2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

By Martin S. Cousineau  / Photos by Michelle Herrera Cousineau        With sixty-one years dedicated to extraordinary automotive displays, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has earned a dedicated following, drawing the finest automobiles from the United States and around the globe. The sheer number of distinctive cars that come out to play - and be displayed - at this annual event is staggering. This year, the total included over two hundred automobiles (plus more than twenty motorcycles) arrayed on the picturesque 18th fairway at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. Best of Show was a stand-out 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne, owned by Peter and Merle Mullin of Los Angeles.

The exceptional quality and significance of these automobiles provides an annual opportunity for the concours to curate singular automotive displays with specific historical and design themes. These showcases are extensive and impressive; in 1985, this effort resulted in a display of eight rare Bugatti Royales. This year, the concours featured two categories of special interest to those who admire Classics: a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the automobile, with a tribute to Mercedes-Benz, and a celebration of the centennial of the Stutz Motor Company.

The Sunday concours is traditionally preceded by the Tour d'Elegance on Thursday, an entertaining 60-mile drive down the Big Sur coastline. We had the pleasure of reporting and photographing the Tour as guests of Dr. Rick Zeiger and National CCCA publications editor Ron Verschoor as passengers in Dr. Zeiger's 1940 Cadillac Series 60 Special Fleetwood Town Car. The Tour is whirlwind and exhilarating -- and not just for those in convertibles! With over one hundred seventy automobiles as eye candy (the vast majority were Classics), the drive down Hwy. 1 was a visual feast. The procession of heavy metal hurtling down the highway drew hundreds of spectators, who lined the highway and then descended on Carmel's Ocean Avenue, where Tour participants break (brake?) for lunch and allow spectators a closer look at the cars.