The Concours was founded in 1950 as an adjunct to the Pebble Beach Road Race, a circuit event on closed public roads sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America. The inaugural show on November 4, 1950 displayed thirty cars on a practice tee and driving range adjacent to the Beach Club near the Del Monte Lodge. A second, smaller show of twenty-three cars followed on May 27, 1951. In 1952 the event was relocated to the 18th green of Pebble Beach Golf Links, overlooking Carmel Bay — the location it has occupied ever since.
The Concours has run continuously since 1950 with one exception: the 1960 event was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. Rain in 1963 and 1965 made the lawn unusable, and cars that year were displayed at the old start/finish line of the road race near the horse stables. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the milestone 70th running was deferred to 2021.
A preservation category was introduced in 2001, designed to recognize cars that bear witness to the passage of time, including so-called barn finds. Classic motorcycles appeared for the first time in 2009 under a pre-1959 British Motorcycles theme. The Concours received the 2011 Motoring Event of the Year award from the International Historic Motoring Awards.
Entry is by application only. Prospective participants submit applications for each individual car, and the selection committee assembles the field from the pool of applicants. Many collectors invest years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in acquiring and restoring a vehicle in hopes of being chosen. Once accepted, a car cannot be re-entered for ten years unless ownership changes, the car has been restored, or the Concours committee actively recruits it to ensure adequate representation of a featured marque.
A typical field numbers around 175 cars, drawn from numerous states and more than a dozen countries. The estimated combined value of vehicles at the 2006 show reached 200 million US dollars. Cars are organized into judged classes arranged by type, manufacturer, coachbuilder, country of origin, or time period. Judges select first-, second-, and third-place finishers for each class. The event draws approximately 15,000 spectators.
The Best of Show is the pinnacle award, conferred by the judges on one car selected from among the class winners. It is considered the most prestigious accolade achievable at any car show worldwide, presented alongside an engraved trophy and an engraved Rolex watch. Collector J. B. Nethercutt has won Best of Show six times, more than any other individual. Among manufacturers, Bugatti and Mercedes-Benz are tied with ten Best of Show wins each as of 2024.
A set of named elegance awards recognizes standout vehicles across body style categories, including the J. B. and Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car, the Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible, the Jules Heumann Most Elegant Open Car, and the Strother MacMinn Most Elegant Sports Car.
Since 2008, Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital and creator of the Gran Turismo video game series, has presented the Gran Turismo Award to a vehicle that stands out for rarity, quality of restoration, or appearance. The winning car's owner is offered the opportunity to have the vehicle featured in the Gran Turismo series. In 2021 the award went to a 1969 Ferrari 512 S Berlinetta, once raced by Jacky Ickx and John Surtees, owned by Swiss-based Frenchman Pierre Mellinger.
Established in the 1980s, the French Cup recognizes the most significant car of French origin in the field. In 2021 the award went to a 1937 Delahaye 135 M Chapron Cabriolet owned by Tom McGough Sr. and Tom McGough Jr.
A major dimension of the modern Concours is its role as a launch platform for new production and concept vehicles. Participating brands have included Aston Martin, Acura, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Cadillac, Czinger, Ferrari, Ford, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lucid, McLaren, Pagani, Porsche, and Rolls-Royce, among others. The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport was revealed at the 2008 event. Many manufacturers maintain their own corporate display buildings for the duration of Monterey Car Week.
The event hosts the Pebble Beach Auctions, focused on high-value collector vehicles. In 2022, the auction's total sales reached 469 million US dollars.
Proceeds from the Concours have supported the United Way of Monterey County and the Pebble Beach Company Foundation across more than five decades. The 2016 event raised over 1.75 million US dollars, and cumulative charitable giving has surpassed 23 million US dollars.
The Concours sits at the center of more than fifty related events spanning Monterey Car Week, including the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion vintage racing event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and a series of classic car auctions. Together, the week represents one of the most concentrated gatherings of significant automobiles and motorsport heritage anywhere in the world.
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