The 10 Most Exciting Cars From This Year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
On August 18, the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the most revered and important automotive competition in the world, once again presented an assemblage of the finest collector cars as it’s now done for 73 years. On the final fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links, 214 vehicles from around the globe converged to compete for the crown and add exponentially to their provenance and value just by participating, as was the result for the 2023 winner, a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. This year’s exhibition was unique, though, in that it marked the first time an unrestored automobile took the top honor, which was bestowed on a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports.
The Bugatti bested an array of entrants divided into 28 classes that included a commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Packard, the 110th anniversary of Maserati, the 70th year of the Jaguar D-Type, and a celebration of nearly seven decades of iconic wedge-shaped automobiles. Here were our favorites from the field.
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1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero Bertone Coupe
According to RM Sotheby’s, who had once offered this prototype for sale, the Lancia Stratos HF Zero Bertone Coupe—designed by Marcello Gandini and fit with a 115 bhp V-4 engine paired with a five-speed transmission—sold for €761,600 at the auction house’s 2011 Villa d’Este sale. Now on the show lawn at Pebble, it was one of the eye-catching entries in the Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes class.
When asked by Robb Report what resonates with him about the car, current owner Phillip Sarofim says: “For me, it’s that this car was an all-new design language that was radical, going from the traditional and emotional language of the ‘50s and ‘60s voluptuousness . . . this was a radical aberration.” Queried on how he acquired the one-off, Sarofim mentions that “a gentleman by the name of Thomas Mao entrusted me with being the next caretaker, so long as I kept the promise of sharing it with the world the same way he did.”
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 GS Saotchik Fastback Coupe
As noted in the official guide to the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, this very 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport (GS) was the one presented at the Paris Auto Salon. And its mint green and brown paint scheme is certainly one that draws attention. According to Bonhams, who sold a T26 GS last year for €2,185,000, only 36 examples were made. As for this one, bodied by Saoutchik and currently owned by Robert Kudela of the Czech Republic, it was among the final four in the running for Best of Show this year.
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Scaglietti Berlinetta Lusso
Debuted at the 1962 Paris Motor Show, the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso comprises a tubular-steel chassis fit with a 240 hp V-12 mated to a four-speed transmission. In the case of the example presented at Pebble, it was dressed in bodywork by Carrozzeria Scaglietti.
According to co-owner Earl Waggoner, a former airline pilot, this car is the actual example tested by Road & Track magazine when the model came out, and he purchased the vehicle after seeing it posted in a Ferrari Club newsletter for $10,000 in 1973. This was the first time Waggoner participated in Pebble. “I’m really not into showing [it],” says Waggoner, adding that “99.9 percent of the people think it’s a nice car, and I think it’s a nice car.” As it turns out, so did the some of the judges, as it took home the FIVA Postwar Trophy.
1964 Lamborghini 350 GT Touring Coupé
Ferruccio Lamborghini came out of the gate in 1964 with the most advanced V-12-powered grand touring car at the time, one that put his upstart eponymous marque on the world automotive stage. The 350 GT was given a Bizzarrini-designed, 3.5-liter aluminum engine and a curvaceous body by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. Its shape is sleek and refined, with expansive glass to showcase the GT’s luxurious interior.
This example is the 11th made, and one of only 13 produced in the company’s first year. Notable for its unique turquoise green metallic paint found on no other Lamborghini, the impeccable four-year restoration is the work of Joseph DeMeo and his dedicated team.
1925 Bugatti Type 30 Torpedo
Bugatti’s Type 30, debuted in 1922, was an eight-cylinder innovator that was made by the French marque until 1926. According to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance catalog notes, this example was ordered new by Jean Bernard Charavel, an architect specializing in the Art Deco style, and later purchased by the former chairman of Samsung, Lee Kun-Hee. It’s currently owned by Jim and Tonya Hull of Malibu, Calif.
