The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance Is a Multi-Million-Dollar Motorcade for Vintage and Modern Alike

Monterey Car Week is the ultimate experience for car lovers, spectators, automotive artists, and car geeks interested in connecting with the past glory and progress of automotive design. Early Brass Era classics to modern-day supercars challenge the 70 miles of scenic wonders on the Tour d’Elegance on the Thursday before the Concours d’Elegance. Starting at the Equestrian Center in Pebble Beach, the route traces the spectacular 17-Mile Drive and Highway One, motoring across the engineering marvel of Bixby Bridge to Big Sur before heading back to the Pebble Beach finish line.

The Tour started in 1998, but the prelude for the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance—which this year is celebrating 25 years of Elegance in Motion—was the 1950-56 Pebble Beach Road Races. Phil Hill, driving a Jaguar XK120, won the inaugural Road Races and continued to participate in the Pebble Beach Concours until his passing in 2008. (Hill was one of two American drivers to win the Formula One World Driver’s Championship along with Mario Andretti.)

At the Road Races, the fastest sports cars of the era navigated the dangerous roads that twisted through Del Monte Forest. A driver was killed in a crash at the Road Races in 1956, resulting in the event being reborn the following year at the nearby purpose-built Laguna Seca Raceway. Although the initial races were not a touring event, they helped set the tone for the Tour years later in 1998. Judge Craig Davis presented the idea to the executive committee of the Concours to showcase the beauty and elegance of the automobile on a scenic cruise around the Monterey Peninsula, proving participating vehicles’ roadworthiness as the finest rolling works of automotive art in the world. The start-finish line of the Tour is the link to where the original Pebble Beach Road Race course began, and the route glides the tour down the California coast on Highway One, hugging the dramatic cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Hundreds of spectators set up lawn chairs with snacks and cameras in hand along the Pacific Coast Highway for the free traveling car show. Almost every marque you could imagine courses the route, and this year included Land Rovers and Range Rovers once owned by Queen Elizabeth II. As much of a joy it is to see these vehicles, hearing them growl and rumble down the coast is an experience unto itself.

This year’s Tour poster was a beautiful rendition of the most-shown American marque at the Pebble Beach Concours, represented by a 1914 Packard 4-48 Seven-Passenger Touring, slowly cruising its way along 17-Mile Drive. I spotted that exact car on the Tour driven by Ross & Beth Myers from Pennsylvania. This vehicle rolls on a huge 144-inch wheelbase and is powered by a 525-cubic inch Packard Six engine. Packard boasted it was “The greatest piece of machinery that ever went upon the highways.” Of the 441 examples produced in 1914, this car is one of four surviving examples.

Another car that caught my eye was the 1953 OSCA MT4 Fura Spyder that screamed along the coast with Stephen Cortinovis from Missouri at the wheel. This race car finished fourth overall and second in class behind Stirling Moss in the 1954 12 Hours of Sebring.

The Tour is open to all entrants in Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours, but it’s not mandatory. However, if two cars tie when the class judging is completed and one of them has participated in and completed the Tour, that vehicle gets the higher award. As the Pebble Concours adage goes, these cars are meant to be driven.

In addition to serving as a tie-breaker for the Concours, the Tour itself offers its own award: The Elegance in Motion Trophy. Class Judge Robert Devlin led the team of judges choosing the winner, and described the selection process: “I usually pick a vantage point where the visual play of light and shadow flow across the various body forms of the automobiles, providing me with more input to evaluate the body shape, paint color and trim while in motion,” he shared. “The sound of the motor, transmission, and exhaust can add to the impression on viewers. And at times, as in wine tasting, even smell plays a role. It is our task to determine which car, given its design, best exudes elegance at speed.”

Come Sunday, the Elegance in Motion Award honored Lawrence Stroll from Warwickshire, United Kingdom with his beautifully restored 1954 Lagonda V12 Race Car (Chassis-DP115/2). This car was built as a backup to Chassis DP 115/1 that raced at Silverstone and Le Mans. The pair of cars appeared in the 1956 movie Checkpoint starring British actor and singer Anthony Steel.

The Aston’s win seemed a fitting nod to the era when the Road Races first brought formal celebration of driving to the roads around Monterey. For those who love automotive history and love seeing cars put to good use, the Tour and each succeeding year’s Elegance in Motion winner help keep that passion alive.