The Must-See, Drop-Dead-Gorgeous Cars from the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Many of the priceless automobiles parked on the 18th green at the Pebble Beach golf course for the annual Concours d’Elegance can seem irrelevant to the casual observer. After all, does anyone really care about a 1930 Willys-Knight 66B Griswold roadster? Maybe not. And what even is a 1930 Willys-Knight 66B Griswold roadster? Anyway, automotive beauty comes in many forms, confusing names or perceived irrelevance aside. We're not experts on obscure, hyper-expensive vintage cars from decades gone by, but we found something to appreciate in these cars that caught our editors' eyes at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Click through for our favorites from the bougiest car event on the annual show circuit.

Oh, you think lightweight versions of luxury performance cars is some kind of new trend? Nope. This Silver Ghost was designed for the arduous (at the time) London-to-Edinburgh-and-back test on which, according to Bonhams (which auctioned the car in 2017) it managed 24 mpg from a 50-hp 7.5-liter six-cylinder engine. While that is a great engineering feat, we're smitten with the Rolls's detail work, especially the body riveting, the grille, and the glasswork on the accessory lanterns.—Mike Magrath

This year, Pebble Beach was chockablock with Bentleys from the '20s and '30s in a nod to the brand's centenary. These old-school Bentleys tend to be big, truckish, dark-green-painted things. This 1925 model is a little more distinct. Its red radiator badge indicates it was the Speed model (one of only 513), meaning it has a high-compression engine and a close-ratio gearbox. Its two-seat Park Ward bodywork also distinguishes it, and it has perhaps the world's silliest and most charming hood ornament. If you're expecting a sleek bird or a shapely lady for this car's ornament, forget it. A potbellied Punch character stands atop the radiator holding a wrench and a crankshaft.–Daniel Pund

Pebble Beach is an unparalleled place to view and appreciate studies in color and texture. Anyone seeking maximum palette, however, need only visit those vehicles handled by prewar coach builders. These outfits satisfied the whims of a customer base with tastes so flamboyant that it makes today's special-order buyer pool seem woefully uninspired. Even among such a crowd, though, this Mercedes-Benz Model K's two-tone green body and turned-aluminum hood stand out. And its 140-hp straight-six made it a performance standout, too—it was one of the fastest touring cars on the road in its time.—Jared Gall

This car is famous by association. In 1930, Bentley's erstwhile chairman, Woolf Barnato, raced a train across France to London in a "Blue Train" Bentley, finishing the 768-mile race four minutes ahead of the train. (We imagine the driver and his secretary/manservant Dale Bourne were more frazzled than the train's occupants.) This isn't that car. But it is a Speed Six! It was featured in painter Terence Cuneo's account of the contest, not the more conservative H.J. Mulliner–bodied Speed Six that actually accomplished the feat. Anyone can record history—it takes a special person to alter its perception. This Gurney Nutting coupe's stubby greenhouse and sleek roofline make it seem like the whole car is engine, the sort of thing that will win any race.—Jared Gall

This cheeky number was built by Emile Darl'mat, a Parisian Peugeot dealer, using a standard 2.0-liter Peugeot 302 chassis. The 1930s were the heyday for art deco cars and their flowing, exaggerated lines and fenders that seemed to trail off to infinity. Talbot-Lago, Delahaye, and Bugatti built the most famous and valuable of the art deco cars, but this roadster, of which 53 were built, has a quirkier style than those thoroughbreds. There are six large chrome discs mounted to each the side of the hood and a massive, nearly heart-shaped badge on the tapered rear that reads "Darl'mat." If you took a long, sweeping Delahaye and mated it to, say, a car that Roger Rabbit might drive, this is most likely what you'd end up with.–Daniel Pund

Eighty years ago, Bentleys were already playthings for tycoons and amateur speed freaks. This one was originally built for Greek shipping magnate Andre Embiricos, who immediately sent it to Germany for testing on some newfangled thing called the autobahn. Geared specifically for high-speed running and with a wind-cheating body designed by Georges Paulin, one of France's leading aerodynamicists of the time, the car was still so fast that its owner entered it in the 24 Hours of Le Mans—11 years later. By that time, the Bentley had more than 100,000 miles under its wheels. It ran the race again in 1949, 1950, and 1951, with a best finish of sixth place. Not to snub its accomplishments, but the Bentley lands on our list because it is beautiful. Have you ever seen such a sleek Bentley, with those massive teardrop-shaped fenders and that tapered tail? And everyone knows about split-window Corvettes and Beetles, but now you know there's a split-window Bentley, too.—Jared Gall

Okay, it feels like cheating to pick a Bugatti Type 57C as one of our favorites from Pebble Beach, but here we are. The Type 57SC Atlantic, a coupe, is such a fixture in the world of high-value car shows that you forget Bugatti also made open-top Type 57s. This example is a stunner with its two-tone paint job and perfect brightwork. A similar Type 57C Stelvio by Gangloff sold this weekend at the Gooding & Co. auction for $1.3 million.—Mike Magrath

I selected the A6G for its sheer beauty. That's all. This Zagato-bodied Maserati started life as a factory demonstrator vehicle and later was entered in the 1956 Mille Miglia. The car is one of only 20 rebodied A6G 2000s. To our eyes, Zagato design peaked in the mid-1950s; later designs skewed ever more toward awkwardness and weirdness.—Tony Quiroga

This big American bruiser looks positively huge next to the spate of delicate, small-statured European classics surrounding it on Pebble Beach's perfectly manicured greens. But the bodywork is Italian, having been done by coachbuilder Boano, and its style scales up remarkably well to the 300 coupe's eleven-tenths proportions. The end result, as you can see, is hugely elegant.—Joey Capparella

This stunning Lamborghini debuted at the 1965 London auto show and then was displayed at the Paris show. Apparently, this is one of two examples, but the whereabouts of the other Zagato-bodied 350 GT are unknown. To me, the Zagato coupe couldn't be from any other decade than the '60s, and the design has more than a little S0Cal Customs to it. It also is the precursor to the Zagato-designed Alfa Romeo TZ2 race car.—Tony Quiroga

You do this job long enough, and you will have seen almost all of the cars. All of them. Or, if you haven't seen a given car, you've seen versions of it. In this case, you've literally just seen this car, because Quiroga picked it, too. Here's my take: I have never, ever seen or heard of a Zagato-fied Lamborghini 350 GT. One of only two ever built, this 3500 GTZ Zagato rides on a shortened factory Lamborghini chassis and is rumored to be the only one left.—Mike Magrath

Original Ford GT40s and Porsche 917s tend to get more attention these days, but there simply isn't a late-'60s sports/endurance racer prettier than the era's Ferraris. Have a look at Jim Glickenhaus’s 1967 412P coupe, for example. The 412 was the customer version of the 330P3 that Ferrari campaigned back then; Glickenhaus's is one of only two 412s built and the only one with its original bodywork intact. And what a body it is. This stunner is finished in U.K. Ferrari importer Maranello Concessionaires' red and baby blue livery. And a little-known fact: The lever inside the cockpit that allows the driver to switch to a reserve fuel supply is actually a flush handle from an Italian toilet.–Daniel Pund