The Alfa 6C 1750 was produced in six series from 1929-33. In 1929 it won every major racing event, including the GP’s of Belgium, Spain, Tunis, Monza, as well as the Mille Miglia, the Brooklands Double Twelve, and the Ulster TT.
Story by Brandes Elitch
Photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
I first time I attended what has become known as “The Monterey Historics” was back in 1979, when I moved to California from New York City. I have not missed a year since – 40 years is a long time for anything.
In the early years, my focus was primarily the Laguna Seca racetrack. These were the beginnings of historic racing, the genius of Steve Earle creating the blueprint for what was to come worldwide. I was amazed that I could walk anywhere in the pits, and go right up to the owner and talk about his car, exotic racecars I had never seen in person before, just read about in Road & Track. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Alfa Romeo 6c 3000 CM Superflow IV Pinin Farina. Alfa built a series of 6CM 3000s for sports car racing. This car, chassis 00128, was used by Fangio to place second in the Mille Miglia that year. At the end of the season, the original body was removed and the chassis shipped to Pinin Farina, who bodied and modified this car 4 times between 1956-1960, making it a continuous hit on the show circuit.
Then my friend Joe, who had a Maserati 3500, told me about a new event for Maserati people, arranged by Francis Mandarano, first at the Carmel Valley Inn, and the next year at Quail Lodge. Mandarano gets full marks, like Earle, for drafting the blueprint for what came later, via the genius of Gordon McCall. It’s remarkable that three men made all the difference here with their vision and foresight, although they would probably admit today that they didn’t know back then what all this would become, thirty or forty years later. How could they?
The Pebble Beach concours was revitalized or reinvented by two other men: Jules Heumann and his partner in crime, “Chrome Dome” Lorin Tryon. They took over after the death of co-organizer Gwenn Graham and ran the show from 1972-1998. Tryon died in 1999. They are generally responsible for laying the blueprint for the show as it is today. They re-imagined it as a truly world-class event, and that is what it became under their tutelage.
Of course, I also attended the Pebble Beach concours, and I remember, one year, Joe and I were walking in the guest parking lot in back of the Lodge, and John Bond, editor of Road &Track, was trying to start his Lagonda. Joe and I pushed it for him to the show field. I should have gotten his autograph, as I grew up reading Road & Track from the time I was a teenager, even if fifty cents a copy was more than my allowance.
Ballot entered Indy in 1919, finishing 4th and 11th. In 1920, they finished 2d, 5th, and 7th. In 1921, Ralph De Palma finished second in the French GP, and Jules Goux won the Italian GP. Ernest Henry, who worked on the Peugeot GP cars earlier, was instrumental in their success.
Over the years, I focused on getting books, models, posters, autographs, and photographs. Today, I am glad I did this. One year, I found out that Carlo Anderloni, the founder of Carrozzeria Touring, was to be an honorary judge at Pebble Beach. I took my copy of the book on his company and anxiously searched the grounds for Mr. Anderloni. When I spotted him, he was deep in conversation with some other people, and I ran up waving my hands. He graciously turned to me, bowed, and said, “Dear Sir, I will immediately disengage myself from these good people so that I might turn my full attention to you.” He signed my book, one of my most prized possessions to this very day. What great memories.
Bugatti Type 59s. Bugatti made seven or eight Type 59 Grand Prix cars and campaigned them in the 1933 and 1934 seasons. Four of the cars were shipped to England for gentlemen drivers; the Brits were Bugatti’s biggest fans. Four of them have survived and were shown at Pebble Beach, together for the first time since 1935.
This year of course, there is no Monterey Historics and we are left to our memories, which are fading with time. I have been writing a mostly monthly column for VeloceToday for a dozen years or so, and for the last six or seven years I have been privileged to have one of the great automotive photographers in the world with me at the Historics: Hugues Vanhoolandt. Hugues has over a million images in his archive of automotive history. He is a pleasure to work with, and I cannot imagine doing this without his help going forward – what a blessing.
Pebble Beach memories
Now let’s step back in time to previous Concours at Pebble Beach and remember some of the attendees. Since VT is about French and Italian cars, I will focus on those. I have to start with a disclaimer: the physical, emotional, and financial toll of attending these events is completely overwhelming, particularly if you attend the Quail Lodge show, the Concorso Italiano, and the Concours, not to mention the track at Laguna Seca. The traffic on the Monterey Peninsula is horrendous, and just getting there and back from the San Francisco Bay Area is a nightmare, or to be more precise, a Living Hell.
Hispano Suiza J12 Saoutchik. Often described as a combination of Swiss design, French production facilities, and Spanish money, Hispano Suiza built a small series of V-12 cars in chassis form from 1931-38. Buyers chose their own coachbuilder. There were two versions of the V12 motor, displacing 574 and 690 c.i.d. This is sometimes described as the greatest car of the Classic Era.
Then there are the tiresome arrangements of finding a place to sleep and eat. Did I mention that there are fifty or sixty thousand car enthusiasts to share what is essentially a small village, that all roads are clogged/gridlocked, there is no parking, all the restaurants and motels are fully booked, etc.? As if this was not enough, the cost of the tickets and the lodging is such that it would be cheaper to just go to Paris for the week.
