Automotive

Pictorial: 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance & Monterey Car Week

Pictorial: 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance & Monterey Car Week
The four finalists for top honours at the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, from top left clockwise: 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet; the winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo; a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet; and a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé
The four finalists for top honours at the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, from top left clockwise: 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet; the winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo; a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet; and a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé
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The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The winning Duesenberg Figoni Sports Torpedo at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. When new, the car cost more than ten times the salary of an American doctor, having been shipped to Paris for Figoni to sculpt one of his famous Art Deco bodies. The full story can be found in our pictorial on the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
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The winning Duesenberg Figoni Sports Torpedo at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. When new, the car cost more than ten times the salary of an American doctor, having been shipped to Paris for Figoni to sculpt one of his famous Art Deco bodies. The full story can be found in our pictorial on the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
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2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
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This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
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This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
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This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.
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RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.
The 7-liter (420-cu-in), DOHC, four-valve, eight-cylinder Duesenberg engine of the Pebble-Beach-winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo
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The 7-liter (420-cu-in), DOHC, four-valve, eight-cylinder Duesenberg engine of the Pebble-Beach-winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo
RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.
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RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 20 August, 2022
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The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 20 August, 2022
A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Coupé aérodynamique ‘Goutte d’Eau’ by Figoni & Falaschi was the inaugural winner of the Peninsula Classics "Best of the Best" Award. Chosen each year from the winners of the world’s finest international concours events, the winner of this award is unquestionably the most exceptional concours car in the world for that year. In awarding the 2015 award at Monterey in August 2016, award co-founder Sir Michael Kadoorie said, "It has been said that the look of the Talbot-Lago Teardrop epitomized speed, aerodynamic efficiency and elegance. Its form was perfect for an object in motion, resembling raindrops as they fall to earth.”
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A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Coupé aérodynamique ‘Goutte d’Eau’ by Figoni & Falaschi was the inaugural winner of the Peninsula Classics "Best of the Best" Award. Chosen each year from the winners of the world’s finest international concours events, the winner of this award is unquestionably the most exceptional concours car in the world for that year. In awarding the 2015 award at Monterey in August 2016, award co-founder Sir Michael Kadoorie said, "It has been said that the look of the Talbot-Lago Teardrop epitomized speed, aerodynamic efficiency and elegance. Its form was perfect for an object in motion, resembling raindrops as they fall to earth.”
This 1936 Bugatti 57G Le Mans “Tank” is the only one left of the three that were built, and won the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans plus a number of other major events. It normally lives at the Simeone Museum near Philadelphia International Airport. Click that link and you’ll see a high resolution image of the car setting a world 24 hour record at an average speed of 200 km/h on 10 October 1936. Along the way, it covered 500 miles at 204.390 km/h, and the records for 100 kilometers, 100 miles, 200 kilometers and 1 hour at the record average speed of 217.941 km/h.
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This 1936 Bugatti 57G Le Mans “Tank” is the only one left of the three that were built, and won the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans plus a number of other major events. It normally lives at the Simeone Museum near Philadelphia International Airport. Click that link and you’ll see a high resolution image of the car setting a world 24 hour record at an average speed of 200 km/h on 10 October 1936. Along the way, it covered 500 miles at 204.390 km/h, and the records for 100 kilometers, 100 miles, 200 kilometers and 1 hour at the record average speed of 217.941 km/h.
The award for the "party of the week" during Monterey Car Week goes to Motorlux by Hagerty at the Monterey Jet Center. Already a formidable event when it was one of the highlights of the week as Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival, everything got stepped up several notches and the cars from Broad Arrow Auctions were on display and it made for a highly combustible mix.
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The award for the "party of the week" during Monterey Car Week goes to Motorlux by Hagerty at the Monterey Jet Center. Already a formidable event when it was one of the highlights of the week as Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival, everything got stepped up several notches and the cars from Broad Arrow Auctions were on display and it made for a highly combustible mix.
"Motorlux by Hagerty" was formerly "McCall's Motorworks Revival." The event at the Monterey Jet Center was already one of the highlights of Monterey Car Week, but we suggest it is going to become exponentially harder to land tickets in the future.
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"Motorlux by Hagerty" was formerly "McCall's Motorworks Revival." The event at the Monterey Jet Center was already one of the highlights of Monterey Car Week, but we suggest it is going to become exponentially harder to land tickets in the future.
"Motorlux by Hagerty" at the Monterey Jet Center
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"Motorlux by Hagerty" at the Monterey Jet Center
