70th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

Story and photos by Brandes Elitch

August 15, 2021 Pebble Beach is the most famous car show in the world, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Yes, there are other shows such as Villa d’Este at Lake Como, and Chantilly Richard Mille. The thing about Pebble Beach is the sheer amount of energy and excitement in the air, which is palpable. You can actually feel it as you walk down the hill and see the cars spread out before you. As Chief Judge Chris Bock said, “One thing that has changed since the 70’s and 80’s is that it has become the World’s Concours.”

Pricey Golf

Of course, the Lodge and golf course are a resort destination and have been for over a hundred years, but let me put things in perspective for you. If you would like to play a round of golf at the Lodge, be aware that the green fees for a standard round are almost $600 per person, with additional fees to use a cart or a caddie. Total fees would approach $800 for the day, per person. If you want to reserve a tee time in advance, you would need to also reserve a two-night stay at the Lodge. Room rates at the Lodge start at $990 per night.

So much for golf. But even making a trip to attend the Monterey Historics is a pricey endeavor. A ticket for the Quail Lodge show (actually a lottery for charity, so you must hit the bid to get a ticket, rumored to be around a thousand dollars), plus a ticket for Pebble Beach ($500), a ticket for the Concorso Italiano ($195), a one-day ticket for the Laguna Seca racetrack ($150), and a motel room in Carmel or Monterey ($250 a night, 3 night minimum), plus airfare, rental car, food, etc. (and let’s not forget a round of golf and the room at the Lodge) would end up costing close to seven thousand dollars for the week, and that is for just one person.

Gifts for Charities

That said, I should point out that since the beginning of the show, it has raised over $30 million for 95 local charities, and this year raised close to $2 million, in spite of the pandemic. Driving around the Monterey Peninsula, it seems that everyone is a millionaire, but this is not the case: 25% of children live below the poverty line, and 50,000 residents need monthly food assistance.

The event also has created educational partnerships. Awards include the John Lamm scholarship, Phil Hill and J. Heumann scholarships at McPherson College, and 2 Phil Hill scholarships at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. There is also a partnership with the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University.

The Pebble Beach Concours is the showpiece of what locals call “Car Week”: 28 events over ten days. Over 50,000 tourists descend on the Monterey Peninsula, and while the locals hide out at home and try not to leave the house, the tourists are providing an estimated $67 million in incremental revenue for Monterey County. This year was a bit different, as a result of the pandemic, with travel bans in place. For Pebble Beach, about 20% of the cars on the field are owned and exhibited by foreigners, who could not come or even ship their cars this year. Shipping has been as difficult as traveling. At Pebble Beach, where there are 93 class judges and 50 honorary judges, about a dozen have not been able to attend.

Travel bans have also affected the sponsors, particularly European manufacturers. The pandemic caused many of these firms to tighten budgets, and there were manpower restrictions as well.
Last year, the show was cancelled for only the second time in 70 years (there was a rainout in 1960).

You be the Judge

This year, as in the past, I was at the start point where the cars drive in at 6:30 to take their places, and it is a different experience to see these museum pieces (because that is what they are) drive out under their own power, rather than a static display on the lawn. This year about 200 cars were shown on the field, and this does not even include the concept cars displayed on the putting green lawn directly in front of the Lodge. Judges will spend about ten to fifteen minutes with the owner of each car, adding and subtracting points for the total score. The cars on display are chosen by a selection committee of about 15 people, and I suspect that they are passing over ten applicants for each one they select. This must be a stressful endeavor for all concerned, the selection process lasts from November to the following April!

Today at Pebble Beach there are two categories of judges. Category one is for Class Judges who determine originality and authenticity, and there is even a class for original, unrestored cars, certainly one of my favorites. Category two is for the Honorary Judges (some pretty impressive names here) who are indeed focused solely on that ineffable standard of pure elegance. There is one somewhat unique rule here, which is that the selection committee gives preference to cars that have not previously been shown at a major concours anywhere else (including Pebble Beach). What this does is force someone who has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a restoration taking years to complete to show the car at Pebble Beach the first time out, or never show it here again.