Of course, this is no matter to a true automotive historian or enthusiast. This is an intensely personal experience. If you have never seen in the flesh, so to speak, a Grand Prix Peugeot, a Ballot, a Type 35 Bugatti, a V12 Hispano, a “Phony and Flashy” Delahaye, a Delage D8, a Voisin, a teardrop Talbot-Lago, you will be stopped in your tracks the first time you do. The same goes for a prewar Alfa race car, a Lancia Lambda or Astura, or an immediate postwar Maserati or Ferrari.
Lancia Astura Pinin Farina. Astura is a river south of Rome which hosted the last battle between the Romans and the Latins. It is also the name of the most prestigious Lancia, and ultimate Italian luxury car of the period, produced in four series from 1931-39. About 2900 models were made, all with exquisite custom coachwork.
What about a FIAT 8V or SIATA, or an OSCA, or even a Pegaso or Panhard? But if you have not studied these cars before seeing them and don’t know their historical importance, they may mean nothing to you. Otherwise, they will just be another pretty face, and there are 200 others on display on Sunday morning competing for your attention.
Fortunately, each year the organizers announce the multiple features well in advance, giving you ample time to brush up on what you are about to see. Last year, the main feature was the Centenary of Bentley, with a large number of entrants, but there was also the Centenary of Zagato, Ballot, and four Type 59 Bugattis.
Then there is the emotional and sensory overload. After the shock of seeing the first twenty or so cars, you realize that you have another 180 to go, and that this will take at least another five or six hours of forced march, even counting skipping over ones that do not particularly interest you, which, unlike other shows, will be few. You will have to navigate your way through the crowds around each car, and did I mention that there is really no place to sit down on the show field for the six or seven hours that you are walking around?
Delage D8 roadster de Villars. It is said that the eight-cylinder Delage was the only French car that could be mentioned in the same breath as the Hispano J 12. Delage built the D8 in four series from 1929 to 1940, but the firm was acquired by Delahaye in 1935.
What makes Pebble Beach work is the logistics and the combined knowledge of the organizers. The Selection Committee that gets to choose which cars are accepted has to winnow down a thousand entries to about 200. Virtually every car that applies is already perfectly restored, or they wouldn’t be there (except for the Original Car class). Anecdotal evidence is that the organizers have decreed that if you restore your car, you must show it first at Pebble Beach. If you show it somewhere else first, you may not get another chance. There are 15-20 committee members, and the most telling quote about them is from Chris Bock: “It’s very rare that a car is submitted that is unknown to all of them.” I find that pretty darn astonishing.
Keep in mind that this is supposed to be a Contest of Elegance, not a contest of restoration, so an elegant line should trump a sluggish windshield wiper, as Mr. Bock says. Many of the 200 cars on display have been in the restoration shop (or shops) for years. Thousands of hours and unknown cubic dollars have been spent on their rebirth. Multiply this by 200 and you will get an idea of the enormous amount of collective energy and willpower on display here, and that does not even count the display in front of the Lodge, or the single marque displays on adjacent golf course links.
Maserati 250S and 300S. In 1955, Maserati built four model 250S four-cylinder racecars. They were not successful on the track and the firm concentrated on the six-cylinder racecars, before withdrawing from racing altogether in 1958. The 300 S was produced from 1955-8 to compete in the World Sportscar Championship and was known as the best handling sports car of the era.
That is what makes Pebble Beach so special, the collective willpower of the entrants, restorers, and organizers. Yes, other shows also have this combination, but not to the degree or sum total that Pebble Beach does. That is what makes it unique, and what attracts entrants from all over the world.
Excellent article. As an attendee since 1964 I agree it was a tough year without the festivities. But we do look forward to 2021. Thanks
To be mentioned in the same paragraph as Steven Earl and Gordon McCall is an honor.
It has been said that the early to mid 90’s were the “Golden Years” at Concorso Italiano.
The warm and genuine feeling from the casual atmosphere and the mild chaos that that was ever present during the event was enduring and memorable. By inviting our Italian super hero’s I was able to bring a little bit of Italy directly to the many who had only known them in books and magazines. I sold the event in 2004.
Many thanks to Brands Elitch for bringing back those wonderful days when we simply enjoyed each other and our cars, while visiting the many great vendors surrounding the field.
I entered the first Concorso with my Ferrari 3z, then forgot about it! as I was driving the back way into Monterey–I guess it was Carmel valley road–I saw a bunch of cars to my left and thought ‘I wonder what’s going on there!’ pebble, goodwood, and Chantilly are the 3 astonishing events of the car show world. I’d add Amelia island, but it feels so doggone friendly as opposed to that little bit snooty of the other 3!
Like Brandy noted, Pebble Beach Concours gets so crowded by 11am, it is very difficult to get a full view of the cars. Best get there at 6:am as the cars enter the field. And since Brandy cannot be everywhere at a given time, the Pebble Tour on Thursday over the public roads down to Big Sur and back is 0ne-of-kind free show.