Categories: This Day

April 19 , 1953 – Pebble Beach breaks 100 entries

Concours d’Elegance. Just saying it sounds fancy. Visitors to the opening of the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on this day in 1953 were the first to see a Concours featuring more than 100 vehicle entries. The first Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was held in 1950, in conjunction of the first Pebble Beach Road Race. The show then, as it is now, is reserved for the best of the best, drawing vehicles and people from all over the world. It is said to be the most enthralling collection of automobiles at any one place at one time. 

Above: Peter Clowes’ Concours winning 1953 Austin Healey 100. Top 1950 Edwards R-26 Special, the first winner of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Photos via theconcoursstore(dot)com.

The Best of Show winner of the inaugural show was Sterling Edwards and his custom built 1950 Edwards R-26 Special Sport Roadster. The winner of the 1953 show, which started today and drew for the first time more than 100 entries, was Peter Clowes in his 1953 Austin Healey 100.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

April 16, 2014: Mazda Honors a Quarter-Century of Driving Joy with the 25th Anniversary MX-5 Miata

By Alexander-93 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132180377 On April 16, 2014, the vibrant…

6 days ago

April 15, 1964 – Who bought the first Mustang?

On this day in 1964, two days before the official Ford Mustang on-sale date, one…

1 week ago

April 8, 2004: A Million Strong – The Skoda Fabia and the Legacy of Czech Ingenuity

Skoda Fabia VRs. By Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England - Skoda Fabia vRS, CC BY…

2 weeks ago

April 7, 1947- Henry Ford dies

Henry Ford, with son Edsel, standing with the 15 millionth Ford and the original Quadricycle.…

2 weeks ago

April 6, 1904 – VW Beetle & Porsche 356 designer Erwin Komenda is born

Sure, Ferdinand Porsche often gets the credit for the Volkswagen Type 1, but let's not…

2 weeks ago

April 5, 1951 – Dean Kamen, Segway inventor, is born

Dean Kamen on a Segway, one of his many inventions. By Jared C. Benedict on…

2 weeks ago