From the oldest existing Rolls-Royce to the New BMW Alpina concept, here are the entries that made the 75th edition such a success
Equal parts fantastic and frenetic, Northern California’s annual Monterey Car Week comes to a crescendo with Sunday’s storied Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It’s where the world’s finest automobiles and those who not only own them but serve as stewards for car culture converge, and they did so yesterday at the event’s 75th edition.
“It was the first. They set standards, and it is the anchor for this week,” says Craig Jackson, chairman and C.E.O. of Barrett-Jackson auction house. “It’s Pebble Beach’s car week. “It’s Pebble Beach that started this… and it started with racing through 17 Mile Drive.” As usual, that passion for both motorsport and motoring in general pervaded the show lawn, festooned with 218 cars from 14 different nations, all divided into nearly 30 classes.
“It’s always been an elegant event in an elegant setting, and a number of very dedicated people work hard all year long to make this even better every year,” says Ken Gross, chief class judge, when asked about the longevity and continued influence of the grand dame of the concours circuit. Obviously, it’s success is also owed to the quality of the cars. Here, our favourites from the field.
1904 Rolls-Royce 10 HP Barker Park Phaeton
It was 1904 when arguably the greatest partnership in automotive history was launched. That’s when Charles Rolls and Henry Royce initially met up, and among the first fruits from that auspicious seed of collaboration was the 1904 Rolls-Royce 10 HP Barker Park Phaeton. Impressively, the example on Pebble’s show lawn was the earliest Rolls-Royce known to exist.
“We’ve gone through everything and we’ve brought it up to the standard it was built in,” says its current owner, U.K.-based Terry Bramall, who acquired the car three-and-a-half years ago. The body is new, but matches the one initially bestowed by the factory. As for the power train, “that’s all original,” assures Bramall, “but we went through it to make sure it’s fit for today.” Asked how it drives, Bramall tells Robb Report that “it’s so easy, so lovely.” Yet he is also keenly aware of its relevance, admitting, “I was just knocked out by the fact that I own the oldest Rolls Royce in the world, which is what this is,” says Bramall, adding, “it feels such a privilege to have it.”
1929 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Coupe
Before confetti descended on the Duesenberg named Best of Show, this Model J—with a body by Murphy—had made our short list of faves. According to an RM Sotheby’s lot description for a similar example, one that sold for US$1.87 million in 2024, this droptop configuration “was justifiably the most popular single body style constructed on the Duesenberg Model J chassis.”
The example we found worthy of praise was one of seven Duesenbergs comprising their own namesake class—the assemblage coming from New Mexico, Colorado, New Jersey, California, Ohio, and, in the case of this red-and-black piece of eye candy, Pennsylvania, where it’s owned by Ted Reimel. It seems that while the official judges were also quite taken by this category, their focus was fixed on another for top honour.
1937 Bugatti 57 SC Atalante
Certain cars command attention not for their thunderous engine note or blistering performance specs, but for their captivating bodywork alone. There are even some models that are difficult to look away from due to their intrinsic beauty. The Bugatti Type 57 epitomises that aesthetic power, exemplified by a low-slung body defined by voluptuous curves.
Designed by Jean Bugatti, founder Ettore Bugatti’s son, the Type 57 is, in our opinion, the Art Deco ideal when it comes to automotive styling. Auction house RM Sotheby’s had a two-tone Type 57SC Atalante cross the block earlier in the week for close to $5 million, noting in its lot description that only 17 of the Atalante version were built. It’s no wonder that this 1937 example, dressed in an abyssal black, had us fall hard for it.
1953 Ferrari 340 MM Vignale Spider
In 1953, Ferrari developed a Prancing Horse intended to run faster and farther than its stablemates in order to trample the competitive field of the renowned Mille Miglia race. Its speed and endurance resulted in it winning the contest and also taking first at the 1953 Giro di Sicilia, cementing its legacy early on. As for the example flanking the sea on Pebble’s 18th fairway, it also was quick to solidify its place in history.
“This was owned by Sterling Edwards, who started Pebble Beach… he won the [Pebble Beach] race in 1954 in this car,” says the owner of this 1953 Ferrari 340 MM Vignale Spider. Its current steward, who has had the car for roughly 40 years, notes that “it has been a couple of times fully restored.” Asked what the drive experience is like, he responds: “It’s somewhat a challenge with the power. I mean, the shifting and gears is fine. But it has a really big gas tank. If you if filled the gas tank up full, you would have a hard time. You’d be sliding around the corners a lot… you got to make sure you don’t have too much weight.” That may be true, but it’s the roadster’s visual gravitas that grabbed us.