Best of Show

This year there were four finalists for the coveted Best of Show award: a 1957 Maserati A6G Zagato coupe, a 1967 Ferrari 365 Pininfarina Tre Posti (3 seats), a 1935 Bugatti type 57C, and a 1938 Mercedes Benz 540K. The Mercedes took the cup, not my choice certainly, but that’s what makes horse-racing.

There are multiple feature categories, but perhaps the most exciting this year was the gathering of about 40 cars which were previous Best of Show winners, lined up on the edge of the Bay. As if this was not enough, all five of the Pebble Beach Road Race winning cars were also on display. Other displays were some cars that ran the 1950-1954 Carrera Panamericana road race, a display of the Miller race cars that ran at Indianapolis, a gathering of early electric cars, which were built 125 years ago, and “Pininfarina at 90,” which of course would be a fabulous show just by itself. Another special class was the “1921 French Grand Prix Centennial.” And I learned a new word too: “quinquagenary,” which means fiftieth anniversary, as in the Countach, another special display.

It is thought that the average visitor to an art exhibit spends about 30 seconds on each painting before moving on. At first, I was shocked to read this, but after attending the concours, I understand. There are some cars on display, such as the iconic 1946 Cisitalia 202 coupe, which was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 1951 as part of the famous “8 Cars” exhibit, that command attention. It is considered to have transformed postwar auto body design.

Now, you might spend 15 minutes studying this car on display, but you would have almost 200 more to cover. At some point, you realize that it is just too overwhelming to study everything of merit. And that is what I think is so unique about Pebble Beach. At many shows, you scan the row and find one or two cars that interest you; at Pebble Beach, almost every car in every row commands attention.

As you may know, the whole idea behind the Concours d’Elegance as practiced in Europe between the Wars was to award pure elegance, a combination of the car, the coachwork, a beautiful woman, her clothes, her furs, her jewelry, and her dog. Wouldn’t it be nice if somewhere, somehow, this tradition could be reinstated? But talk about sensory overload!

One final thought. There was a time when nothing was more useless than an old race car that could not even be driven anymore, or a rusting convertible in the back yard. Today, thanks to thousands of genuinely passionate people who had the foresight to save such relics, we can now all relish in what was and what might have been. Pebble Beach is not just a celebration of the cars, it is a celebration of those people.

Here are the first three placings in all classes:

CLASS A-1: ANTIQUE
1st Place:
1910 Winton 17 Seven Passenger Touring Schuster Family, Redding, Connecticut
2nd Place:
1914 Packard 1-38 Five Passenger Phaeton Joe & Janice Conzonire, San Marino, California
3rd Place:
1910 Peerless 27 Rois des Belges Tourer Robert & Jackie Lederer, South Barrington, Illinois

CLASS A-2: EARLY ELECTRIC CARS
1st Place:
1912 Rauch & Lang TC4 Brougham John W. Rich Jr., Gilberton, Pennsylvania
2nd Place:
1905 Columbia Mark XXXV Brougham Mary & Ted Stahl, Chesterfield, Michigan
3rd Place:
1901 Columbia Mark XXXI Victoria Phaeton Nick Grewal, Sanbornton, New Hampshire

CLASS B: VINTAGE
1st Place:
1920 Packard 3-35 Twin Six Runabout Timothy & Dennis Heywood, Frankfort, Illinois
2nd Place:
1916 Packard 1-25 Twin Six Runabout Nicholas & Shelley Schorsch, Newport, Rhode Island
3rd Place:
1924 Pierce-Arrow Model 33 4 Passenger Touring Tony Wollesen, San Jose, California

CLASS C: AMERICAN CLASSIC
1st Place:
1933 Auburn 12-161A Speedster Steven Moore, Incline Village, Nevada
2nd Place:
1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Laura & Jack Boyd Smith Jr., Elkhart, Indiana
3rd Place:
1932 Chrysler CL Custom Imperial LeBaron Convertible Sedan Mr. & Mrs. Lorenzo Nannini, Pine Grove, California

CLASS D: PACKARD
1st Place:
1936 Packard 1407 Twelve Coupe Roadster Neal & Susan Ryan, Smithtown, New York
2nd Place:
1937 Packard 1507 Twelve Coupe Jeffrey Mihaly, San Leandro, California
3rd Place:
1937 Packard 1508 Twelve Rollston Convertible Victoria Jean & Don Ghareeb, Birmingham, Alabama