Another of Giuseppe Figoni Art Deco masterpieces made the final four at Pebble Beach this year, being this 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé from Fritz Buckard’s Pearl Collection which is based in Switzerland. The 'Goutte d'Eau' (teardrop in French) won the J-3 Class for Closed European Classics and it also took out the J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Award for the Most Elegant Closed Car.
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Another of Giuseppe Figoni Art Deco masterpieces made the final four at Pebble Beach this year, being this 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé from Fritz Buckard’s Pearl Collection which is based in Switzerland. The 'Goutte d'Eau' (teardrop in French) won the J-3 Class for Closed European Classics and it also took out the J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Award for the Most Elegant Closed Car.
The winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo was "dressed" by Giuseppe Figoni, whose art deco designs during the 1930s made him one of the world's most influential automotive couturiers. This astonishingly beautiful art deco moving sculpture is a "one off" built for a Peruvian sugar baron during the "Great Depression" at massive cost using the Duesenberg Model J chassis and 265-hp, 7-liter, DOHC, 32-valve, straight eight engine. It cost roughly the equivalent of ten times a physician's annual salary at the time.
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The winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo was "dressed" by Giuseppe Figoni, whose art deco designs during the 1930s made him one of the world's most influential automotive couturiers. This astonishingly beautiful art deco moving sculpture is a "one off" built for a Peruvian sugar baron during the "Great Depression" at massive cost using the Duesenberg Model J chassis and 265-hp, 7-liter, DOHC, 32-valve, straight eight engine. It cost roughly the equivalent of ten times a physician's annual salary at the time.
One of the four finalists for “best in Show” at Pebble Beach this year was the 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet of Sam & Emily Mann. The car made its way to the final after winning Class G for Early Graber Coachwork
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One of the four finalists for “best in Show” at Pebble Beach this year was the 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet of Sam & Emily Mann. The car made its way to the final after winning Class G for Early Graber Coachwork
Tom Kristensen and Jacky Ickx were on hand at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to unveil the one-off trophy created by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest and the venerable Monnaie de Paris for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June 2023. Nine-time winner Kristensen has been named the ambassador for the centenary race next year in addition to his customary role as a Rolex Testimonee, and this year he did triple duty as he was also the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion.
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Tom Kristensen and Jacky Ickx were on hand at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to unveil the one-off trophy created by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest and the venerable Monnaie de Paris for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June 2023. Nine-time winner Kristensen has been named the ambassador for the centenary race next year in addition to his customary role as a Rolex Testimonee, and this year he did triple duty as he was also the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion.
This 1951 Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet from the Mullin Automotive Museum collection was awarded the “Best in Class” prize for the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport Line, at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car was also a finalist for the coveted “Best of Show” award. Owner Merle Mullin was on hand to accept the award, as the vehicle drove across the famous stage.
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This 1951 Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet from the Mullin Automotive Museum collection was awarded the “Best in Class” prize for the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport Line, at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car was also a finalist for the coveted “Best of Show” award. Owner Merle Mullin was on hand to accept the award, as the vehicle drove across the famous stage.
Gordon Murray's best known road car to date, the McLaren F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production car ever built, a quarter of a century after it was born. It is now anointed as a genuine automotive legend and one of the finest blue-chip investments ever created, and its star is not yet full risen. That Murray's latest endeavour in the supercar stakes was shown in several venues during the week seemed to fly under the media's radar, and because it will never have a solid number placed next to this sale also seemed to quell enthusiasm. Our guess is that it sold for $20 million give or take a few million.
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Gordon Murray's best known road car to date, the McLaren F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production car ever built, a quarter of a century after it was born. It is now anointed as a genuine automotive legend and one of the finest blue-chip investments ever created, and its star is not yet full risen. That Murray's latest endeavour in the supercar stakes was shown in several venues during the week seemed to fly under the media's radar, and because it will never have a solid number placed next to this sale also seemed to quell enthusiasm. Our guess is that it sold for $20 million give or take a few million.
The scene outside RM Sotheby’s 2022 Monterey auction at the Monterey Conference Center.
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The scene outside RM Sotheby’s 2022 Monterey auction at the Monterey Conference Center.
The highest visible sale at the 2022 Monterey auctions was the $22,005,000 fetched by RM Sotheby's for this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider
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The highest visible sale at the 2022 Monterey auctions was the $22,005,000 fetched by RM Sotheby's for this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider
Among the most important and desirable Bugattis ever created, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante was the second most valuable sale of the entire week, and one of just two cars that topped the $10,000,000 mark, finishing at $10,345,000 including buyers premium. If you think $10 million is a lot for car, there are other collectible marketplaces that might help put the new world view of alternative asset classes in perspective.
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Among the most important and desirable Bugattis ever created, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante was the second most valuable sale of the entire week, and one of just two cars that topped the $10,000,000 mark, finishing at $10,345,000 including buyers premium. If you think $10 million is a lot for car, there are other collectible marketplaces that might help put the new world view of alternative asset classes in perspective.

