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Wheels24 reader Trevor Noble shares his thoughts on the epic car show in California.
Pebble Beach, California - The 2017 Pebble Beach Concours has been widely acclaimed as the world’s most prestigious celebration of automotive excellence and this year is the 67th installment.
The event is staged on the 18th fairway of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links in California (Monterey) and features a world class collection of famous marques and features both fully restored cars as well as “original” un-restored cars.
204 entrants
This year 204 cars from 15 countries and 31 states, including 54 first-time entrants entered the event.
The Pebble Beach event also featured the 70th Anniversary of Ferrari with a wide range of the 'prancing horse' models on display.
GALLERY: 2017 Pebbly Beach Concours
The Concours is contested by many classes with the main prize being the “Best of Show” which last year was won by a Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet from 1936.
The winner of the coveted Best of Show award at this year’s 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is a 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer. Image: Concours de Elegance
I was lucky enough to be granted a media pass to get up close and personal with the cars on show.
The day started early at around 6:30am to be able to see the cars arriving on the display lawn and riding between the lines of fans on the lawn even at this early hour.
I only had time to stay for 2 hours as I had the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion to get to at Mazda Raceway (Laguna Seca – home of the Corkscrew).
It was my first visit to the Pebble Beach Concours but have seen it on TV before and was glad I got to see it live.
This event was shared with the 70th Anniversary of Ferrari and there were displays both at Pebble Beach and at a separate venue nearby where there was a wide range of classic and current Ferrari’s on display.
The venue is great as it is right on the edge of the ocean and provides a fantastic backdrop for pictures.
Image: Trevor Noble
On display on the green lawns were a range of classic cars in various class’s from 1900 to 1977 and ranged from road cars to sports cars and full race cars with names like Bentley, Rolls Royce, Packard, Bugatti, Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow and many more famous names.
In the high quality multipage program there is also an article about the Pebble Beach Road Races which were run from 1950 until 1956 with the likes of Jaguar, MG and many “Special’s” taking part with later the V8 engined Specials proving to be fast.
Part of the Concours event is the “Pebble Beach Tour” where all the cars to be on show are invited to partake in a tour of the Coast road and the 17 Mile Drive with a breakfast break at the half way stage - another opportunity for photos.
The Pebble Beach Concours is not only a viewing spectacle but the show also benefits local charities and since 1950 they have contributed more than 23 million USD to more than 80 Monterey charities. This year the organisers hoped to raise around $2-million.
