Classic Car Week ends with impressive display of automobiles (and fashion) (2024)

PEBBLE BEACH >> Car lovers were welcomed by sunny skies to the 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, capping off this year’s Classic Car Week.

The weather was perfect for an afternoon of admiring (and judging) the impressive display of both new and classic cars. Thousands turned out to the event, dressed to the nines, to see which car owner would be granted the prestigious title of “Best of Show.”

Fritz Burkard of Zug, Switzerland became the first Swiss man to win the Best of Show with his 1934 Bugattie Type 59. It also marked the first time an unrestored preservation car has won. The car is entirely original and heavily worn.

The car was one of many parked on Pebble Beach Golf Links’ 17th and 18th fairways with an interesting story. For example, Gordon Logan’s 1940 Packard convertible was supposed to debut at the Paris Auto Show in 1940 but was delayed by the war. Packard moved the car around the country to various dealerships in France until it was sold to MGM Studios. It starred in various movies including the 1953 Western film, “Blowing Wind.”

Before being purchased by Logan last year, the car had lived many lives, including being owned by a professional Ice Capades skater, being driven through a blizzard in Oklahoma and traveling across the country multiple times to different owners.

“It’s always wonderful to be here, anytime you can be at Pebble Beach and show a car is special,” said Logan.

First-time Classic Car Week attendee Stacy Sullivan was impressed by the prestige of not only the vehicles on display, but the people, too. Walking through the rows of cars, Sullivan saw “so many gorgeous cars and gorgeous people,” she said.

The beauty of the hundreds of vehicles parked on the resort was matched only by the elegant fashion Sunday’s guests arrived in. Hundreds of floral, floor-length sundresses and intricate tea hats covered the fairways and provided more to admire.

As the climax of Classic Car Week, the Concours “is the culmination of a really fun week,” said Sullivan.

While it’s easy to get distracted by the fashion, ultimately what everyone is there for is to know which vehicle is considered “Best of Show” in one of the world’s most prestigious car shows. Among other things, judges look for technical merit, style and history.

“We just judge purely on design and the emotional appeal of the vehicle,” said Michael Simcoe, honorary judge and vice president of global design at General Motors. According to Simcoe, the job of an honorary judge is different from that of a regular judge. Instead of looking for point scoring on originality or style, honorary judges look out for the appearance and elegance of the car and if it delivers on the promise of what the car represents.

Though it doesn’t look like a traditional race car, the 1936 Delahaye 135 S made by Figoni et Falaschi has proved itself as both reliable and stylish.

It was one of six bodies that was sent to Delahaye and used for race cars, according to Alan Beech, who worked on the restoration. The car has an aluminum body and French racing engine and is now used as a daily driver.

To prove its reliability, the car was driven to Big Sur and back during Thursday’s Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. “It did terrific, it loves to run instead of just idling,” said Beach. “We had a fun time out there, we saw the coastline (and) really enjoyed it … we’re happy we’re here.”

The rows of cars lined up perfectly equidistant so each vehicle gets its own moment wouldn’t be possible without field hosts like Lloyd Watts. A volunteer for the last seven years, Watts said “I love it so much I keep coming back.”

Watts is also a Car Week entrant, winning “First in Class” with his 1970 BMW 2800 CS at Thursday’s Legends of the Autobahn event. “It’s the life, it’s a great way to spend a week,” said Watts.

From classic to exotic cars, the cars in pristine condition and the ones collecting dust, Lloyd believes there is a Car Week event for everyone. “It doesn’t matter if you come here to the Concours d’Elegance or if you go to the Concours d’Lemons, it’s all fun,” said Watts.

Judges also look for “originality and authenticity on the technical side because it’s important cars are correct,” said Peter Larsen, judge and selection committee member. “When we look at cars, we’re celebrating them as historical objects that have come down to us and it’s not our job to paint them in strange colors or put in upholstering that didn’t exist when the car was made.”

With an occasion as grandiose as Car Week, preparation is no joke. “Concours Sunday is the single most important day of the year,” said Larsen, a long-time car aficionado. “It starts and it’s over and bang … the work for next year starts basically Monday.”