'2013 Best in Show' at Pebble Beach may have gone to an immaculate 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria, but if it was up to us, we would have given the gong to the 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Boano Coupe design study, which, legend has it, was given to Hollywood film star Errol Flynn by his friend Henry Ford II. Orange cars have seldom looked as good (inside and out)
Simply put, Monterey Car Week 2013 in California, is the biggest and best collective event in the world if you want to see the globe's most exclusive classic cars gathered in one region for seven days straight.
Headlined by the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance - now in its 63rd year and held on a Sunday in mid-August - fans arrive from all over the world to mull over the finest specimens of classic automotive exotica at Pebble and the many satellite events that have sprung up around it over the years.
Among those events are three big auctions, and at Monterey in 2013 the world record price for a classic car sold at auction was broken by a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder which sold at RM Auctions for $27.5m, while down the road a 1997 McLaren F1 roadster made $8.5m at a Gooding & Co event.
But despite that drama, the main event is still early on the Sunday morning, when hundreds of classic cars drive down the gentle slopes of Pebble Beach golf course at the sea's edge on the southern edge of the Monterey Peninsula, and await to be judged in various categories, as well as aiming for the coveted 'Best in Show' prize.
Alongside the classics, over the years there have been a small number of new cars and concepts revealed too, usually one-offs or limited runs, in keeping with the event's exclusive nature, and some even global exclusives too. This year that list included Aston Martin, Lamborghini, BMW and Spyker while Bentley even launched a new handbag collection here, in the hope of winning some well-heeled female customers. Here are Wallpaper* online's potted highlights...
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Guy Bird is a London-based writer, editor and consultant specialising in cars and car design, but also covers aviation, architecture, street art, sneakers and music. His journalistic experience spans more than 25 years in the UK and global industry. See more at www.guybird.com