A stately Bentley wins prestigious 2019 Best of Show at Pebble Beach

 

There were only 100 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourers ever made, and one was just awarded the most renowned vintage automobile prize in America

 

A 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer with bodywork by Gurney Nutting won this year’s Best of Show award at California’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Widely considered to be the most prestigious vintage automobile show in America, winning at Pebble not only endows the triumphant car with prestige—and an increase in price, should it ever be sold—it also says something about the current state of the collector car hobby. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bentley automobile brand, so it was fitting that an elegant, four-passenger convertible with the flying-B logo took the top honors. “In a stunning field of Bentley cars celebrating the Bentley centenary, it is arguably fitting that a majestic Bentley should win Best of Show,” said veteran Pebble Beach judge, author, and museum curator Ken Gross.

 

Confetti is shot over the 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer, the newly minted winner of the 2019 Best of Show award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Photo: Courtesy of Rolex

 

The owner of the winning vehicle was the Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie, billionaire Hong Kong utilities magnate, and chairman of the Peninsula hotel chain. “This is a great moment for this car, and a great moment for Bentley,” Khadoorie told AD on the stand just after receiving the award.

 

“This is the ultimate Bentley of the W.O. era,” he said, referring to company founder and namesake W.O. Bentley. “It represents Bentley at its finest—elegance, refinement. This was a 100 m.p.h. car, guaranteed to travel at 100 m.p.h. regardless of body style,” Kadoorie said. “They built only 100 of them, so they’re quite rare.

 

Additionally notable, the 8-Litre Sports Tourer was the very end of the W.O. era. Bentley struggled following the global economic collapse of 1929 and was purchased by a competitor. “Rolls-Royce was very aware of the 8-litre, and aware that it would beat their Phantom II,” Kadoorie said. “That’s why they made sure they were first in line to buy the brand when it went up for sale. They wanted to eliminate the competition.” Which is to say, this 1931 Bentley Sports Tourer did exactly the same thing today.

 

A 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer. Photo: David Paul Morris/Getty Images

 

 

Source: A Stately Bentley Wins the Prestigious 2019 Best of Show at Pebble Beach