CLASS G: DUESENBERG
1st Place:
1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Dual Cowl Phaeton Ross & Beth Myers, Boyertown, Pennsylvania
2nd Place:
1933 Duesenberg SJ Murphy Convertible Berline Jeannie & Rob Hilarides, Visalia, California
3rd Place:
1931 Duesenberg J Weymann Tapertail Speedster The William Lyon Family, Newport Beach, California

CLASS H: ROLLS-ROYCE PREWAR
1st Place:
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Schapiro-Schebera Skiff Sam & Emily Mann, Englewood, New Jersey
2nd Place:
1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Carlton Drophead Coupé Stephen Brauer, St. Louis, Missouri
3rd Place:
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Barker Landaulette James & Nancy Scharfeld, Avon Lake, Ohio

CLASS I: MERCEDES-BENZ PREWAR
1st Place:
1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn Kurier The Keller Collection at The Pyramids, Petaluma, California
2nd Place:
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster Richard & Melanie Lundquist, Palos Verdes Estates, California
3rd Place:
1927 Mercedes-Benz SS Armbruster Cabriolet The Keller Collection at The Pyramids, Petaluma, California

CLASS J-1: EUROPEAN CLASSIC SPORTS
1st Place:
1937 Bugatti Type 57S Corsica Drophead Coupé Joanie & Scott Kriens, Saratoga, California
2nd Place:
1925 Lancia Lambda Casaro Roadster Paul & Victoria Tullius, Chico, California
3rd Place:
1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Figoni Cabriolet David Raisbeck, Sanibel, Florida

CLASS J-2: EUROPEAN CLASSIC TOURING
1st Place:
1940 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S Touring Coupé Don & Max Behrens, Manhattan Beach, California
2nd Place:
1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Castagna Landaulet Peter & Jennifer Gleeson, Edmonds, Washington
3rd Place:
1937 Delahaye 135 M Chapron Cabriolet Tom McGough Sr. & Tom McGough Jr., North Oaks, Minnesota

CLASS L-1: PREWAR PRESERVATION
1st Place:
1933 Packard 1006 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Runabout John & Heather Mozart, Palo Alto, California
2nd Place:
1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GT Touring Coupé Jack Braam Ruben, Maastricht, The Netherlands
3rd Place:
1930 Packard Deluxe Eight 745 Dietrich Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton Lynn & Michael Harling, Dallas, Texas

CLASS L-2: POSTWAR PRESERVATION
1st Place:
1969 Porsche 917K Coupe Miles Collier Collections at Revs Institute, Naples, Florida
2nd Place:
1956 Porsche 356A Carrera Reutter Coupe Chuck House, Bermuda Dunes, California
3rd Place:
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Kirk Wentland & Lawrence Camuso, San Jose, California

CLASS M-1: FERRARI GRAND TOURING
1st Place:
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Scaglietti Berlinetta John Paul Rowan, Savannah, Georgia
2nd Place:
1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 Scaglietti NART Spyder Jon & Kim Shirley, Medina, Washington
3rd Place:
1968 Ferrari 206 GT Dino Scaglietti Coupe Ron Hein, Montecito, California

CLASS M-2: FERRARI COMPETITION
1st Place:
1964 Ferrari 250 GTO Scaglietti Berlinetta Aaron & Sasha Hsu, New York, New York
2nd Place:
1951 Ferrari 340 America Touring Barchetta Mr. Kevin Cogan, Louisville, Kentucky
3rd Place:
1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Scaglietti Berlinetta Audrey & Martin Gruss, Palm Beach, Florida

CLASS N: ISO
1st Place:
1963 Iso Grifo A3/L Prototype Bertone Coupe Peter Wilde, Brookline, Massachusetts
2nd Place:
1967 Iso Grifo GL Bertone Coupe Paul & Natalie Roesler, Ross, California
3rd Place:
1965 Iso Rivolta GT Bertone Coupe Buddy Pepp, Beverly Hills, California

CLASS O-1: POSTWAR RACING

1st Place:
1964 Porsche 904 GTS Coupe The Ingram Collection, Durham, North Carolina
2nd Place:
1966 Ford GT40 Mark I Coupe Janus Associates, San Clemente, California
3rd Place:
1959 Porsche RSK Wendler Spyder Steven Adler, New Vernon, New Jersey

