PEBBLE BEACH 75 | WHAT DOES PRESERVATION MEAN TODAY?

This year, 218 cars gathered on the 18th fairway, with Best of Show awarded to a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster — one of only two built and a car originally owned by Clark Gable. Ferrari took a prominent role in the anniversary celebrations, while the field stretched from early American speedsters and great pre-war coachbuilt cars to machinery from a very different generation.

The result was another extraordinary Pebble Beach.

But beyond deciding which car deserved the silverware, this year's event raised a more interesting question:

What do we now consider worth preserving?

A CHANGING DEFINITION OF IMPORTANCE

For decades, the traditional concours landscape was dominated by the great pre-war marques and coachbuilders. Those cars remain rightly celebrated, but the boundaries of the collector world are expanding.

Perhaps the clearest example at Pebble Beach this year was the introduction of a dedicated Japanese Motorsports class, won by a 1985 Toyota 85C-L Longtail Le Mans Coupé. Elsewhere among the class winners were considerably younger icons including the Lamborghini Miura and Lancia Stratos.

Today, seeing such cars on the Pebble Beach lawn feels entirely natural.

A few decades ago, it might not have.

And that should make us think.

Every significant classic was once simply a current car. It became used, then old and, in certain cases, something that subsequent generations decided deserved to be preserved.

The difficulty is that we tend to recognise significance once it has already become obvious.

By then, many examples have disappeared, been heavily modified or simply worn out.

So which cars sitting in garages today will future generations wish we had taken more care to preserve?

RESTORATION, PRESERVATION OR USE?

That leads to another question familiar to almost every classic-car owner.

What should we actually preserve?

A beautifully restored car can show us how something looked when new. An unrestored example can tell us how it survived.

One celebrates craftsmanship and accuracy. The other carries the physical evidence of the life the car has already lived.

Neither approach is automatically right.

Original paint may be faded, leather creased and carpets worn. Those things can detract from one car while being an important part of another.

The same is true mechanically.

If an older car struggles with modern traffic, does a sympathetic cooling upgrade compromise its originality, or help ensure that it continues to be driven?

Should an ageing period radio remain untouched? Should worn upholstery be renewed? Should an older restoration be restored again simply because it no longer looks perfect?

There cannot be a universal answer because not every classic has the same story.

A remarkably original car deserves different decisions from one already restored several times. A significant competition car may need a different approach again. And a classic purchased specifically to be enjoyed regularly should not necessarily be treated as though it were destined for a concours lawn.

Perhaps the skill in preservation is not knowing how much to restore.

It is knowing what is worth keeping .

THE STORY MATTERS

The winning Duesenberg demonstrates that particularly well.

Its engineering and rarity are exceptional, but its history — including its association with Clark Gable — gives the individual car an identity beyond its specification.

The same principle applies to far more attainable classics.

Old photographs, invoices, previous ownership, period modifications and even evidence of how a car was used can all form part of its story.

That does not necessarily make a car more valuable.

It makes it more understandable.

And once that history has been removed or lost, it can be remarkably difficult to put back.

WHAT WILL WE WISH WE'D SAVED?

Perhaps that is the most interesting lesson from Pebble Beach's 75th year.

The event continues to celebrate the established masterpieces of automotive history, while increasingly recognising cars from generations that would once have seemed surprisingly modern for the concours lawn.

Our definition of an important collector car is still evolving.

So perhaps preservation should not simply mean making every classic perfect, nor refusing to change anything at all.

It should begin with understanding the individual car.

What makes it special? What parts of its past deserve protecting? And what does it need in order to continue being appreciated in the future?

Pebble Beach may represent the very pinnacle of the collector-car world.

But it leaves a question relevant to every classic-car owner:

What is it about your car that is truly worth preserving?