1931 Bugatti T 41 Royale Weinberger Cabriolet
Photos by Bob Goldberg
These are the cars that stirred men’s souls, and continue to do so 76 year after the first concours at Pebble Beach. While the first few years of the show awarded best of show to contemporary cars, since 1955 when Phil Hill won with his 1931 Pierce Arrow Le Baron, the focus and best of show awards went to pre war classics. In 1968 a 1964 Maserati Mistral took home the bacon, and once more in 2014 when the Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe of Jon Shirley won, but these two outliers remain the only post war cars to capture the coveted Best of Show. The winner this year was another pre war car, a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ owned by Harry Yeaggy, congratulations! And, btw, a Bugatti has won BOS more times than any other make.
Pre War cars are the mainstays, the classics of classics, the cars that will always be at the top. Here, Bob Goldberg has selected just a few of the pre war cars that were on display in 2026.