The collector car world’s top prize, Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, was awarded Sunday August 16 to a Duesenberg SSJ originally owned by Clark Gable. The 75th celebration also reached a major milestone, surpassing $50 million in total charitable giving.
This year, 218 cars—including 33 international entries from 14 countries and 185 US entries from 30 states—pulled onto the competition field. The winning 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster was shown by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Duesenberg often tops the list of desires for people with a passion for American classics, and the iconic SSJ is the marque’s ultimate expression,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button.
“This Special Speedster, one of just two made, offers both style and performance—and has a fantastic Hollywood backstory.”
The SSJ embodies the dramatic styling of the era, with its sweeping hood line and rakish, aerodynamic windshield. It has been recently restored to its initial presentation, with a black lacquer finish and a light saddle leather interior.
“I won once before, 19 years ago, but I appreciate it a lot better now,” said Yeaggy. “I appreciate the hard work it took and the time it took to get here. People don’t realize how hard it is, how special it is, to win this award. It’s amazing.”
Yeaggy won Best of Show with the 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster known as the “Mormon Meteor” in 2007. Duesenberg retains its status as the Pebble Beach Concours’ winningest American marque, now having earned a total of eight Best of Show trophies.
In an interesting twist, today served as a homecoming of sorts: “I found out recently,” said Yeaggy, “that the second owner lived right here on the point in Pebble Beach. He owned the car for almost 12 years, so this car has come back home today.”
This year’s race for Best of Show featured several strong contenders, including the 1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet shown by The Pearl Collection of Baar, Switzerland; the 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta shown by the Heinecke Family Collection of Bangkok, Thailand; and the 1954 Ferrari 375 America Vignale Cabriolet shown by RQ Collections of The Woodlands, Texas.
The Pebble Beach Concours has already raised more than $4.3 million for charity this year, bringing the event’s total charitable donations to $50,154,192 to date. More than half of that total has been raised in the past decade. Through the Pebble Beach Company Foundation, the primary charitable partner of the Concours, these funds will benefit more than 130 local nonprofits dedicated to improving the education, health, and well-being of children throughout Monterey County.
Gooding Christie’s, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for the 22nd year, concluded its highest grossing sale since the company’s inception. The auction house realized over $159 million in sales with a 94% sell-through rate. The top lot of this year’s car week, the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe set a record as the most valuable American car ever sold at auction. It also became the most valuable car ever sold by Gooding Christie’s at auction, achieving nearly $43 million.
The 76th Celebration of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, to be held at The Lodge at Pebble Beach on August 15, 2027, will celebrate the centennial of Delage’s Grand Prix–winning season with a stunning selection of cars from that marque, Prewar Open-Front Town Cars, 40 Years of the Ferrari F40, and an exceptional class of Delahayes. Additional special classes and further details will be announced this fall.