PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Every third Sunday in August, rows and rows of pristinely restored Duesenbergs, Packards and Bugattis decorate the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links. It’s the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an automotive time capsule where entries are judged for their elegance and authenticity.
While it’s still a jewel box for classic cars some graying interlopers have recently cropped up amidst the priceless and spotless, automotive gems.
Immaculately restored vehicles still capture the majority of the Concours limelight, but the unrefurbished cars of the Pebble Beach prewar and postwar preservation classes are garnering more and more public and media attention.
“There’s something stately about these treasures that actually show their history; once regal vehicles that have been left unrestored by their owners,” says Sandra Kasky Button, Pebble Beach Concours Chairman. “Some have sat untouched for decades in barns, under tarps or buried in the back of deserted warehouses while others have been lovingly driven around town. In each instance, they’re unique, beautiful and bear witness to the passage of time -- not only to those who created them, but to those who drove them.”
A prime example of historic beauty and relevance in this year’s Concours is Porsche No. 1. Dr. Ferry Porsche once said, “I couldn’t find the car I’d been dreaming of. So I decided to build it myself.”
On June 8, 1948 his dream car became a reality and signaled the birth of the sports car company bearing his name. The car spent many years with numerous owners before being recovered and returned in 1958 to the Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart, where it has remained the centerpiece of Porsche’s automotive history.
Porsche No. 1’s appearance at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance is Porsche’s second chance to display this piece of history in the U.S. Ten years ago, as part of the celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary, the first attempt was foiled by a shipping accident that damaged the car and prevented its presentation. On Aug. 17, Porsche will finally show No. 1 in its original glory at Pebble Beach where it joins 16 other preservation class vehicles in the largest showing of unrestored cars in this event’s history.
When horseless carriages began ruling the road about 100 years ago, many vehicles were discarded once they began to age. By the late 1950s, as the collector car pastime began to blossom, the emphasis was focused on restoring these older cars -- making them as good or better than new. Recently some auto aficionados have started to think that cars restored to “as new” condition can lose a portion of their historical significance. It’s like shinning an old coin. You devalue a rare coin if you polish it. While some purists are still unable to see beauty amid the chipped paint, rusted rims and sun-shredded upholstery, some in the preservation movement insist that the patina of age has a beauty all its own. They feel these “rescued” automotive time capsules maintain peak historical importance by keeping the cars in their original unchanged condition.
The Pebble Beach Concours initially recognized preservation cars in 1999 when a trophy was awarded for Best Preserved Car. The first class at Pebble Beach solely devoted to pre-war preservation vehicles was in 2001, and in 2007 a post-war preservation class was created.
"Our preservation classes cover a wide range of cars – from the untouched, long-hidden finds to much-loved automobiles that have been used, well maintained (but not restored) and passed down through many generations of owners,” says Button. “Everyone talks about the untouched barn find and bemoans the fact that they’re increasingly rare. To be truly preserved for a long period of time, though, cars require lots of care. So over time, I think everybody’s preference will swing toward lovingly preserved cars.”
For More information about the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance:
www.pebblebeachconcours.net
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