The world’s preeminent car show, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance never lacks in audacity. Each year the precious lawn showcases an intoxicating mix of exceptional vintage cars from around the globe, 2019 did not disappoint. Rare cars, poster cars, unusual cars, race cars, never-heard-of cars, all of them special, however we located a few which by far could be the most outstanding cars at Pebble Beach 2019.
Snuggled into the back of the field amongst the typical automotive glitterati the small but significant Hot Rod class won over many attendees with their show-stopping paint jobs. Whether you love them or hate them, a Hot Rod is two things, an American Classic and a visual feat of ingenuity. This flaming take on a Model T also called the “Kookie Car” won a well deserved first in class award.
This vibrant blue little cutie may not look particularly unusual, but it is a one-off by 1953 Delahaye 135 MS Faget-Varnet, believed to be the last Delahaye 135 MS to be delivered before the company agreed to be takeover by Hotchkiss in early 1954. Hotchkiss immediately shut down car production of Delahaye to focus on what today we call a sport utility vehicle. In the 1950s wealthy buyers of luxury cars dried up. Delahaye had also been producing trucks and a few military vehicles which is what Hotchkiss was after. Hotchkiss had the rights to manufacture Willys MB Jeep in France though still encountered financial difficulties.
This electrifying blue 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato Spider with these red headlamp covers, also a class award winner, perched on the field as if it knew it was special. The 6C 1750 was produced in six versions between 1929 and 1933, winning every major race entered in 1929.
Cars by Zagato were one of the features this year and frankly it was a little like taking a class on automotive design. People frequently ooh and ahh over the noted ‘double bubble’ characteristic, but not all Zagato bodied cars have this feature. There isn’t one singular design element which runs across all Zagato cars. From a design perspective, this is good because it means the designer is designing for the client, not his ego.
At first glance one might think this could be a Ferrari California, but keep looking. 
Built as a prototype for what would have been a series of Zagato bodied cars for Bristol offered by Bristol’s owner Tony Crook in England. It was shown at the 1960 London Motor Show on the Zagato stand alongside an Aston Martin DB4 GTZ. Hmmm, does this grille also seem to have an Aston Martin hint to it? As things go, a full build was determined too expensive so this is the only Bristol Zagato ever built.
If ever there was a Bentley to make non-Bentley enthusiasts swoon, this is the car, meet the 1938 Bentley 4 1/4 Litre Pourtout Aerodynamic Coupe, also known as the Embiricos Bentley. Originally designed and built for Greek Shipping Tycoon Andre Embiricos. The body was designed by Georges Paulin a leading aerodynamic designer in France. What made the car infamous was Embiricos lent it to a friend for testing on the new German Autobahn network where he achieved speed and road-holding records never achieved before by a Bentley road car. Only slightly more amazing is after 10 years and 100,000 miles it raced in three 24 Hours of Le Mans. Its best finish was sixth, not bad at all. No wonder they say something like 75% of all Bentley’s ever built are still being driven.
Notice how Bentley utilized many of the stylistic features from the 1938 car in the later Bentley R Type.
Number 12 of 16 Ferrari Superamerica Coupes built by Pinin Farina, this 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Pinin Farina Coupe has, would you believe less than 8,000 miles on in!
Here was arguably one of the best rear views on the lawn. The 1954 Ferrari 735 S Monza Scaglietti Spyder is pure racing sculpture, with very significant racing history. Phil Hill and Carroll Shelby were declared winners in its first race, the Sebring 12 Hours in March of 1955, however they had to concede victory to Briggs Cunningham in a D-type Jaguar. Phil won the Pebble Beach Road Races later that year in this car and continued to race the car for the remainder of the year. Carroll took over in 1956, and with this car he also won the Pebble Beach Road Races amongst others.
These photos aren’t out of focus, that’s patina on the unrestored 1953 Allied Swallow Hal Thompson Coupe.
Based on the Cisitalia 202 Coupe the first Swallow was conceived by Billy Burke, originator of the first Belly Tank racer (not seeing any resemblance here) and Micky Thompson. 
What is it exactly? The body is fiberglass and the frame is from an MG. Atlas-Allied Car Company made kit cars. You can read more about this car in a great Autoweek blog post.
The 1937 Delahaye 145 Chapron Coupe exudes a bit of a come hither look with the striking curves and dynamic color scheme. 
We’d seen it a few years ago at the Mullin Automotive Museum, and it’s still gorgeous. This is one of the cars from the original Schlumpf Collection, though not one Mullin famously purchased as a group. Originally built as an open car and raced by René Dreyfus and Louis Chiron, was later purchased by Henri Chapron in 1947 and rebuilt.
Finally, take a look at this vintage beauty, a 1914 Moline-Knight MK-50 Opera Sedan. Look closer, check out the curved glass on the front windscreen, not your typical boxy antique car. Moline-Knight’s advertising tag line was “More Power, More Flexibility, More Economy and More Silence.” And they delivered, all with the distinctive blue and black paint scheme. These advanced cars for 1914, featured electric lights, an electric starter and a speedometer. This particular car was first used by the San Francisco Opera to squire around VIPs. It is the only closed style Moline-Knight “Opera” in the world.
You just never know what you’ll see on the lawn at Pebble Beach. Whether you visit just once as a bucket list item or go year after year, it truly is a visual feast of automotive splendor and schools your mind in automotive tidbits and outstanding cars you would have never otherwise known about or encountered. See ya there in 2020, though I won’t be wearing the Bentley dress.
