The 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports is the first un-restored car to win Pebble Beach’s Best Of Show.

History was made this weekend at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance when a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports won Best showmarks the first time a conservation class car has won the most prestigious award in the classic car sector. Pebble has had classes for such un-restored cars since 2001, with the conservation classes now divided into pre-war and post-war categories. Brought to you by Swiss pearl collectionBugatti faced some strong competition, beating out the 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Saoutchik Fastback Coupé, the 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve LeBaron Sport Phaeton and Lancia Stratos HF Zero 1970 idea for Best of Show title.

After seeing this Type 59 run in the Tour d’Elegance earlier in the week and then on the track, it was easily one of my favorite cars of Monterey Car Week, but I was still shocked when it won—in the best way. We’re finally starting to see Concours events evolve beyond their focus on superbly restored prewar cars, and that’s really exciting. Okay, so this Type 59 is also a prewar car, but it’s a very different kind of car than we’re used to seeing win.

Bugatti Bugatti built five Type 59s, with company founder Ettore Bugatti selling four but keeping this one for himself after it won the 1934 Belgian Grand Prix and finished third in Monaco. He removed the supercharger from the inline-eight engine and fitted the Type 59 with a new two-seater sports car body and motorcycle fenders, which was registered as the Type 57 and won a series of races in 1937. King Leopold III of Belgium later bought the car and repainted it black with Belgian yellow stripes, a colour scheme it retains to this day. In 2020, Gooding & Co sold this Type 59 for a little over $12 million.

The Type 59 beat out 214 cars from 16 countries to win the prestigious Best of Show award, but that wasn’t the only prize it took home. It also took first place in the Pre-War Preservation category and won the Stanford Center for Automotive Research (CARS) Automotive Innovation Award. Bugatti is currently tied with Mercedes-Benz for the most Best of Show wins, with ten each. In addition, a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Corsica Roadster won the French Cup, a 1933 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster won first place in the European Classic Sport category, a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Aravis took second place in the European Classic Touring Late category, and an incredible 1995 Bugatti EB110 Sport Competizione took second place in the BPR & FIA GT Race Cars of the 1990s category.

Speaking about the Type 59’s victory, owner Fritz Burkard said:

I’m very happy for the car, very happy for Bugatti. This car is incredible. It has so much history—one of the most successful Bugattis in history—and to win with this car means a lot to me. The first time a Swiss has won, the first time a European has won, the first time a conservation movement has won. It’s important that the conservation movement is recognized as well, because a car can only be original once. And it drives beautifully.