Monterey Car Week is over, and it surprised us by offering some big debuts. But the classic cars that flock to the area are a huge draw, too, and the week is never complete without some awards. Winning this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance’s Best of Show was a stunning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo. A 1956 Jaguar D-Type won the Quail’s Best of Show award.
The Duesenberg, crowned yesterday, is the first American car to win the award since 2013 when a 1934 Packard Twelve took home the top honor. This is the seventh American car to win. The Duesenberg competed against 40 vehicles from 18 countries and 33 states. The Duesenberg competed against cars such as the 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet, the 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet, and the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupe.
“We’ve been doing this for years, and we’ve come close in the past, but we never won actually,” said Lee Anderson Sr., the Duesenberg’s owner. The Pebble Beach Concours raised more than $2.67 million for charity this year, benefiting more than 95 local charities in Monterey County, California.
Winning the Best of Show award at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering was a 1959 Jaguar D-Type. It was one of over 200 competing for the prize and was inducted into the Rolex Circle of Champions. It was picked for its “superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship, and extensive restoration process.” Jaguar won Le Man three years in a row, from 1955 to 1957, with the D-Type racer.
Other award winners from The Quail included a 1958 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Bertone Spirit Coupe, a 1980 BMW M1, a 1959 Citroen Squall Prototype, and many more.
Monterey Car Week has become a go-to event for automakers, too, that brought quite a lot of new metal to this year’s show. Aston Martin revealed the 690-horsepower V12 Vantage Roadster, while Lamborghini debuted the 666-hp Urus Performante. Lucid showed off its three-motor, $250,000 high-performance electric sedan and Lincoln previewed its vision for the future of cars.