Beauty and the beasts

John LeBlanc for the Toronto Star

1937 Horch - Best in Show winner

John LeBlanc

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.–Attendees in straw hats, blue blazers and khaki pants, milling around meticulously restored Ferrari, Duesenberg, Bugatti and Packard collector cars, nestled against the crashing waves of the Pacific.

And, of course, the requisite celebrity-comedian Porsche collector.

These are the stereotypical characteristics of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, considered the world's most prestigious car-collector show.

Held for the 59th time on the grounds of the golf course of the same name, the Concours d'Elegance – or "Pebble" for short – is the last stop on the Sunday of a week of classic car enthusiasts' events in and around the Monterey Peninsula. They include the Quail Lodge show in Carmel Valley and the Monterey Historic races at nearby Laguna Seca raceway.

At Pebble, competing classes are organized by the usual classifications: marque, coachbuilder, country of origin or time period. Respected judges pick first-, second-, and third-place class, culminating in the prestigious best-of-show award.

Look past some of the prestigious brands that tend to regularly pop up at these events, though, and there is plenty to see among the misfit, mongrel and long-deceased orphan brands of the auto industry.

Case in point: this year's best-in-show winner, a 1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet entered by Robert M. Lee of Sparks, Nev.

What's a Horch? Founder August Horch worked with Karl Benz (yes, that Benz) before forming his own company 110 years ago in Germany that would eventually carry another famous German brand name. Horch left his namesake firm and Horch nameplate to found Audi, which is 100 years old.

While anyone with enough means can turn a barnyard dog into a show champion, there were also several examples at this year's Pebble of "survivor" cars – vehicles that have been unrestored.

Along with Audi, DKW and Horch, Wanderer was one of the four original brands that made up Auto Union, the predecessor of today's Audi. And a rare example of an unrestored model is the 1937 Wanderer W25K Sports Roadster, entered by Peter and Merle Mullin of Los Angeles.

The 1962 Maserati 3500GT Coupe is considered the storied Italian automaker's first genuine series production car. The definitive Gran Turismo, it's also the inspiration for the current Maser namesake.

But with its flaking red paint, stone-pitted chrome and rusty knock-off wheels, this 3500G–brought all the way from San José, Costa Rica, by owners Carlos and Nicola Macaya–is probably the grungiest Maserati you'll ever see at a car show.

American metal is also a highlight at Pebble. One of the oldest survivor cars present was the massive 1911 Oldsmobile Limited Touring. Dwarfing today's SUVs, only 159 seven-passenger Touring cars were made that year. And this example owned by John Rich Sr. from Pottsville, Penn., is the only unrestored Touring in existence.

Shelby Cobras are the darling of the collector car set. A 1965 Daytona Cobra Coupe CSX2601 made history by selling for a record-breaking $7.25 million the day before Pebble this year – a record for an American car sold at auction.

This survivor, a 1964 AC Cobra 289 Roadster known as the "dirt bag," probably can be had for a little less.

Originally bought by Fred Offenhauser (yes, from those Offenhausers), the car was put under a tarp in 1975 and stayed there until 1999. It was then acquired by its current owner, Lynn Park of La Canada, Calif.

While vintage-racing Ferraris threatened to outnumber the seagulls at this year's Pebble, two American-made oval track roadsters from 1957 (when the Indianapolis 500 was a part of the FIA world championship) garnered some deserved attention.

Driven at the time by Indy legend Troy Ruttman, the 1957 A.J. Watson Monza 500 John Zink Special Roadster led the opening laps of the '57 Indianapolis 500.

A month later, Ruttman would drive it to second place in the 500-mile race at Monza, Italy. It now resides at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

Competing against the John Zink Special that year in four world championship races was the 1957 Kurtis Kraft 500 G-2 Frank Kurtis Roadster driven by Jack Turner, and entered at Pebble by local Patrick Phinny from Carmel, Calif.

At the other end of the scale of the post-war racing scene, size-wise at least, is the 1949 Topolino 750MM Zagato Coupe. Owned by Scott and Courtney Gauthier of Scottsdale, Ariz., this is one of eight competition Zagato Coupes based on the Fiat Topolino "Little Mouse." It was designed for smaller capacity classes at the Mille Miglia road race.

While many make the pilgrimage to Pebble for the cars, classic motorcycles can also now be found.

One example was the 1956 Ariel Square 4 with Garrard Side Car, owned by James Shaffer of Hawthorne, Calif.

Distinguished by its "square four engine," the so-called "Squirrel" helped establish Ariel in the big bike market and stayed in production until 1959.

The 1954 A.J.S. E-95 "Porcupine" (called as such due to its spiky fins on its cylinder head) is seen as the last true British factory entry in motorcycle Grand Prix racing.

Unique with its two separate cylinder heads instead of one common to both cylinders, this E-95 is part of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, Ala.

Among all of these four- and two-wheeled classics, the pair that stood out for me were two Chrysler dreams.

The 1941 Chrysler Lebaron Newport was the pace car at that year's Indy 500, and set the template for Chrysler's production car styling efforts for many years.

Only six Newports were ever built; five are known to exist. And this example, owned by John White of Sacramento, Calif., has serial number "one."

The Newport's sleeker counterpart, the 1941 Chrysler Lebaron Thunderbolt, is one of the industry's first attempts at a fully retractable hardtop-convertible coupe.

You can see why the Thunderbolt was hailed "The Car of the Future" when it debuted.

Designed by the legendary Alex Tremulis (he of Tucker fame), the Thunderbolt sports an aluminum bodied chassis, concealed headlights and a small silver bolt of lightning on each smooth door.

Today, there are four known Thunderbolts still surviving. And each Thunderbolt was manufactured with a unique colour scheme and no two were alike. This one is owned by Gerard DePersio of Tustin, Calif.

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