CLASS O-2: POSTWAR SPORTS
1st Place:
1956 Maserati A6G Zagato Coupé Jonathan & Wendy Segal, San Diego, California
2nd Place: 1964 ATS 2500 GTS Allemano Sports Coupé Stephen Bell Classic Investments Inc., Englewood, Colorado
3rd Place: 1958 BMW 507 Series II Roadster William H. & Cheryl K. Swanson, Arroyo Grande, California

CLASS O-3: POSTWAR TOURING
1st Place:
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham Fleetwood Sedan Jean & Don Ghareeb, Birmingham, Alabama
2nd Place:
1954 Chrysler GS-1 Ghia Coupe John H. White, Sacramento, California
3rd Place:
1965 Aston Martin DB5/C Touring Drophead Coupé Jim & Nancy Utaski, Princeton, New Jersey

CLASS P-1: PININ FARINA PREWAR
1st Place:
1938 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet Filippo Sole, Milan, Italy
2nd Place:
1935 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet Piet Janssen, Lottum, The Netherlands
3rd Place:
1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Pinin Farina Cabriolet Lawrence Auriana, Greenwich, Connecticut

CLASS P-2: PININFARINA POSTWAR
1st Place:
1953 Lancia Aurelia Pinin Farina PF200 C Spider Anne Brockinton Lee/Robert M. Lee Automobile Collection, Reno, Nevada
2nd Place:
1948 Lancia Aprilia Pinin Farina Spider Joe Capasso, Glastonbury, Connecticut
3rd Place:
1948 Bentley Mark VI Facel-Métallon Cresta Coupé Fred & Donna Kriz, Monaco

CLASS P-3: PININ FARINA FERRARI EARLY
1st Place:
1953 Ferrari 375 America Pinin Farina Coupe Jamie & Cecilia Muldoon, Guadalajara, Mexico
2nd Place:
1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Pinin Farina Cabriolet Kim & Stephen Bruno, Boca Raton, Florida
3rd Place:
1955 Ferrari 250 Europa GT Pinin Farina Coupe Speciale Rare Wheels Collection, Windermore, Florida

CLASS P-4: PININFARINA FERRARI LATE
1st Place:
1966 Ferrari 365 P Pininfarina Berlinetta Speciale RQ Collections, The Woodlands, Texas
2nd Place:
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Pininfarina Berlinetta Speciale Lee & Joan Herrington/The Herrington Collection, Bow, New Hampshire
3rd Place:
1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Pininfarina Cabriolet Peter Kalikow, New York, New York

CLASS Q: PORSCHE 917
1st Place:
1969 Porsche 917K Coupe Chris MacAllister, Indianapolis, Indiana
2nd Place:
1972 Porsche 917/10 Can-Am Spyder Mouse Motors, Chicago, Illinois
3rd Place:
1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder Rob Kauffman/RK Collection, Charlotte, North Carolina

CLASS R: LA CARRERA PANAMERICANA 1950-54
1st Place:
1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Berlinetta Les Wexner, New Albany, Ohio
2nd Place:
1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Vignale Spyder Bruce R. McCaw, Redmond, Washington
3rd Place:
1954 OSCA MT4 1500 Morelli Spyder Michael & Katharina Leventhal, Beverly Hills, California

CLASS S: LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH 50TH ANNIVERSARY
1st Place:
1981 Lamborghini Countach LP400S Series III Bertone Berlinetta Robert Bishop, Palm Beach, Florida
2nd Place:
1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 “Periscopica” Bertone Berlinetta Mouse Motors, Chicago, Illinois
3rd Place:
1985 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole Bertone Berlinetta Jeffrey Ajluni, Washington, DC

CLASS V: MILLER
1st Place:
1926 Miller 91 Perfect Circle Special Tom & Suzie Barbour, Bellvue, Colorado
2nd Place:
1926 Miller 122 Locomobile Junior 8 Special The Richard H. Driehaus Collection, Chicago, Illinois
3rd Place:
1924 Miller 122/91 Boyle Special Miles Collier Collections at Revs Institute, Naples, Florida