Highlights Of The 2018 Pebble Beach Concours & Monterey Automotive Week

The luxury car world’s biggest annual gathering—the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in conjunction with Monterey Automotive Week—consists of the Tour d’Elegance vintage car race and parade; The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering; and the main event—the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. There are dozens of other events, from vintage car auctions to lavish luncheons and receptions hosted by car makers in rented luxury villas. It’s a head-spinning week of non-stop events and excitement. 

The 68th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance took place on August 26. 209 cars from 17 countries and 31 states were on display at the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. It raised an incredible $1.8 million for charity this year. Through the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, the primary charitable partner of the Concours, these funds will benefit over 80 local charities, impacting the lives of more than 10,000 children annually in Monterey County. TV host and car collector Jay Leno auctioned a tour of his garage for $3,000 per person and raised over $110k for the Boys and Girls Club.

The Best of Show went to 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta beating two other strong contenders: a 1929 Duesenberg J Murphy town limousine and a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Figoni Fastback Coupé. David Sydorick of Beverly Hills, the Alfa Romeo’s proud owner described his car like this: “It is a piece of automotive architecture mounted on a Grand Prix chassis that has technology that was top of the line for pre-war cars. It’s a wonderful combination. It’s beautiful from top to bottom.” His Alfa Romeo also received the Charles A. Chayne Trophy and was named the J. B. & Dorothy Nethercutt most elegant closed car. “This Alfa Romeo 8C has all that one would wish for in a car—speed, style and, frankly, sex appeal,” Concours Chairman Sandra Button said when she awarded the gold ribbon to the beauty. “The touring styling is simply magical, and to top it off it makes all the right noises!”

Other winning cars included my client Arturo Keller’s 1929 Mercedes-Benz 710SS Barker Tourer race car, which won the First in Class in the Pre-War Preservation category. A 1948 Tucker Sedan owned by George Lucas won the Best in Class of the newly created Tucker Class. There were only 51 Tuckers ever made. A rare 1970 Ferrari 246 GT Dino Scaglietti two-door coupe was named First in Class in the Postwar Preservation category. A 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A won the First in Class in the European Classic category. A 1938 Rolls-Royce Phantom III James Young Drophead coupé won the Pre-War Preservation category. A 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Scaglietti Spyder won First in Class in the Ferrari category.

The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering was founded in 2003. It takes place on the golf course at The Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley and is hosted by Peninsula Hotel Group and sponsored by Rolex. Although some vintage cars are showcased, The Quail is the prime automotive show to debut new cars, concept cars, and bespoke cars. This year, Rolls-Royce presented its new SUV Cullinan and delivered the 10th bespoke Rolls-Royce to collector Michael Fux. Infiniti unveiled a new spaceship-like single-seat electric speedster concept car, the Prototype 10. Bugatti introduced the new Divo which is faster than the Chiron with a top speed of 236 miles per hour. Lamborghini unveiled Aventador SVJ, a car capable of 760 horsepower. In honor of the year Lamborghini was founded, only 63 will be produced.

Out of the 250 entrants in the competition, the winner for Best of Show went to a 1953 Lancia Aurelia PF200C Spider owned by Anne Brokinton Lee of Nevada. Designed by Pinin Farina, this is a very rare car. Only three Spider versions of the car are known to exist. Besides the fabulous cars, at The Quail, car enthusiasts were treated to the fine cuisines of the six cities where the Peninsula hotels are located. I had a delightful French lunch at the Paris Peninsula tent. 

The car auctions at the Monterey Automotive Week attract automobile aficionados from all over the world. Thus, there are half a dozen high-profile car auctions throughout the week. This year, the auctions fetched a stunning $360 million in total sales. At RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey, one of the most coveted cars in the world, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO set the highest record ever sold in a car auction for $48.4 million. It topped another 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO which sold for $38.1 million. At Pebble Beach, Gooding & Co. auctioned a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ that was formerly owned by Gary Cooper for $22 million, a record for an American car at auction.

Photos courtesy of Pebble Beach Concours D’elegance, The Quail, and Rm Sotheby’s.