“I wanted a Bugatti that I could drive . . . I found this car and convinced my husband to buy it,” says Mrs. Hull, “and I’m taking it to Japan, with my girlfriends, to do the International Bugatti Run.” When asked what it was that drew her to the car, she noted that, “it’s smaller than our other Bugattis, so I think I can drive it—oh, and it isn’t green.”
1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 R Formula 1 Race Car
World War II put the brakes on German motorsport efforts, but Mercedes-Benz was back on the tarmac in 1954, fielding its formidable W 196 R Formula One racer. The 2.5-liter inline-eight engine makes up to 290 hp, which gives the car a top speed of 186 mph and made it a force to be reckoned with back in the day. The power train and chassis were bodied two ways, a streamlined version and an open-wheel single-seater.
Despite Juan Manuel Fangio and teammate Karl Kling taking a one-two victory at the first outing, the model’s lifespan was brief, and after three more victories in 1954 and six in 1955, the company withdrew from racing altogether following the tragedy at Le Mans that year, not to return until 1989.
1964 Iso Rivolta A3C Drogo Coupe
Any Iso A3C is rare, but only a dozen were made featuring hundreds of external rivets and a flat rear window to distinguish it from other A3C examples that followed. The sleek aluminum coupe, with a body designed by Bertone’s Giorgetto Giugiaro and built by Piero Drogo, expressed industrialist Renzo Rivolta’s idea of a new sports car to compete with the likes of Ferrari. After all, he hired the ex-Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini to develop a sports car that used a proven Chevrolet 327 ci V-8 engine, which, with more than 400 hp and a top speed of 190 mph, was faster than the competition. This fresh restoration is another masterpiece by StreetWorks Exotics.
1938 Maserati 8CTF “Boyle Special” Indianapolis 500 Race Car
With a straight-eight engine, twin superchargers, and tuned to run on alcohol, Maserati’s 8CTF racer was an unlikely contender for the Indianapolis 500, which saw few foreign manufacturers competing in the American race. Wilbur Shaw, who drove a Maserati in the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup, was financed by Chicago union boss and race team owner Michael Boyle (a friend of Al Capone).
Boyle ordered a car from the factory for the 1938 race, which was delivered with the wrong drivetrain. A second car was ordered and arrived just in time for Shaw to compete in the 1939 race. Shaw and the car performed brilliantly, taking the checkered flag to become the first driver of an Italian car to win Indy. Miraculously, he took the checkered flag again in 1940, driving the same car. To this day, it remains the only Italian marque to win America’s most famous race.
1960 Porsche 1600GS Carrera GTL Abarth Coupe
Porsche’s 356B was a ubiquitous sight on racetracks around the world, in part because it was light, nimble, and able to out-maneuver larger, more powerful competition. The Carrera GT used an altogether more radical flat-four engine than the street-going 356B, and 20 examples were made even more competitive when Zagato built a double-bubble aluminum body that pared 300 pounds off of Porsche’s steel “bathtub.”
The GTLs were a success, taking 100 class wins from 1961 to 1965, including Le Mans and Daytona. The owner of this example, noted collector Jack Croul (celebrating his 100th year), acquired the car in 1997 and promptly took it on the Colorado Grand rally. It is the fourth built and the only one delivered in white.
Best of Show: 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports
Coming into Sunday’s contest with perhaps the most rarified provenance already, this 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports just had it elevated exponentially when named Best of Show at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. One of only six examples of the Type 59 extant, it is the first unrestored vehicle (or “preservation car” as the Pebble judges call it) to ever win the top honor at the world’s most prestigious concours.
This specific Type 59 first competed in the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix and placed third overall with renowned racer René Dreyfuss behind the wheel. The first-place finishes to follow included the Algerian Grand Prix and the Grand Prix de la Marne, before it was purchased by Belgium’s King Leopold III. The monarch was the steward of the car until 1951. The owners to follow all felt that a restoration would be wrong, and so it remains race-worn and remarkable.
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