1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Bertone BAT 7 Coupe
There are some automobiles that take form and function to otherworldly crossroads. Case in point is the winning automotive trifecta created as concepts by Alfa Romeo in the mid-1950s. According to the RM Sotheby’s lot description on all three, which it auctioned off as a set in 2020 for a total of US$14.84 million, the Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica (B.A.T.) trio was designed by Franco Scaglione and bodied by Bertone. And what harbingers of the Space Age those bodies are.
Yet while each one captivates in similar fashion, it was the 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 Bertone BAT 7 that transported our imagination the most with its satin-blue sheen and a look that lands somewhere between The Jetsons and Speed Racer—all in a package that RM Sotheby’s cites as weighing 999 kilograms. And with that improbably curvaceous posterior, its curling rear wings giving the car a sense of shapeshifting, it’s as if the marque was developing transportation to another dimension—a ride we long to take.
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe
While examples of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” Coupe are de rigueur for any credible concours, Pebble manages to raise the bar on such an already blue-chip model, as evidenced by this stunning example owned by Miami-based Juan J. Escalante and Carlos J. Acosta.
“This car was owned by Chet Flynn, who was a General Motors oversea executive who lived in Venezuela from ‘54 to ‘56, so he was overseeing the General Motors factory back then,” says Escalante. “So this car goes from Stuttgart to Venezuela, and five weeks later it’s racing in Venezuela, and then six weeks later it’s racing at Sebring in 1955.” Escalante goes on to mention that the car won its class at Sebring two years later. “I was born in Venezuela, that’s the draw,” he adds. We say, ‘we didn’t find the car, the car found us.’”
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 B Pinin Farina Coupe
This baronial Mercedes-Benz 300 B imbues the business side of la dolce vita, a continental cruiser that pairs comfort and visual gravitas in equal measure. The striking two-tone paint scheme accentuates body lines from coachbuilder Pinin Farina beautifully, while the prominent grille brings the elongated expanse comprising the hood to an abrupt but beautiful end. Then there’s the whitewall tires, which just add a dash more panache to a show car defined by understated elegance.
It appears that owners Fred and Donna Kriz keep this car in Arroyo Grande, Calif., while a second entry of theirs, a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Pinin Farina Coupe, resides in Monaco. While the latter came in second in its Postwar Luxury Touring class, this 1955 study in green won us over.
1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 Prima Serie
One of the most coveted postwar collector cars is also among the most beautiful ever penned by a designer, the Lamborghini Miura. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the renowned Raging Bull, Automobili Lamborghini, the Lamborghini owners club, and the team at Pebble Beach worked tirelessly to bring a record number of concours-quality examples together. “Considering we produced something more than 600 cars in the full life cycle, and distributed worldwide, to have 43 cars, and I have to say that there are also a couple of cars on the main concours, it’s something that I want to say close to 10 percent,” says Federico Foschini, Lamborghini’s chief marketing and sales officer.
When asked why the Miura still resonates so strongly with collectors six decades later, Foschini tells Robb Report: “It was the result of the job done by some very talented, but very young—below thirty [years old]—engineers, like Dallara, Stanzani, Bizzarrini, with a designer like Gandini—under the supervision of visionary men like Ferruccio, and you have this shape that is unmistakable—the Miura shape.” He adds that “this is the car that brought Lamborghini to another level.” Although each of the examples presented at Pebble were nothing short of spectacular, this 1967 Miura P400 Prima Serie was our pick of the pack.
BMW Alpina
No pilgrimage to Pebble is complete without a taking a turn around the concept lawn, where the aspirations of automakers large and small are on full display. One of the standout prototypes this year was the BMW Alpina, a material manifestation of the marque’s discontent with the status quo.
“[Alpina] was acquired outright by the BMW Group about four years ago. It’s relaunched this year. It will occupy the space between BMW today and Rolls Royce, and it represents a modernized characterization of the brand,” explains Alex Innes, design lead for BMW Alpina. Concerning the concept, Innes notes that its purpose “is to message and convey all of the qualities and all of the attributes of the brand into the contemporary age.” By the looks of it, this Alpina is every bit the ambassador intended.
Best of Show: 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster
The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance culminated with a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster rolling onto the show ramp to all the pomp and circumstance expected from the moment. According to the official press announcement from the concours, this is the eighth time the now-defunct stateside marque has earned the event’s highest accolade, and it goes on to mention that the winning ride, owned by Ohio collector Harry Yeaggy, is one of only two built to those exact specifications.
“I won once before, 19 years ago, but I appreciate it a lot better now,” Yeaggy is quoted as saying in the press release, which goes on to note that he had another Duesenberg named Best of Show at Pebble in 2007. This time, his entry beat out a 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta, a 1954 Ferrari 375 America Vignale Cabriolet, and a 1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi—the last one being our bet.
This story was first published on Robb Report USA. Featured photo by Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