The four finalists for top honours at the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, from top left clockwise: 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet; the winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo; a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet; and a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé
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The four finalists for top honours at the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, from top left clockwise: 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet; the winning 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo; a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet; and a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé
The concept lawn at Pebble Beach is the place where you will find all the traditional go-fast concepts and a sprinkling of non-traditional concepts, such as this $278,000 ($307,000 for the 4-door) SCG 010 hydrogen fuel cell all-terrain ute/racer. The aim is for the hydrogen tank to be swapped in just five minutes, and The Drive actually got to drive it.
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The concept lawn at Pebble Beach is the place where you will find all the traditional go-fast concepts and a sprinkling of non-traditional concepts, such as this $278,000 ($307,000 for the 4-door) SCG 010 hydrogen fuel cell all-terrain ute/racer. The aim is for the hydrogen tank to be swapped in just five minutes, and The Drive actually got to drive it.
One of the highlights of this years Pebble Beach Concours was the release of a book entitled Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: Celebrating 70 Years of Automotive Excellence, which details the history of the event. It’s gorgeous, informative and you can choose how much you’re going to spend: £415 (approx. USD $490) for a limited edition, 250-copies-only, leather-bound with leather clamshell edition; £135.00 (approx. USD $160) for a limited edition, 500-copies-only, on better paper with a slipcase; and a £70.00 (approx. USD $80) standard edition, which appears to be out of stock already.
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One of the highlights of this years Pebble Beach Concours was the release of a book entitled Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: Celebrating 70 Years of Automotive Excellence, which details the history of the event. It’s gorgeous, informative and you can choose how much you’re going to spend: £415 (approx. USD $490) for a limited edition, 250-copies-only, leather-bound with leather clamshell edition; £135.00 (approx. USD $160) for a limited edition, 500-copies-only, on better paper with a slipcase; and a £70.00 (approx. USD $80) standard edition, which appears to be out of stock already.
Monterey Car Week 2022 marked the start of the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s greatest and most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans theme illuminated all aspects of Monterey Car Week, including two Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance classes and several racing classes at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
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Monterey Car Week 2022 marked the start of the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s greatest and most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans theme illuminated all aspects of Monterey Car Week, including two Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance classes and several racing classes at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
View gallery - 34 images

The 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has been run and won, with a 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo taking out the most prestigious concours event on the international calendar against one of the strongest fields ever assembled, with finalists including a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé, a 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet, and a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet.

