Pebble Beach Concours 2023: Some of the best Ferraris with Competition Next Door

    The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is considered the most prestigious car show in the world not only because it has been around since 1950 but because it’s also innovative.

    There are usually some surprises (come to think of it, have they had ice cream trucks yet?).

    Displays not only include the staid collection of pre-war cars you recall. There’s plenty of post-war cars and there is always the stepping-outside-the-traditional classic cars to see what people are doing with cars.

    They have had hot rods, the anthesis of a 100% original-from-the-automaker car.

    This year, the field of 216 cars was divided into 27 classes, including classes commemorating anniversaries for the marques Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche.

    Even at a time in automotive history when automakers are scrambling to go all electric, tossing internal combustion engines into the scrap pile of history,  Pebble still celebrates the achievements of the past.

    When 20 years from now the U.S. may have gone all electric you know they will be celebrating automotive achievements from the past 130 years.

    This year a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster was selected Best of Show, showing that Pebble judges sill have the same criterion.

    They like good engineering, reasonable performance, but above all, grandeur in styling.

    It’s no coincidence those hand-built Specials from Mercedes have won Best of Show ten times. They were arguably the high point of styling before the war. (True French cars like Delahaye and Delage were more dramatic but not the engineering marvels that Mercedes built.).

    New categories appear each year. Categories new for 2023 included Lamborghini’s 60th Anniversary, McLaren’s 60th Anniversary, and Porsche’s 75th Anniversary.

    For those, a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 Bertone Coupé, a 1967 McLaren M6A Can-Am Race Car, and a 1963 Porsche 901 Prototype “Quickblau” Karmann/Reutter Coupe finished first in their respective classes.

    These new categories make the audience average age younger. With the old antique car concours those born postwar thought “Why go, what is a Minerva?” but now names like McLaren are being shown get the blood a-pumpin’.

    Pebble seems wary of how new a car to allow in, while the most contemporary was a 1995 McLaren F1 Coupe.

    You might say that Pebble is creating  new generation of classic Ferrari fans. First they see the  free  Casa Ferrari show, then next year they pony up for a ticket for the PB concours.

    Almost every car that wins an award at Pebble has a back story, on how they came to be and this year’s winner is no exception–it was once owned by the Shah of Afghanistan.

    In those days potentates around the world ordered Rolls Royce or Mercedes, a few of them the special models. This car came from the Jim Patterson Collection in Kentucky, marking his third time taking the top prize at Pebble Beach.

    There are many other awards after Best of Show.

    The Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car went to the 1960 250 GT SWB shown by Rob Kauffman.

    The Enzo Ferrari Trophy went to the 1950 166 MM Touring Barchetta shown by Clive and Alison Beecham.

    The FIVA Postwar Trophy went to the 1956 410 Superamerica Series I Pininfarina Coupe shown by Alex and Judy Albarian.

    Ferrari scored wins in no less than three classes.

        CLASS L-2: POSTWAR PRESERVATION

    Second Place: 1958 250 GT Pinin Farina Cabriolet shown by the Anne Brockinton Lee/Robert M. Lee Automobile Collection.

 

                Pebble Beach Company photo

 

        CLASS M-1: FERRARI GRAND TOURING

 

    First Place: 1953 212 Inter Vignale Coupe shown by Kim and Stephen Bruno.

    Second Place: 1961 400 Superamerica Pininfarina Coupe Aerodinamico shown by Kevin Cogan/Cogan Collection.

    Third Place: 1966 330 GTC Pininfarina Coupe Speciale shown by Lee and Joan Herrington/The Herringtom Collection.

        CLASS M-2: FERRARI COMPETITION

    First Place: 1957 500 TRC Scaglietti Spyder shown by Andrew Pisker.

 

                Pebble Beach Company photo

 

    Second Place: 1952 225 S Vignale Coupe shown by Arnold Meier.

    Third Place: 1957 250 GT LWB Berlinetta (TdF) shown by Stu Carpenter.