Top-dollar show

Such is the prestige surrounding the Pebble Beach Concours that winning cars can treble in value overnight

Pebble Beach Concours is considered the pinnacle of all car shows. It oozes luxury, style and money. It also gives the American public an opportunity to view some of the most gorgeous automobiles ever created.

For the past 60 years, collectors have gone through hoops to get their cars to the Californian event. Many have spent more money restoring their rolling sculptures than a good portion of the public has ever made in a lifetime. And once a car has been shown at Pebble and does in fact take the top prize – Best of Show – that car’s value will more than double or treble overnight. This year that honour and good fortune fell to the Patterson Collection based in Louisville, Kentucky, as its 1933 Delage D8S De Villars Roadster scooped the top prize.

At Laguna Seca legendary US racer, car builder and team owner Dan Gurney was honoured at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, as 600 classic cars took to the track for a colourful selection of demonstrations and 19 races. Winners included Alex Buncombe (Lotus 19) and Charles Dean, who took the spoils in the Bugatti race driving his T51. Bruce Canepa was a double winner in his Porsche 917K and Ford Mustang Trans-Am, while Charles Nearburg’s Williams FW07B scored in the well-subscribed 60 years of the Formula 1 World Championship race.