We'll follow up with more information on the winning car when it is available, as the bones of the story make for quite some tale. As is often the case at automotive beauty shows, the winning car was "dressed" by Giuseppe (also known as Joseph) Figoni, one of the world's most influential automotive couturiers. In 1923, Joseph Figoni opened his own coachbuilding enterprise, Carrosserie Joseph Figoni, in Paris, developing his craft but being ultimately compromised by the business necessities of creating what was essentially an industrial concern.

The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo of Lee R. Anderson Sr. was awarded the top prize at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

In 1935 he would join with businessman Ovidio Falaschi to form the Figoni et Falaschi, and once free of the imperatives of running a business, his creativity was better marketed, better monetized and he became one of the most creative forces in automotive history. His entire body of work can best be described as the point where art and fashion meet with automotive design.

Ovidio Falaschi viewed the company as "true couturiers of automotive coachwork, dressing and undressing a chassis one, two, three times and even more before arriving at the definitive line that we wanted to give to a specific chassis-coachwork ensemble." The creation of a complete body at Figoni et Falaschi would routinely require more than 2,000 hours, and the results are evident in the prices fetched by Figoni creations at auction, and their prominence as concours finalists around the world.

In evidence of the immense influence of Figoni's mastery, Figoni designed the coachwork on two of the final four contestants for the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance "Best in Show."

Another of Giuseppe Figoni Art Deco masterpieces made the final four at Pebble Beach this year, being this 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé from Fritz Buckard’s Pearl Collection which is based in Switzerland. The 'Goutte d'Eau' (teardrop in French) won the J-3 Class for Closed European Classics and it also took out the J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Award for the Most Elegant Closed Car.
Another of Giuseppe Figoni Art Deco masterpieces made the final four at Pebble Beach this year, being this 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Coupé from Fritz Buckard’s Pearl Collection which is based in Switzerland. The 'Goutte d'Eau' (teardrop in French) won the J-3 Class for Closed European Classics and it also took out the J.B. & Dorothy Nethercutt Award for the Most Elegant Closed Car.

Figoni's ‘Goutte d’Eau’ bodies are among the most sought after cars in the world. A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Coupé aérodynamique ‘Goutte d’Eau’ by Figoni & Falaschi was the inaugural winner of the Peninsula Classics "Best of the Best" Award. Chosen each year from the winners of the world’s finest international concours events, the winner of this award is unquestionably the most exceptional concours car in the world for that year. In awarding the 2015 award at Monterey in August 2016, award co-founder Sir Michael Kadoorie said, "It has been said that the look of the Talbot-Lago Teardrop epitomized speed, aerodynamic efficiency and elegance. Its form was perfect for an object in motion, resembling raindrops as they fall to earth.” Two have been to auction so far this year, with a near identical car to Fritz Buckard's 2022 Pebble Beach finalist selling for $13,425,000 at Gooding & Company's Amelia Island auction, and a 1938 model sold at RM Sotheby's 2022 Monterey auction for $7,265,000.

This 1951 Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet from the Mullin Automotive Museum collection was awarded the “Best in Class” prize for the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport Line, at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car was also a finalist for the coveted “Best of Show” award. Owner Merle Mullin was on hand to accept the award, as the vehicle drove across the famous stage.
This 1951 Talbot-Lago Type 26 Grand Sport Stabilimenti Farina Cabriolet from the Mullin Automotive Museum collection was awarded the “Best in Class” prize for the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport Line, at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The car was also a finalist for the coveted “Best of Show” award. Owner Merle Mullin was on hand to accept the award, as the vehicle drove across the famous stage.

The 2022 winning car is a unicorn. It's the only Duesenberg Model J bodied by Joseph Figoni, one of the world's foremost automotive couturiers, as can be evidenced by the finalists in this year's event: Figoni designed the coachwork on two of the final four contestants for the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance "Best in Show."

