The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was held last month in California. The annual event is the biggest gathering of classic cars and enthusiasts in the world and has grown from a simple but lovely show on the 18th tee of the Pebble Beach golf course, to the best event in the world.
When I first attended 20 years ago, there was the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and one auction. Today, many events have caught a piggy back ride on the original concours. There are now four other shows in the days running up to the main event, including a historic race at the fabulous Laguna Seca race track, and four auction houses competing for business.
Business was brisk, and no mention was made of the world recession. People obviously had more faith in the value of classic cars than in stocks and bonds. Nearly 300 million dollars worth of cars found new owners during four days, with some notable world record prices obtained.
A 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa made 16.4 million dollars, while a 1937 Mercedes Spezial roadster made nearly 10 million. Both were world class cars, so their value was not really surprising. However, the 1.37 million made for the ex-Steve McQueen Porsche 911S was simply staggering. At nearly 1.3 million more than the same car belonging to Mister Nobody, the premium for the McQueen kudos was simply ridiculous.
The main event remains the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. Two hundred and fifty of the world’s greatest cars line up on the lawn to compete for Best in Class, or the ultimate accolade, Best of Show. Restoring a car to the required standard costs hundreds of thousands, so this ensures that only seriously interesting cars compete. Cars cannot come back to compete again for 10 years, so this ensures new blood every time. In recent years a ‘preservation’ class has been introduced for cars in original, non-restored condition, but these can break the ten year rule if they come back restored.
Traditionally, only pre-war cars win the coveted Best of Show prize, and this unwritten rule has never been broken.
But Pebble Beach is not just about old cars. In a separate exhibition, manufacturers unveil their latest concept cars to an affluent public, and most of them are simply breathtaking. Jaguar’s C-X75 stood out as one of the best. Limited production at a bank account busting price soon?
For many, the most memorable site will have been a line of 22, out of a production run of 36, Ferrari 250 GTO, assembled for the car’s 50th birthday celebration. Absolutely mythic, probably the most desirable car on the planet, their collective value was around 600 million dollars.