70th Anniversary
December 4, 2019
Past Best of Show Winners Return for 70th Anniversary of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The competition for a spot on the show field of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance can be fierce. Tougher still is the contest to win one’s class and go on to compete for Best of Show. Each year just one car earns that distinguished title, the top accolade in the collector car world. Yet people in attendance at the forthcoming 2021 Pebble Beach Concours on August 15 can expect to see a multitude of Best of Show cars resting at the edge of the great Pacific Ocean.
To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Pebble Beach Concours is inviting its former Best of Show winners to return.
“Each of these cars is special in its own right,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. “Many were the epitome of elegance in their day, or they exhibited the latest technology. They made history when new — and they also made history right here, winning the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
“In a way they define us. So a celebration of the Concours is, naturally, a celebration of these cars.”
Of course, the show field will be packed with other features as well. Cars with coachwork by Pininfarina, founded in 1930, will compete in multiple classes. Talbot-Lago Grand Sports will be on display. Porsche 917 racing greats will be showcased, as will Miller-powered cars and winners of the Carrera Panamericana. From the antique era, early electrics take to the field. And from the postwar era, there will be a special class for Iso Rivoltas.
Additional special classes are also in the works.
Entry applications have been sent to many regular participants, but anyone with a car they believe to be of concours quality and to fit in any of the featured or regular classes may ask for consideration; fully a third of the field each year consists of first-timers. Hopeful owners can begin by sending a simple description of their car to entries@pebblebeachconcours.net. These submissions are quickly reviewed and discussed, and although some owners receive a gentle decline, those with automobiles that merit a more careful and complete look are sent the entry application, which is due January 6.
Each year the Concours agrees to formally vet about 1,000 cars. Members of the Concours Selection Committee, a group of 15 automotive experts guided by Concours Chairman Sandra Button, spend the early months of the year researching these cars, sometimes even visiting them to ascertain their authenticity and condition. Each car is then discussed during a three-day Selection Meeting in the spring.
Ultimately about 200 cars are invited to compete at Pebble Beach. And this year, as in the past, one car will be named Best of Show, joining its predecessors at the water’s edge.