The 7-liter (420-cu-in), DOHC, four-valve, eight-cylinder Duesenberg engine of the Pebble-Beach-winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo
The 7-liter (420-cu-in), DOHC, four-valve, eight-cylinder Duesenberg engine of the Pebble-Beach-winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo

Produced 90 years ago at a time when the world was in the grip of the "Great Depression", the Duesenberg chassis and powertrain used the 7-liter (420-cu-in), DOHC, four-valve, eight-cylinder Duesenberg Model J, which was immensely expensive in America where just 482 were ever built, but doubly so when it had to be shipped to Europe in the midst of the greatest financial downturn in history.

One of the four finalists for “best in Show” at Pebble Beach this year was the 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet of Sam & Emily Mann. The car made its way to the final after winning Class G for Early Graber Coachwork
One of the four finalists for “best in Show” at Pebble Beach this year was the 1930 Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet of Sam & Emily Mann. The car made its way to the final after winning Class G for Early Graber Coachwork

Just to put the price of the Duesenberg in perspective, the chassis and power train of the winning 1932 Duesenberg Model J would have cost around $9,500 when it was new 90 years ago. At that time, the average U.S. physician earned less than $3,000 a year. Wikipedia's Duesenberg Model J entry suggests most completed Duesenberg Model Js cost between $13,000 and $19,000 (that is, with the body built and fitted), with two American-bodied J's reaching $25,000, and the prices charged by European coachbuilders even higher.

The winning Duesenberg Figoni Sports Torpedo at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. When new, the car cost more than ten times the salary of an American doctor, having been shipped to Paris for Figoni to sculpt one of his famous Art Deco bodies. The full story can be found in our pictorial on the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The winning Duesenberg Figoni Sports Torpedo at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. When new, the car cost more than ten times the salary of an American doctor, having been shipped to Paris for Figoni to sculpt one of his famous Art Deco bodies. The full story can be found in our pictorial on the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

This car was shipped to Paris where Figoni worked his magic and it was then used in the Paris-Nice rally and a concours event before the first owner, a Peruvian sugar heir by the name of Antonio Chopitea, took delivery. From there, the history of the car gets quite vague. It s believed to have arrived in America after the war, with the car and body subsequently separated and sold, with two different cars using the Model J chassis/drivetrain and Figoni body until quite recently.

RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.
RM Auto Restorations restored the 1932 Duesenberg Model J Figoni Sports Torpedo that won best of show at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2022. Remarkably, it’s the seventh time in 21 years that the restoration arm of the world’s largest collectible car auction house has taken out the main prize at Pebble Beach. That’s far and away the best record of any automotive restoration shop.

Rob Meyers (the RM in RM Sotheby's) played a role in bringing the two original pieces together for current owner Lee R. Anderson Snr. and once Anderson had the pieces of the original car, a three-year restoration was undertaken with RM Auto Restorations (RM Sotheby’s in-house restoration shop), which resulted in the winning car. We hope to bring you the entire story at some point.

The Winner of the Quail: A Motorsport Gathering

This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.
This 1956 Jaguar D-Type was awarded “Best of Show” at this year’s The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest honor due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship and extensive restoration process.

In recent times, thanks to the business and PR expertise of the organizers and the venue becoming the most important launching pad for uber luxury vehicles in the world, the concours winner of "the Quail" is becoming almost as important as the winner of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Given the two are separated by just 48 hours and 8.1 miles, and both winners become finalists in the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award (which is also inextricably linked with the Quail), the 2022 winner of the Quail is a particularly significant automobile.

Next year, when the judging of the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award is presumably returned to the post-covid Retromobile in Paris in early February, in the centenary year of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type that won this year's Quail might seemingly have even more significance than it does now. Just 75 examples of the Jaguar D-Type were built in period, and the design was beautiful, aerodynamically superior and quite radical, employing a great deal of aviation technology. The most notable new technology was the monocoque construction which enabled lightweight and quite rigid construction, and the D-Type won the world's most important race in 1955, 1956 and 1957, staging a remarkable 1-2-3-4 finish in 1957.

