Context: Pebble Beach
Once a year, the collector car industry, dealers in vintage automobiles, major and minor collectors, and car enthusiasts of all kinds meet in Pebble Beach for an amazing week of automobile auctions, car exhibitions, new car introductions, cocktail parties and industry events. It can be said–with only a little bit of argument–that the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and the Pebble Beach/Monterey automobile auctions set the prices. pricing trends, and collection directions and strategies of the collector/vintage car industry. The entire week–Pebble Beach in shorthand–is a unique celebration of the automobile, combining track events (vintage car racing); road tours; rallies; sidewalk exhibits; high dollar automobile auctions; new car introductions; new concept cars; an auto industry trade show, and the opportunity to see (and buy) items from the many specialist automobile/racing stores and exhibits on display. Plus..on Sunday, the justifiable famous and magnificent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. And, if you play golf (and know someone at the private golf clubs), maybe get in a round or two on the world famous Pebble Beach/Carmel golf courses. It’s just all too perfect, and in the times that we live in now, very much necessary.
The entire scene couldn’t be more picturesque. The town of Carmel is so lovely and charming, it’s almost like magic. Walk down the main street in the morning of the Pebble Beach auctions weekend, and you can stroll past everything from an original 427 Cobra to a La Ferrari to a 356 Porsche. It is, truly the greatest gathering of cars and enthusiasts and industry personnel in the world.
This year, we bring back one of the most popular features to ever run on this site—our review of the biggest auctions and the best cars (from our own unique perspective) of the offered. There are posts devoted to each of the major auctions at Pebble Beach, along with certain models we find interesting and worthy of your time (and money). Also included are direct links to the auction catalogs (download them for future reference), photos of the cars, all the information necessary to attend or follow the auction and estimated prices for some models we find particularly interesting. And yes, we will admit that we do have a bit of a bias for classic racing cars.
If you can’t go to Pebble Beach this year, not to worry. We’ve got a guide to the best of the best.
The Fine Print: