Start your planning now, as the next Pebble Beach Concours d Elegans=ce is being held August 17, 2025 at the world famous Pebble Beach Golf Club in Carmel California. This is 14th time going since 2006 and the cars get better and better each year.
This years Wedge class or Classes as there were so many as to need a second class…were out of this world. The way the classes were structured with some recent supercars/racecars, the span of ages for the cars was supposed to be from 1898 up to 2023, a stellar 125 years of stellar cars!
Unfortunately the earliest car, a 1898 Mors V4 Dog Cart that is believed to be the oldest operational four cylinder gas-powered car in existence. The engine has 2 valves per cylinder, produced 6 horsepower and is front engined, rear wheel drive via chaindrive and can go 16mph. This car has run the 60 mile London to Brighton rally, and this is it’s first appearance in the US. It is unrestored and has been carefully preserved for 126 years, but was not present at the Tour d Elegance nor the Concours itself.
Unfortunately, the field guides were only available the day of the show and I was too busy to read them, so I did not what was missing until I got home. So in reality the oldest cars were a 1900 Benz Contra Duc and a 1900 Packard Model B Dos-a-Dos
2023 Italdesign Asso di Picche in Movimento Concept Car* Italdesign S.p.A., Moncalieri, Italy
The Asso di Picche in Movimento (translated from Italian as the “Ace of Spades in Movement”) is the reincarnation of a revolutionary 1973 design, but reinvented with neoteric technology-pushing the limits of digital design. The fully electric 2+2 coupe is a sleek three-door all aluminum vehicle with the roof and windows being polarized to filter I 00% of UV rays. Cameras replace the side-view mirrors, and the dashboard has evolved into a suspended interface on an ultra-thin screen that can be rolled down as required.
In between these extremes of the motoring world was an absolutely wonderful variety of cars from many makers and parts of the globe. The winner was from the preservation class and it was the first time a preservation class car won the show, but it was a well loved 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports with an amazing story behind it.
According to the official Pebble Beach Concours d Elegance Field guide….
L 1-07 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports
The Pearl Collection/Fritz Burkard, Zug, Switzerland
This Type 59 was the outright winner at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1934, driven by Rene Dreyfus, and went on to take third at the Monaco Grand Prix the same Year. Ettore Bugatti then sold four of his Type 59 factory racers, but kept this car, the first built, removing the supercharger and converting it to a sports car with a new two-seater body with motorbike wings and side doors. Registered as a Type 57 (chassis number 57248) the newly dressed racer snatched victories from the Delahayes and Talbots at Pau in 1937, followed by a win at the Algerian and Marne French Grand Prix, driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille. King Leopold III of Belgium then acquired the Bugatti and redressed it in black with the Belgian yellow stripe-as it appears today, original and unrestored.
The class winners
2024 Class Winners: 1st Place
Our First, Second and Third in Class Winners are selected by our Class Judges based on originality, authenticity, and excellent preservation or restoration.
Class A-1: Antique
1916 Pierce-Arrow 48 B-4 Vestibule Suburban shown by Bradley & Andrew Greene, Portola Valley, California
A-2: Packard Early (Pre-Twin Six)
1914 Packard 4-48 Seven-Passenger Touring shown by Ross & Beth Myers, Boyertown, Pennsylvania
C-1: American Classic Open
1933 Chrysler CL Imperial Custom LeBaron Phaeton shown by Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California
D-2: Packard 125th Anniversary Open Custom Coachwork
1934 Packard 1108 Twelve LeBaron Sport Phaeton shown by Harry Yeaggy, Cincinnati, Ohio
G: Duesenberg
1933 Duesenberg SJ LaGrande Phaeton shown by Thomas Maoli, Whippany, New Jersey
H: Rolls-Royce Prewar
1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III James Young Coupe shown by Stephen F. Brauer, St. Louis, Missouri
H: Rolls-Royce Prewar
1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III James Young Coupe shown by Stephen F. Brauer, St. Louis, Missouri
I: Mercedes-Benz Prewar
1928 Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK Corsica Drophead shown by William E. (Chip) Connor, Hong Kong
J-1: European Classic Touring Early
1923 Hispano-Suiza H6B Fernandez et Darrin Cabriolet shown by Sam & Emily Mann, Englewood, New Jersey
J-2: European Classic Touring Late
1938 Delage D8-120 Letourneur et Marchand Aérosport shown by Dana & Patti Mecum, Geneva Lake, Wisconsin
J-3: European Classic Sport
1933 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster shown by Robert Bishop, Palm Beach, Florida
L-1: Prewar Preservation
1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports shown by The Pearl Collection/Fritz Burkard, Zug, Switzerland
L-2: Postwar Preservation
1965 Serenissima 308V Fantuzzi Spyder shown by Tom McGough Sr./Tom McGough Jr., Shoreview, Minnesota
M-1: Ferrari Early
1954 Ferrari 375 MM Ghia Coupe shown by Tom & Jill Peck, Irvine, California
M-2: Ferrari Late
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Scaglietti Coupe shown by Tom Hartley Jnr., Swadlincote, United Kingdom
O-1: Postwar Sports Racing
1955 Jaguar D-type Race Car shown by Mark Haddawy, Los Angeles, California
O-2: Postwar Sports
1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Bertone Coupé Speciale shown by Devon MacNeil, Wellington, Florida
O-3: Postwar Touring
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Saoutchik Fastback Coupé shown by Robert Kudela, Chropyně, Czech Republic
P-1: Maserati Road Cars
1955 Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Spyder shown by Chris Shane, Manhattan Beach, California
P-2: Maserati Race Cars
1956 Maserati 300S Fantuzzi Spyder shown by Robert Davis, New York, New York
Q-1: Maserati Frua
1951 Maserati A6G 2000 Frua Spyder shown by Henrik Jorst/Cool Classics International, Reno, Nevada
Q-2: Frua
1973 Momo Mirage Frua Coupe shown by Peter Kalikow, New York, New York
R: 1990s BPR & FIA GT Race Cars
1996 Ferrari F40 GTE Michelotto shown by Jacob Brunsborg, Silkeborg, Denmark
V-1: Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes Early
1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero Bertone Coupe shown by Phillip Sarofim, Beverly Hills, California
V-2: Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes Late
1979 Aston Martin Bulldog shown by Phillip Sarofim, Beverly Hills, California