Last year our report on "the Quail" characterized it in the headline as "The Quail 2021 had more elite car launches than any car show" and our report on this year's Quail further emphasized the same aspects. Monterey Car Week attracts one of the highest live audiences of high net worth individuals on Earth, and the sale of a half a billion dollars worth of cars in this year's auctions will only increase the move towards more new car releases during Monterey Car Week. With the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance agenda already overwhelming, it's hard not to see more new car releases heading to the Quail in coming years as the era of the internal combustion engine draws to a close and the pimping of new models will become necessary for the survival of existing marques.

Monterey Car Week 2022

The award for the "party of the week" during Monterey Car Week goes to Motorlux by Hagerty at the Monterey Jet Center. Already a formidable event when it was one of the highlights of the week as Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival, everything got stepped up several notches and the cars from Broad Arrow Auctions were on display and it made for a highly combustible mix.
The award for the "party of the week" during Monterey Car Week goes to Motorlux by Hagerty at the Monterey Jet Center. Already a formidable event when it was one of the highlights of the week as Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival, everything got stepped up several notches and the cars from Broad Arrow Auctions were on display and it made for a highly combustible mix.

While the central focus of Monterey Car Week is unquestionably the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the week-long automotive celebration consists of more than two dozen events, each with a distinct audience segmented by marque, gender, marque nationality, mindset and even where you bought your car (the BaT Alumni Gathering was over-subscribed). There's something for everyone, ranging from free entry through to extremely expensive, and there are lots of behind-closed-doors get-togethers

This year the biggest news was the emergence of the already prominent Hagerty Group into a much bigger, much more influential, Hagerty Group. Not very long ago, Hagerty was an insurance company, albeit the largest in America in the collectible car space, with the lion's share of the collectible car marketplace insured, 650,000 members in the Hagerty Drivers Club, and a promotional presence at more than 2,500 car events annually. Last year Hagerty began buying up events such as the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, the Concours d'Elegance of America, the California Mille and the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, and in December 2021 the company floated on the New York Stock Exchange, entering 2022 with a market cap of $4.3 billion.

"Motorlux by Hagerty" at the Monterey Jet Center
"Motorlux by Hagerty" at the Monterey Jet Center

Most recently, it purchased Broad Arrow Auctions, which had its extremely promising first outing at this year's Monterey Car Week, and McCall's Motorworks Revival which had been a Monterey Car Week staple for many years, promptly rebranding it as Motorlux by Hagerty and making it even better.

The purchase of Broad Arrow portends some extremely ambitious plans for the group, with what appears to be a cradle-to-grave relationship with every collectible car and every enthusiast, clipping the ticket at every transaction. We expect the group will become the dominant presence on the American collector car stage, with the potential to go beyond its current borders of enthusiast vehicles and the American marketplace.

100 Years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Monterey Car Week 2022 marked the start of the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s greatest and most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans theme illuminated all aspects of Monterey Car Week, including two Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance classes and several racing classes at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Monterey Car Week 2022 marked the start of the 100th anniversary celebrations for the world’s greatest and most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans theme illuminated all aspects of Monterey Car Week, including two Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance classes and several racing classes at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans will celebrate its 100th running in 2023, and the legendary endurance event unveiled its special Centenary Trophy in Monterey last weekend.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 20 August, 2022
The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 20 August, 2022

The 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary Trophy was revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 20 August, 2022, and will be awarded to the winners of the endurance race on its 100th anniversary on 10-11 June 2023. The prestigious piece is made of bronze and stands more than one-and-a-half meters tall. It will promote the iconic race by being displayed at high-profile automotive fixtures around the world.

Tom Kristensen and Jacky Ickx were on hand at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to unveil the one-off trophy created by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest and the venerable Monnaie de Paris for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June 2023. Nine-time winner Kristensen has been named the ambassador for the centenary race next year in addition to his customary role as a Rolex Testimonee, and this year he did triple duty as he was also the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion.
Tom Kristensen and Jacky Ickx were on hand at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to unveil the one-off trophy created by the Automobile Club de L'Ouest and the venerable Monnaie de Paris for the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 10-11 June 2023. Nine-time winner Kristensen has been named the ambassador for the centenary race next year in addition to his customary role as a Rolex Testimonee, and this year he did triple duty as he was also the Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion.

