“At the world’s most renowned automotive beauty contest, the contestant with no makeup won for the first time.”

That’s how Mason Bloom, a student journalist from Aptos High, put it in The Herald when describing Best of Show at the 73rd annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

An unrestored 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports captured the prestigious award, making it the first Preservation-class car to win the event. The car’s owner, Fritz Burkard of Zug, Switzerland, kept the Type 59’s battle scars untouched, and in the process, he became the first Swiss to claim Best of Show.

“I’m so happy for the car, so happy for Bugatti,” Burkard said. “…It means the world to me because Preservation is, for me, the most important class because (of) its originality and a car can only be once original. This car (has been) untouched since 1937.”

“Untouched since 1937” means Burkard’s Type 59 wears now-weathered versions of the panels and leather upholstery originally installed at Bugatti’s factory in Molsheim, France. It also means that the car’s history of personal and race use subjected it to road cruises and track bruises that are still visible today lending a unique character not usually seen on Concours d’Elegance Best of Show winners. The Type 59’s front grille is missing; paint chips are visible around the car as are a rough scuff on its rear and fender dents. These stand out in sharp contrast to the more painfully restored, pristine previous Best of Show winners.

The only modifications to Burkard’s winner occurred after the 1934-35 racing season when Bugatti converted this Type 59 to a “combination” racer and road car. Bugatti modified the bodywork to enhance aerodynamics and removed the supercharger to make it more suitable for road driving. A series of wins through the 1937 racing season placed it among the winningest Bugattis ever.

When King Leopold III of Belgium took ownership of the car after the 1937 racing season, Bugatti changed the paintwork from blue to today’s black at his request.

“This is the most successful Bugatti of the 1930s and (it) still runs,” said Burkard. “This car is incredible, it’s so much history. One of the most successful Bugattis in this (era).” Leopold III kept the Type 59 in his clutches through his years in exile during World War II and in the years following. It changed hands in 1967 and did so several more times. Burkard acquired the car at a Gooding & Co. auction in London.

Burkard’s Type 59 stands out as a “pre-war” car in this year’s large contingent of “post-war” cars at the Concours d’Elegance. Post-war cars were produced following World War II and for the first time in 73 years of Pebble Beach Concours, more post-war cars were on the competition eld than pre-war entries. Burkard emerged victorious over three other finalists including another pre-war car, a 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve LeBaron Sport Phaeton, and two post-war nominees, a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 and 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero. Before Burkard was a Best of Show winner, he co-owned Sika, a Swiss specialty chemical manufacturer. Burkard is known as “The Collector” for curating the diverse and nearly incomparable Pearl Collection of vintage autos. The Pearl Collection consists of priceless vehicles including a 1933Alfa Romeo 8C Monza, 1937 Bugatti Type 57SAtalante, and 1934 Maserati 4CL Monoposto. Burkard’s collection resides in a two-floor storage area in an undisclosed location in Switzerland. illion in losses.

Classic Car week ended with a blaze, as a 1979 Ford Ghia Probe 1 Concept Car valued at approximately $1,000,000 went up in flames on the northbound Highway 1 Munras Avenue off-ramp. The car was inside a trailer.