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2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
By: Drew Phillips
Photos by the author
September 08, 2003

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Of all the events in Monterey, the Pebble Beach Concours is the centerpiece. All the other shows, races, and auctions over the weekend revolve around this one event that is set in the beautiful scenery of the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Course. This year marked the 53rd year that the show has been held, and it proved to be a good one with a fantastic showing of cars and cool weather that was a nice alternative to the hot and sunny days before the show.

The actual show was preceded by several events including the Pebble Beach Tour, which involves a 50-mile drive around the Monterey Peninsula that includes a stretch of the famous 17-mile drive around Pebble Beach. This is only the sixth year of the tour, but it has already become extremely popular because it allows everyone to see the cars and not just people who buy the $100 ticket to the show. All entrants are invited to make the run, but it is not mandatory. Pebble Beach rules state that "in the event two exhibitors are tied for a class placing or elegance award, a car that participates in the tour will be favored in the judging over one that did not."

The tour started early in the morning just outside the Pebble Beach golf course. There was a mix of excitement and confusion in the air as entrants and viewers packed the crowded road. The cars soon started their engines and roared off past the start line to the cheers of on-lookers. Led by the California highway patrol, the line of Ferraris, Maseratis, Ford GT40's, Bugattis, and many, many more made their way up to Pacific Grove, across Monterey to Laguna Seca Raceway, and then back to Carmel where the cars were parked on Ocean Avenue and lunch was served to the drivers. At this time most people get their first view of the cars that are entered in the Concours. However, if you are thinking of attending the Pebble Beach Tour, I recommend that you don't actually view the cars at this time unless you want to see the cars in great detail. Carmel's small streets offer little to no parking and getting in and out of the small town is nearly impossible. Also, viewing the cars is extremely difficult due to the amount of people and lack of space. If you really want to see the cars on the tour, then I recommend finding a nice place along the 17-mile drive and enjoy the cars driving past.

After the tour was over, there was a three day wait until the actual show on Sunday. The end of the weekend quickly came, however, with the plethora of other events. Shuttle busses started unloading the crowds of people at the Pebble Beach Lodge early in the morning, and they were first greeted by the concept car display. A variety of concepts were available for viewing including the Alfa Romeo Brera Concept of 2002, the Cadillac Sixteen Concept, and the Chrysler 300 C Concept. The Sixteen had its engine bay wide open to display the fabulous 16-cylinder engine. The Bentley Continental GT, Spyker C8 Double 12, and the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron were also shown even though they are concept cars that have since turned into production cars. The Bugatti had just made its official debut at Laguna Seca Raceway the day before.

While the concept cars were impressive, the cars inside the show definitely made the largest impression. Beautiful cars are one thing, but beautiful classic cars with a legendary history behind them are another thing; if any car has a fantastic history it's the Ford GT40. Because of Ford's 100th Anniversary, Pebble Beach celebrated by having a class just for the GT40. Several fine examples of the legendary car were at the show including a street-legal MkIII, owned by the L.A.-based Peterson Automotive Museum. Harry Yeaggy's 1969 MkI Gulf took first place in the class, followed by a 1965 GT40 Roadster Prototype, and a 1967 MkIV owned by James M. Glickenhaus in third place. Another GT40 took the people's choice award - a 1966 Ford GT40 MkII owned by Ken Quintenz.

The display of Bugattis lined along the rocky coastline was just as impressive as the GT40's. There were no less than four classes for Bugattis alone, each with an impressive collection of cars in each. A 1938 Bugatti Type 57S Gangloff Cabriolet took first place in the Bugatti Twin Cam Open class, and a 1935 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic owned by Peter D. Williamson took not only first place in the Bugatti Twin Cam Closed class but won Best of Show for the entire Concours. That made this the fifth time a Type 57SC has won this prestigious award, and the ninth time a Bugatti has won overall.

Buick is also celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and Pebble Beach honored the company with a display all its own. Several of Buick's key cars were present including the 1951 XP300 Concept, the 1951 LeSabre Concept, and the 1954 Wildcat II Concept. Charles Bidwell's 1932 Limited Model 90 Murphy Town Car won the Buick Classic Category.

Some of the more popular cars were the 1950's and 1960's sports cars. Ferrari had two classes: Grand Touring and Competition, which were won by a 1955 Ferrari 375 America Pininfarina Coupe Speciale and a beautiful 1959 Ferrari 250 Testarossa Fantuzzi Spyder respectively. Other Ferraris in attendance included a 1956 250GT LWB Scaglietti Berlinetta and a 1960 250 GT California Spyder. The Postwar Sports Car class was easily won by David Sydorick's 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. For nearly forty years the car had sat in a barn until it was finally rescued, bought by Sydorick, and then restored to excellent condition. Another Zagato-bodied car, a 1957 Jaguar XK-140 Zagato Coupe, took third place in the category.

This year also marked the 35th anniversary of Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign. A 1972 Maserati Ghibli SS Ghia Spyder took first place in the Giugiaro Design class followed by a gorgeous 1964 Bizzarrini 5300 Corsa Drogo Berlinetta and a 1972 Maserati Ghibli SS Coupe to match the Spyder came in third place. Several modern Italdesign cars were also at the show including the Aztec, the Nazca M12, and the 2003 Moray Corvette. The Alfa Romeo Brera in the concept car display was also designed by Giugiaro's design company.

After the show ended in the afternoon, the action didn't stop as the Blackhawk Sales Exposition and the Christie's Auction of Exceptional Motor Cars continued the automotive nirvana. The highlight of the Christie's Auction was the sale of the first Ford GT to be sold to the public. Comedian Jay Leno was on hand to help boost the bidding of the car, and he did his job well and the car sold at $557,500, well over the expected price. A Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage with a fantastic racing history was also offered for sale, but it didn't meet reserve. Other cars offered for sale included a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing that sold for well over $300,000, and a 1967 Ferrari 365 Spyder California that netted $634,500. The Blackhawk Exposition Sale also had some fantastic automobiles for sale including a silver Jaguar XJ220, an awkward but brutally fast Ford RS200 EVO, and the revolutionary Audi Sport Quattro. Classic cars were also available for purchase: several 1920's and 1930's Bugattis were put up for sale along with a large collection of Duesenbergs, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls-Royce.

This year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was certainly a special one. Three anniversaries were celebrated (Ford - 100, Buick - 100, Italdesign - 35) and the feature marque, Bugatti, has produced some of the most eye-pleasing cars of all time. The rows of Bugattis and GT40's were a spectacular and memorable site. With its serene setting and fine display of elegant automobiles, the Pebble Beach Concours nicely capped off an excellent weekend in Monterey.