the pinnacle accolade given to the overall winner of the Concours that is chosen from a selection of the three highest judged vehicles from the entire event. It is considered the most prestigious award achievable at any car show worldwide.[13]

J.B. Nethercutthas the most Best of Show awards with 6 wins,Mercedes-Benzis the most successful marque at 10 wins as of 2023.[14]

Elegance Awards

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Other Awards

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Gran TurismoAward

Since 2008, Japanese-AmericanKazunori Yamauchiand the president ofPolyphony Digital,creator of theGran Turismoseries, has presented theGran TurismoAward to the participant vehicle that stands out as exemplary among the competition, whether it be due to rarity, quality of restoration, or stunning appearance. The owners of the winning vehicle are then offered the opportunity to have their car featured in theGran Turismoseries. Yamauchi is also an honorary judge for the main awards.

In 2021, theGran TurismoAward went to a 1969 Ferrari 512 S Berlinetta once driven byJacky IckxandJohn Surteesowned by Swiss-based Frenchman Pierre Mellinger.[15]

The French Cup

This award, established in the 1980s (unknown year), is given to, as the name says, a car of French origin considered the most significant. In 2021 the award went to a 1937 Delahaye 135 M Chapron Cabriolet owned by Tom McGough Sr. and Tom McGough Jr. ofNorth Oaks, Minnesota.

Concept cars

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2015 Galpin Mustang Rocket Convertible Concept at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

World-renowned luxury and supercar brands use the event as an overarchingauto showto officially debut their new models and showcase their futureconcept cars,with many of the participating manufactures having their own corporate display building for the duration of the event.[5]

Participating brands have includedAston Martin,Acura,Audi,Bentley,Bugatti,Cadillac,Czinger,DeLorean,Ferrari,Ford,Hennessey,Koenigsegg,Lamborghini,Land Rover,Lincoln,Lucid,McLaren,Porsche,Rolls-Royce,SSC,and several others.[6][7]

TheBugatti Veyron Grand Sportwas revealed at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours.[16]

Pebble Beach Auctions

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The event hosts the Pebble Beach Auctions, which is anauto auctioncentered around high-end vehicles valued in the millions.[17]In 2022 alone the auction's total sales accounted for $469 million USD.[13]

Charitable performance

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The proceeds of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance have supported the United Way of Monterey County and the Pebble Beach Company Foundation for a combination of 56 years. It also supports a number of other local and national organizations.

The 2016 event raised over $1.75 million, and the Concours has given more than $23 million to charities through the years.[18]

References

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  1. ^"February 25, 2000- Collecting; It's The Stars' Cars That Steal the Scene by Keith Martin".New York Times.2000-02-25.Retrieved2011-05-11.
  2. ^Naas, Roberta (2019-08-20)."Rolex Watches Given Away During Monterey Classic Car Week".ATimelyPerspective.Retrieved2023-10-30.
  3. ^autos."MSN Autos: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2008".Autoshow.autos.msn.com. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-14.Retrieved2011-05-11.
  4. ^Littlejohn, David (August 16, 2012). "Where Luxury Vehicles Are Par for the Course".The Wall Street Journal.p. D5.
  5. ^ab"Aston Martin Teases Two Models Debuting At Pebble Beach Concours".Motor1.com.Retrieved2022-12-01.
  6. ^ab"Auto Shows Are 'So Over,' Brands Want to Debut Luxury Cars at Pebble Beach".Bloomberg.com.2022-08-23.Retrieved2023-04-14.
  7. ^ab"All the multimillion-dollar supercars, EVs and concept cars from Pebble Beach".Autoblog.Retrieved2023-04-14.
  8. ^"About=Classic Cars: July 10, 2008-Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2008 by Tony and Michele Hamer".Classiccars.about.com. Archived fromthe originalon July 7, 2011.Retrieved2011-05-11.
  9. ^"Preservation Treasures, Including First Production Porsche, to Appear at Aug. 17 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance".Pebble Beach Company. 31 July 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 3 November 2013.
  10. ^John Landstrom (November–December 2009)."Motorcycles at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance!".Motorcycle Classics.Retrieved2009-11-11.
  11. ^"And the winners for 2011 are..."International Historic Motoring Awards. November 17, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2014.RetrievedApril 18,2014.
  12. ^"May 19, 1999-Where Old Cars Go to Gleam by Keith Martin".New York Times.1999-05-19.Retrieved2011-05-11.
  13. ^ab"Bulls Pump Up Pebble Beach Auto Auctions to $469 Million Record".Bloomberg.com.2022-08-22.Retrieved2023-04-14.
  14. ^"HISTORY".Pebble Beach.Retrieved2020-04-23.
  15. ^Evans, Andrew (16 August 2021)."Ferrari 512 S Wins Gran Turismo Award at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance".GTPlanet.Retrieved8 October2021.
  16. ^"Monterey 2008: Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport".Autoblog.Retrieved2023-04-14.
  17. ^"Pebble Beach Auctions 2022".www.goodingco.com.Retrieved2023-04-14.
  18. ^Bomstead, Carl (November 2016). "A Rookie Hits It Over the Fence".Sports Car Market.28(11): 72.ISSN1527-859X.
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