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1931 Bentley 8 Litre is the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours Best of Show

A 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Gurney Nutting Sports Tourer took home the title of Best of Show at the 69th running of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It's probably the only time the owners will be okay with a bunch of tiny pieces of paper raining down on the immaculate open interior.  The 2019 Pebble Beach Concours took place on Sunday, August 18, 2019, and it capped a typical Monterey Car Week filled with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of automotive excellence. Some cars sold for eight digits, while others unexpectedly failed to meet reserve (even at eight digits).  The '31 Bentley had stiff competition for the top honor. The finalists for Best of Show included a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Cabriolet owned by Richard & Melanie Lundquist, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Erdmann & Rossi Special Cabriolet owned by The Keller Collection at the Pyramids, and a 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Coupe owned by David F. MacNeil.  The Bentley, which has custom coachwork from J. Gurney Nutting & Company Limited, is owned by The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie of Hong Kong. This is the first time a Bentley has won the Pebble Beach Best of Show since 1965, a fact that makes for a wild coincidence considering Bentley is celebrating its centenary this year, as well.  "The Centennial of Bentley may have played a role in this award, but the 8 Litre is the ultimate W. O. Bentley–era automobile," Kadoorie said, according to a press release. "This is the car that represents Bentley at its finest, and I have been very fortunate to have a car that has this elegance and finish, and that the Pebble Beach Concours feels is worthy." In other awards news, a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Cabriolet won Most Elegant Convertible, a 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Ghia Supergioiello Coupe won Most Elegant Closed Car, a 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Brewster York Roadster won Most Elegant Open Car, and a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Zagato Berlinetta Speciale won Most Elegant Sports Car. The Pebble Beach Concours live streamed a good portion of the sunny festivities, and we've included it below. Scroll to about the 3:27 mark to see the best-of-show presentation that capped off the day.

The mood at this year’s Paris Motor Show: Quiet

The Paris Motor Show, held every other year in the early fall, typically kicks off the annual cavalcade of automotive conclaves, one that traverses the globe between autumn and spring, introducing projective, conceptual and production-ready vehicle models to the international automotive press, automotive aficionados and a public hungry for news of our increasingly futuristic mobility enterprise. But this year, at the press preview days for the show, the grounds of the Porte de Versailles convention center felt a bit more sparsely populated than usual. This was not simply a subjective sensation, or one influenced by the center's atypically dispersed assemblage of seven discrete buildings, which tends to spread out the cars and the crowds. There were not only fewer new vehicles being premiered in Paris this year, there were fewer manufacturers there to display them. Major mainstream European OEM stalwarts such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Nissan and Volkswagen chose to sit out Paris this year, as did boutique manufacturers like Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini. This is not simply based in some antipathy on the part of the German, British and Italian manufacturers toward the French market — though for a variety of historical and societal reasons that market may be more dominated by vehicles produced domestically than others. Rather, it is part of a larger trend in the industry. Last year, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would not be participating in the flagship North American International Auto Show in 2019 — and that it might not return. Other brands including Jaguar/Land Rover, Audi, Porsche, Mazda and nearly every exotic carmaker have also departed the Detroit show. Some of these brands will still appear in the city in which the show is taking place, and host an event offsite, to capitalize on the presence of a large number of reporters in attendance. And even brands that do have a presence at the show have shifted their vehicle introductions to the days before the official press opening in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. In many ways, this makes sense. With an expanding number of automakers, with diversification and niche-ification of models and with wholesale shifts that necessitate the introduction of EV or autonomous sub-brands, there is a growing sense that, with everyone shouting at the same time, no one can be heard.

Bentley celebrates its founder with the Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner

July 10, 2018, marked the beginning of Bentley's centenary celebration. We can look forward to a year of commemorations, starting with the Mulsanne W.O. Edition by Mulliner, limited to 100 units. The sedan, available in standard, long-wheelbase, and Speed versions, celebrates founder Walter Owen Bentley and his 1930 8 Litre. The founder's personal car, the last vehicle he designed for his company and the second example off the production line, wore a coachbuilt body from Henry Jervis Mulliner & Co. That's the same Mulliner firm that personalizes Bentleys to this day. Walter Owen didn't get to enjoy his "ultimate expression of automotive engineering" for long; financial troubles forced him to sell it in 1931. Bentley bought the 8-Litre in 2006, and part of the "sympathetic" restoration meant replacing the crankshaft. That crank is the central feature of the W.O. Edition Mulsanne: Bentley cut the crankshaft into 100 pieces, and will place each piece inside a custom, illuminated cocktail cabinet in the rear quarters of the 100 special Mulsannes. Four different woods and aluminum create a marquetry scene that frames a glass display with the emblematic crankshaft. Around that, the show vehicle gets Heritage Hides in Fireglow, with Beluga details and stitching, Dark Stain Burr Walnute veneers, and Fireglow lambswool carpets. The exterior's drenched in Onyx, with Beluga Black wheels, accessorized by a chrome hood strip, optional chrome grille and surround, and discrete special edition badging. Customers can, naturally, option their own W.O. Edition Mulsannes any way they wish. Bentley's chosen to skip Goodwood as the reveal of this particular treat. The public unveiling comes on our shores, at next month's Monterey Car Week, on Aug. 24. Related Video: