57th Annual Pebble Beach Concours Facts and Stats

Wednesday, August 15. 2007

The 57th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is Sunday, Aug. 19. What began as a little gathering for car buffs in central California’s Del Monte Forest has blossomed into “the world’s Concours,” according to event Chairman Sandra Kasky Button. The Pebble Beach Golf Links® are closed one day each year -- the third Sunday in August when the 18th fairway welcomes an international collection of automotive style, performance and history.

• The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was founded in 1950.

• The Lodge at Pebble Beach™ (formerly the Del Monte Lodge) has been the host of the Concours since the event’s inception.

• Nearly 30 cars were on display 57 years ago.

• About 190 cars will line the 18th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links® for the Aug. 19 Concours. There are 24 judged classes. The overall winner – Best of Show – is selected from among the class winners.

• ’07 participants will bring their cars to Pebble Beach from 30 states and 12 countries (including the U.S.)

• 32 of the cars in the field come from outside the U.S, representing Italy, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Canada, England, Mexico, Netherlands, Australia, Scotland, Argentina and Germany.

• The total estimated cost of the vehicles spread across the 18th fairway is well over
$200 million dollars.

• The featured marques for the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance are the Auburn Cord Duesenberg group as well as Aston Martin. Additionally, the 1932 Ford, which became the quintessential hot rod platform nicknamed the “Deuce,” is celebrating its 75th anniversary at the Concours.

• 38 Aston Martins will be competing in four classes, including the 1922 Vouiturette Green Pea (owned by Neil Murray, former registrar of the Aston Martin Heritage Trust) and the 1934 Ulster (owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason). The famed “James Bond Car” from Goldfinger, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 owned by Evert V.N. Louwman from Raamsdonksveer, Netherlands, will also be competing in the Aston Martin Postwar Coachbuilt class.

• Eight relatives of Errett Lobban (E.L.) Cord will be guests of the Concours, including his daughter, three grandsons and a granddaughter. Cord founded the Cord Corporation in 1929 as the holding company for more than 150 companies, including the Auburn Automobile Company, Duesenberg Inc., Checker Cab and American Airways (later American Airlines).

• Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who was a 2004 Pebble Beach Concours class winner with his 1916 Crane-Simplex Model 5 Holbrook Skiff, will provide on-site color commentary during Sunday’s Concours and will award raffle prizes. Upon winning his class a few years ago, Leno said, “Is this a great country or what…where a mere millionaire like myself can beat all these billionaires.”• Leigh and Leslie Keno from PBS’s Antiques Roadshow will be judging original preservation cars.

• The oldest car displayed at the ’07 Concours will be an 1897 Henriod Duc Kellner Phaeton, which is being brought to Pebble Beach from Sussex, England by owner Roy Fisher. Lisa Baehni, the great granddaughter of the cars creator (Charles-Edouard Henriod), will be a special guest at the Concours.

• “The Duesenberg Special,” a streamlined, 400-horsepower 1935 SJ that set land speed and endurance records in the ‘30s, sold for a record $4.45 million at the 2004 Pebble Beach Auction conducted by Gooding & Company. Also known as “The Mormon Meteor,” the supercharged speedster, which was raced by Utah’s Ab Jenkins and then driven on the streets of Salt Lake City, will be competing in the Prewar Sports and Racing Class for owner Harry Yeaggy from Cincinnati, Ohio.

“The Mormon Meteor is the most important, well-known vehicle in the history of the American automobile,” says David Gooding, president and founder of Gooding & Company, who will be conducting auctions on Saturday and Sunday night at the Concours.

• 17 Ferraris will be competing at the ’07 Concours.

• “The average minimum for a professional restoration takes about one to two years,” says Sandra Kasky Button, Chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours. However, depending on the condition of the car at the outset and the availability of materials, an individual can take up to 10 years to restore a car.

• “The average cost of a restoration, which depends on the initial condition of the car, can sometimes be less than $50,000 or as high as $500,000,” says Button.”

• Former racing greats expected to attend include Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Parnelli Jones, Jochen Mass and Sir Stirling Moss.

• The DuPont family will be represented by brothers Thomas (St. Petersberg, Fla.) and Lammot (McLean, Va.) Not surprisingly, Thomas will be bringing his 1929 DuPont G Waterhouse 4 Place Speedster (class: American Classic Open 1925-1941) and Lammot will be bringing his 1930 DuPont Merrimac Special Sedan (class: American Classic Closed 1925-1941).

• Concept cars at this year’s event include: Mercedes-Benz Concept Ocean Drive, Maserati Granturismo, Chrysler Nassau Concept, Dodge Demon Concept, Jeep Trailhawk Concept, Bentley Brooklands, Cadilla Cien, 2008 Cadillac CTS, Lexus IS-F, Lexus LF-A, Lincoln MKR Concept, Italdesign Mustang by Giugiaro, Spyker C12 Zagato and Callaway C16 Speedster.

• The Concours expects to raise more than $1 million in 2007 for local, national and international charities, which means the annual event will have contributed well over $10 million to charities through the years.

First conducted in 1950, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® (www.pebblebeachconcours.net) has grown to become the world’s premier celebration of the automobile. Only the most beautiful and rare cars are invited to appear on the famed 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links®, and connoisseurs of art and style flock to see these masterpieces. Charitable donations raised by the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® now total over $9 million. Related events include the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance™ presented by Rolex, Pebble Beach RetroAuto™, and the Pebble Beach® Auction presented by Gooding & Company. The 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, featuring Aston Martin and the Auburn Cord Duesenberg group, will be held Sunday, August 19.

Pebble Beach®, Pebble Beach Golf Links®, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance™, and Pebble Beach RetroAuto™ are trademarks, service marks and trade dress of Pebble Beach Company. All rights reserved.

For reservations or more information please call, (800) 654-9300 or visit the Website at www.pebblebeach.com.