If you missed the trophy at Pebble Beach, you can see it at the Goodwood Revival, Chantilly Arts et Elegance Richard Mille, 8 Hours of Bahrain, Retromobile 2023, or The Ice International Concours of Elegance St Moritz.

The Monterey Car Auctions

The scene outside RM Sotheby’s 2022 Monterey auction at the Monterey Conference Center.
The scene outside RM Sotheby’s 2022 Monterey auction at the Monterey Conference Center.

With total receipts across all auctions somewhere north of $470 million, and another $20 million for the undisclosed McLaren F1 sale price, the 2022 Monterey car auctions were the largest in history, which overshadowed the performance of RM Sotheby’s because it smashed a spate of world auction records in Monterey. With its visible auctions totaling $239.2 million and that same $20-million McLaren F1 on top of that, it sold a quarter of a billion dollars worth of cars on its own – that's more than the previous record of US$217 million achieved by Mecum's Kissimmee (Florida) event which kicked off 2022 and it was also more than all the other 2022 Monterey auctions combined.

Gordon Murray's best known road car to date, the McLaren F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production car ever built, a quarter of a century after it was born. It is now anointed as a genuine automotive legend and one of the finest blue-chip investments ever created, and its star is not yet full risen. That Murray's latest endeavour in the supercar stakes was shown in several venues during the week seemed to fly under the media's radar, and because it will never have a solid number placed next to this sale also seemed to quell enthusiasm. Our guess is that it sold for $20 million give or take a few million.
Gordon Murray's best known road car to date, the McLaren F1 is still the fastest naturally-aspirated production car ever built, a quarter of a century after it was born. It is now anointed as a genuine automotive legend and one of the finest blue-chip investments ever created, and its star is not yet full risen. That Murray's latest endeavour in the supercar stakes was shown in several venues during the week seemed to fly under the media's radar, and because it will never have a solid number placed next to this sale also seemed to quell enthusiasm. Our guess is that it sold for $20 million give or take a few million.

Between the first bids on Thursday and final bids on Saturday, around 1,050 cars were auctioned, and around 790 cars were sold at an average price of close to $590,000 in roughly 60 hours. That's approximately 25% more than the previous Monterey high mark of around $395 million set in 2013.

The highest visible sale at the 2022 Monterey auctions was the $22,005,000 fetched by RM Sotheby's for this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider
The highest visible sale at the 2022 Monterey auctions was the $22,005,000 fetched by RM Sotheby's for this 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider

The highest known sale of the auctions was $22,005,000 for a 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider that was raced in period by Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill, Eugenio Castellotti, Masten Gregory, Richie Ginther and Carroll Shelby, who won more races as a driver in this car than any other, with eight wins and 10 podiums.

Among the most important and desirable Bugattis ever created, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante was the second most valuable sale of the entire week, and one of just two cars that topped the $10,000,000 mark, finishing at $10,345,000 including buyers premium. If you think $10 million is a lot for car, there are other collectible marketplaces that might help put the new world view of alternative asset classes in perspective.
Among the most important and desirable Bugattis ever created, this 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante was the second most valuable sale of the entire week, and one of just two cars that topped the $10,000,000 mark, finishing at $10,345,000 including buyers premium. If you think $10 million is a lot for car, there are other collectible marketplaces that might help put the new world view of alternative asset classes in perspective.

Only one other car crested the $10-million mark and that was the 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante that sold for $10,345,000 at the official Pebble Beach Auction of Gooding & Company. Estimated to fetch between $10,000,000 and $12,000,000, it is one of just 17 Type 57S Atalantes built and is "arguably the finest extant", which means something given David Gooding sells most of those that reach auction. It was last seen at auction at Pebble Beach in 2013 when Gooding & Company sold it for $8,745,000, and it fell just a few dollars short of the last comparable car to go to auction which sold for £7,855,000 ($10,413,535) in London in 2020 at Gooding & Company's inaugural Passion of a Lifetime auction.

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