To show a car at Pebble, now in its 62nd year, you first must apply. More than 700 would-be entrants vie annu- ally for about 200 places on the 18th green at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. The finest and rarest automobiles and historic motorcycles are divided into 20 classes, several of which change each year. It’s not easy to get in, it’s hard to win your class and it’s nearly impossible to capture the top prize.
From the moment the show cars emerge out of the early morning
fog and take their positions on the lawn, Pebble Beach becomes a colorful and dramatic pageant. Suspense builds throughout the day. While elegantly dressed men and women sip champagne and crowd around the cars, knowledgeable class judges in blue blazers meticu- lously scrutinize each car’s restoration accuracy or preservation integrity, as well as mechanical function. Points are deducted for imperfections, inac- curate details and over-restoration; they are awarded for style, beauty, color and field presence. Each win- ning entry must be driven over the show ramp to claim an award.
A class victory at Pebble Beach confirms that a car is both historically correct as it came from the factory or coachbuilder, and arguably close to perfect. But even that’s not enough. From those class winners, the Best of Show is chosen by a secret ballot cast by the Chief Class Judges and a cadre of Honorary Judges, many of whom are past or present auto- mobile designers, as well as event Chairman Sandra Button. Any Pebble Beach award increases a car’s value, compliments its owner and honors its restorer. Once your car has won at Pebble Beach, recognition follows you throughout the old car hobby. It only multiplies for Best of Show.
THE DREAM CATCHERS Although a few past Best of Show winners restored their own cars, most were restored professionally. Hagerty Classic Cars spoke with three winning restorers to better understand why Pebble Beach commands the respect it does, what winning Best of Show at Pebble means and what these shops do to prepare. Each of the three was preparing an entrant for 2012 when we spoke with them.
Paul Russell and Company, in Essex, Massachusetts, has had two past Pebble Beach Best of Show winners: a Mercedes-Benz SSK roadster and a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, both owned by Ralph Lauren. More recently, Arturo Keller’s 540K Mercedes-Benz Autobahn- Kurier was a runner-up for Best of Show. “Pebble Beach is the tough- est concours,” Russell says. “The judges are the most knowledgeable. They’re judging technical authentic- ity, competence, style and elegance, compared to events where judging is purely subjective in the ‘French style.’ We don’t prepare a car any differ- ently for Pebble, but we do mount a spirited defense for our authentic- ity choices. It starts with extensive research on each car. We make that into a book that we have on hand during judging.
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