Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 2008 Gallery 1

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 2008 Photos and Stories.

58th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance; Car and Auto Show, 2008-08-17, Pebble Beach Lodge, Pebble Beach, California, USA

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 2008 Gallery 1

Nine seldom seen Lamborghinis will be on display along California's Monterey Bay at the Aug. 17 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and Valentino Balboni will being meticulously studying each one. Balboni is not only a 40-year employee of the legendary Italian sports car maker, he is serving as a Class Judge at this year's Concours, where Lamborghini is a featured marque.

The 58th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will feature Lancia, Lamborghini, and the centennial of General Motors. Lancia, the Italian auto manufacturer known for its elegant originality and innovative spirit will be on display with seventeen significant Lancia vehicles ranging from a rarely seen 1953 Lancia Aurelia B20 Rally Car to one of the oldest Lancias on record, a 1908 12 hp Alpha. To celebrate GM, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will host a dramatic display of about 20 Motorama concept cars and there will be classes for sweet Cadillac V-16s, GM woodies, and GM-powered sports cars. And there will be special classes celebrating the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, as well as a few surprises.

Also of note is the Celebration of the 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE FERRARI 250 GT SPYDER CALIFORNIA

Six types of Ferrari Spyder Californias will appear together Aug. 17, alongside the first showing of the only factory-built Ferrari Superamerica with Spyder California coachwork

In 1958, Ferrari began production of a race-inspired convertible named after its best-selling market - the Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California. Only 105 "Cal Spyders" were manufactured. In addition to the prototype, there were six variants-long and short wheelbase models with differing headline treatments and competition versions.

Six of these now iconic roadsters will be displayed among the world's elite vehicles at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 17, 2008.

"The Spyder California exemplifies Ferrari's unrivaled racing heritage and matchless individuality," said Sandra Kasky Button, chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, "This is the first time that six variations, including the prototype, will appear together in one place. Once again automotive history will be made at Pebble Beach."

According to Ed Gilbertson, Chief Judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and a Ferrari expert, "The Spyder California was a factory-built road car that you could drive to the track and race. We're bringing together examples from around the world - from people who don't often show their cars - to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime display of Ferrari legends."

One of the most desirable Ferraris of all on display at the Concours - the closed headlight, alloy-bodied, short wheelbase Spyder California that raced at Le Mans and Sebring.

The Concours will also showcase the only Ferrari 400 Superamerica built by the factory with Spyder California coachwork. Its Pebble Beach appearance in the GT Class marks the first showing of it anywhere in the world.

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In 1955, San Francisco police officer Marvin Zukor drove his 1934 Packard V12 Convertible Victoria about 100 miles down the California coast to participate in the third Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance®. Fifty-three years later, Zukor and his prized possession will again be competing in the Aug. 17 Concours, which has grown from a local collector car show into an annual showcase for classic automobiles from around the world.

The lineage of Zukor's Packard is rather unique: it's first two owners have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The car was originally purchased from a Beverly Hills auto dealer in 1933 by actor Cesar Romero, who starred in dozens of films, but is possibly best known as the Joker on TV's Batman. The next owner was sportscaster-actor Bill Stern, who broadcast the first major league baseball game on TV.

After World War II, the Packard somehow became a Stanford University "rally car" driven around the stadium track during football games.

"The car was used and abused when I bought it," says Zukor. "The V12 engine had holes and was shot, there was a busted water pump and the entire car was a mess. But I loved it."

He purchased the Packard in 1952 from a young man who, according to Zukor, had rescued the car from oblivion at Stanford, but was leaving to serve in the Korean War.

"I originally gave it a 1950s-type restoration, including a $100 paint job, new engine and upholstery," says Zukor, a founding member of the Northern California Region of the Classic Car Club of America. "I then showed it at the 1955 Pebble Beach Concours and got a prize for second place (in class) - a little thing to put on my dashboard."

Zukor, who will be attending the 2008 Concours with his wife Vivian and her two children, was invited to return to the event by Chris Bock, a longtime friend and a member of the Pebble Beach Selection Committee. Bock says that his committee loves the fact that the car has been used its entire life and "for most of the past 53 years, Marvin has been pouring oil into the car and driving it around northern California.

"As it turns out, he had a true classic car before most people even knew about classics. It's a truly striking vehicle."

To ready his Packard for Pebble Beach after a 53-year absence and thousands of driving miles around San Francisco and environs, Zukor has hired classic car restorers Craig and Sue Lynch to return the vehicle to pristine condition.

"I was a San Francisco cop for 30 years, a U.S. marshall for 15 years, in the Navy for four years and I was a Boy Scout for one year. Now, within the past few years, I've been focused on restoring my Packard once again. Let's just say I've spent a little more on its second restoration."

Best of Show
Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta 1938
Pebble Beach
Concours d'Elegance, 2008

The 8C 2900B was Alfa Romeo's most prestigious grand touring car of the 1930s. Only 33 examples were ever completed for road use, and most were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring. The body on this car is unique; one of six privately commissioned Berlinettas, it was used in several advertisements by Alfa. This car won the first race at Watkins Glen in 1948.

Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. to unveil its new supercar-the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport-on the awards ramp of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on Saturday, August 16. The following day, soon after the Concours presents its Best of Show award to some deserving collector car, chassis number 001 of the new 2009 production model will be sold at the Pebble Beach Auction presented by Gooding & Company to raise funds for one of the Concours charities-the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, which supports educational programs to aid the youth of Monterey County. MORE

Four vehicles with massive engines displacing more than 20 liters, or more than 1,220 cubic inches, will cast their shadows at the Aug. 17 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The vehicles, including Tonight Show host Jay Leno's tank car, will be highlighted in a special 20 + Liter Class at the 58th annual event.

On display will be the only long-chassis 200 hp "Blitzen" Benz; a custom Rolls-Royce modified to fit a massive 27-liter Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine taken directly from a P-51 fighter plane; and a car utilizing the same P-51 engine on a hand-fabricated chassis known as the 1953 Swandean Spitfire Special. Standing out as the sole modern offering will be Leno's entirely custom tank car, aptly named for the 30-liter V12 Chrysler-built engine derived from an M-47 Patton tank