Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance 2019: Classic Restos - Series 39
By Shannons - Published on 08 November 2018
Fletch has travelled to the USA many times but for the first time visits the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on the west coast.
The Pebble Beach Concours started back in 1950 and was modelled on the early European Concours that showcased new cars. But in 1955 they shifted the focus to collector cars including racing greats, featured marques and special classes as early as 1953. Automobiles are judged for their style, technical merit, history, originality and accuracy of preservation or restoration. Making it the top ranking car collector competition in the world. Participants come from all around the world and include some of the wealthiest and most powerful people.
Talking about influential people Fletch runs into car enthusiast Jay Leno a regular at this event who says this event is like no other, you get to see cars you would otherwise never see. Jay picks out one example, the Mercer - America's first sports car built by the builders of the Brooklyn bridge, featuring a small engine and lightweight chassis that was capable of 100 mph back in 1913. Jay Leno's knowledge of all things automotive is astounding.
Some other great examples include:
A 1937 Cadillac 16 cylinder, a one-off model built in Switzerland, a museum piece in the USA for 15 years after a 2 1/2 year restoration.
A 1937 Duesenberg one of only 300 ever built with 265 HP engine, the most powerful car of the day. The owner saw this vehicle as a teenager in Denver Colorado and today is the proud owner.
John Tucker the grandson of the Preston Tucker the designer of the Tucker Automobile proudly displaying 12 Tuckers of the original 50 (plus a prototype) ever produced on display at Pebble Beach.
Leigh from the Antiques Roadshow fame, a judge at Pebble Beach for 15 years on the Restoration Pre & Post War classes who talks of how many marques today in original condition (unrestored) are attracting better prices than the restored models of the same car. As they say 'they are only original once'.
