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2005 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
By: Drew Phillips
Photos by Drew Phillips and Nathan Leach-Proffer
October 26, 2005

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The Pebble Beach Golf Links are open all but one day of the year. On the third Sunday of every August, the course is closed, and over $300 million worth of the finest automobiles gather on the 18th fairway in front of the lodge. For 2005, the Concours celebrated its 55th anniversary with one of the greatest entry lists of all times. Featured marques of the show included Alfa Romeo and Delage, who both celebrated their 100th anniversaries this year, as well as Pininfarina. Several examples from the Italian design house's seventy-five year history could be seen on the lawn. Overall, 227 cars in 27 classes were on display.

Alfa Romeo was without a doubt the highlight of the show. “The 95-year history of the Alfa Romeo race cars and street cars is remarkable, and the vehicles are of utmost importance in the collector car world,” said Pebble Beach Concours Co-Chairman Glenn Mounger. A remarkable sixty-two Alfa Romeos were on display, including twenty-seven that came from out of the country. There were seven judged classes, ranging from Prewar Racecars to Postwar Sports Racing. The Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, Italy was even gracious enough to bring over seven examples of their collection for the non-judged Alfa Romeo Historical Display. Other cars featured included three famous Alfa Romeo concepts, the B.A.T. (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) cars. Designed by Bertone in the 1950's, the B.A.T.'s are considered some of the greatest designs of the twentieth century.

Delage is another car company celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and some of the finest examples were featured at Pebble Beach. The French car builder made some of the finest automobiles of the 1930's, and the marque had it own class with models ranging from 1914 to 1946. “Delage represents beauty and excitement, and the carmaker's French curves continue to influence manufacturers today,” said Mounger. “Each Delage appearing at Pebble Beach is quite significant and epitomizes some very unique styling.” A beautiful 1937 D8-120 S Pourtout Aréo Coupé took best in class, giving Delage a good chance to win the Best of Show for the first time in the show's history.

The seventy-fifth anniversary of Pininfarina did not go unnoticed at Pebble Beach, and the design company's influence over the automobile industry could be seen throughout the classes. Pininfarina-designed cars were on display in many of the classes, joined together with names like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Arbath, Cisitalia, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Fiat, and Jaguar. Cars representing the company's entire history were on display, ranging from a 1949 Cisitalia 202SC Pininfarina Cabriolet to the radical 2005 Maserati Birdcage 75th concept.

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the show was the appearance of the Mercedes-Benz “722” 300SLR driven by Stirling Moss in the 1955 World Sports Car Championship. The car is most known for its famous win of the 1955 Mille Miglia in which Moss drove perhaps the best race of his career. The race was also the first time that a “road book” was used. Moss's navigator, Denis Jenkinson, prepared a manual for the race that recorded the optimal speeds for the corners, now a must-have for modern rally drivers. The appearance of the car at Pebble Beach was especially important because this is the last time the car will be seen outside of its future home in the new Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany. In a memorable moment, Moss drove the car for the last time across the podium to the applause of the thousands gathered.

The Best of Show award is perhaps the most coveted award given to any automobile, and there were many cars in this year's field that could have taken home the award. Among the favored candidates were a beautiful 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Tourenwagen that finished best in the Mercedes-Benz Prewar class, a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Figoni et Falashi Coupe from the European Classic 1925-1939 class, and the aforementioned 1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aréo Coupé. After what seemed like hours of deliberation, the judges selected the Delage to drive up on stage for the confetti-filled finale and be crowned as the victor of this year's “competition of elegance.”