The Monterey Peninsula in central California is a storied region, with its namesake city boasting the distinction of being California’s first capital, when the area was under Spanish rule in the 18th century. Fast-forward some two hundred years, and the peninsula can still lay claim to a notable distinction, having become the world’s “car capital,” at least for one week in the summer.
The Pebble Beach Concours was founded in 1950 by the enterprising organizers of the Pebble Beach Road Race—a local driving competition sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America. At the time, various communities on the peninsula had already established themselves to create a kind of luxury niche—Pebble Beach, with its premier golf courses; the artists’ colony of Carmel, with its quaint seaside cottages and tree-shaded avenues; Pacific Grove and its rugged Pacific coastline near the celebrated 17-Mile Drive; and the inland equestrian ranchlands of Carmel Valley. Over time, these communities would become interconnected for a unique automotive celebration.
A Race Without a Finish Line
Unlike the road race, the Pebble Beach Concours was conceived not as a literal race, but as an elegant, stately competition of the finest automobiles—and it has remained just that, virtually uninterrupted since its founding (only the 1960 Pebble Beach Concours was canceled due to inclement weather). Many other Concours d’Elegance competitions are held throughout the world, but the event at Pebble Beach is universally acknowledged as a standard bearer.
Over the years, while the road race continued to thrive—so did the Pebble Beach Concours, whose first year saw only two or three dozen cars in competition; by 1953, the entries had exceeded 100 automobiles. Initially the event focused more on new cars for its top awards, but after a few years older cars began to take the spotlight and the honors. In 1955, driver Phil Hill not only won the Pebble Beach Road Race but also captured the coveted “Best in Show” award at the Pebble Beach Concours for his 1931 Pierce-Arrow 41 Le Baron Convertible Town Cabriolet, the first “classic” car to win top honors in the competition. In 1957, the race relocated to nearby Laguna Seca—where its successor race continues to be held to this day—while the Concours has remained firmly in Pebble Beach.
The Crown Jewel of Car Week
Traditionally, the Pebble Beach Concours has become the highlight of a weeklong series of local auto-related activities organized under the banner of Monterey Car Week, including Concours on the Avenue, in Carmel—in which 18 blocks of the village’s main streets are closed to traffic and devoted to the display of collector cars. Another Car Week mainstay is the Jet Center Party, or Motorworks Revival, held at the Monterey airport. It is an invitation-only event featuring both exotic cars and private jets, and is hosted by local motorsports enthusiast Gordon McCall.
Porsche aficionados have flocked to the Porsche Werks Reunion, held this year at the Corral de Tierra Country Club, where more than 500 Porsches have typically been on display. This comparatively recent event, begun in 2014, is a spinoff of another Car Week stalwart, the Legends of the Autobahn, a cavalcade of all German cars that is free to the public and held at the Nicklaus Club/Monterey Golf Club.
The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering (often simply nicknamed “The Quail”) is an exclusive auto show limited to 200 cars that is held at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley. The competition is restricted to 3,000 ticketholders and the event’s winning vehicle goes on to compete with eight other automobile concours winners in Paris.
Finally, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is the current successor to the original Pebble Beach Road Race, now held at the Weathertech Raceway at Laguna Seca, about 15 miles inland. More than 500 race cars are invited to compete in what is considered the world’s premier motoring event, and are accepted based on the auto’s authenticity, racing history, and “period correctness.”
The foregoing events are just a fraction of the many activities taking place over the course of the seven days of Car Week, attracting tens of thousands of visitors. In 2014, Monterey Car Week attendees were estimated at 85,000.
A Dazzling Closing Ceremony
The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance remains the pinnacle and culmination of the area’s automotive activities, and is now held on the final Sunday of Monterey Car Week, on the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. It is here that the rubber continues to meet the green instead of the road, as all entrants in each competitive class drive on to the grass for judging and awards. Just a sampling of classes now competing include Antique, Bentley Centennial, Bugatti Grand Prix and Touring, Duesenberg, Packard, Rolls-Royce Prewar, Ferrari Grand Touring, and even Historic Hot Rod “Cover Cars.” Motorcycles have also joined the competition, and it is not uncommon to witness nearly 200 vehicles competing for top laurels on the fairway on Concours Sunday, all vying for Best in Show.
Of course, while the Pebble Beach Concours is a competition par excellence, it has also attracted both buyers and sellers of exotic cars, who travel from all corners of the globe to engage in vintage-auto transactions. Several auction companies are on hand for these major sales, and overall Car Week auction figures have been notable record-setters. In 2015, auction sales for Car Week were a staggering $400 million. And just last year, a Ferrari 250 GTO set a world record as the most expensive car ever sold at auction, at $48.2 million. Another 2018 Car Week milestone was the highest auction price paid for an American automobile: $22 million for a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Roadster.
In recent years, due to the unique convergence of high-net-worth automobile enthusiasts in a given place at a given time, the opportunity for other luxury sponsors and participants has continued to increase, resulting in sponsorships by non-automotive luxury brands, including wines and spirits, watchmakers, jewelers, and others. In short, the Pebble Beach Concours and related Car Week events have become a lightning rod for art, luxury, and auto enthusiasts of all stripes, and many attendees have observed the irony that one of the challenges at such a popular gathering is driving itself, due to inevitable traffic jams and street closures.
While it is certainly true that this unique weeklong automotive pageant is a magnet for luxury purveyors and clients, over the years the Pebble Beach Concours began to transform itself into a charitable event, beginning in the early 1960s. Since then, proceeds have supported the United Way of Monterey County and the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, and in 2011 the Phil Hill scholarships were created to honor the famed Formula One driver, a great friend of the Pebble Beach Concours. In 2018, the event raised $2.1 million for charity, and in the aggregate the Concours has been responsible for more than $27 million in charitable contributions.
Part of this largesse is doubtlessly owed to the unique passion that comes with collecting vintage or top-of-the-line automobiles—a passion that fosters both generosity and enthusiasm. Noted American automobile designer, racer, and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby once articulated that passion succinctly: “I’ve always been asked, ‘What is my favorite car?’’ and I’ve always said ‘The next one.’”
Header image: Ferrari 250 GTOs lineup on the edge of the Pacific at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (Photo by Chia Wen/Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance)
