Gable's Duesenberg Wins Pebble Beach ConcoursMark VaughnClark Gable had many Duesenbergs, including the famous custom 1935 Model JN Convertible Coupe you've probably seen in photos. But he had others."The Duesenberg brothers were trying to save their company, so they 'loaned' cars to Gary Cooper and Clark Gable for publicity," said Ryan Brown of Classic Car Services in Oxford, Maine. "He (Gable) only had it about six months."The one he had for six months was a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster shown this year by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati at the Pebble Beach Concours. And low and behold the car won Best in Show. It was Yeaggy's second win with a Duesenberg.Yeaggy, second from right, and the Classic Car Services team that did the restoration, flexing on the field after their big win.Mark Vaughn"I won 19 years ago, but I appreciate it a lot better now," said Yeaggy on the winner's ramp. "I appreciate the hard work it took and the time it took to get here. People don't realize how hard it is, how special it is, to win this award. It's amazing."AdvertisementAdvertisementYeaggy won Best of Show in 2007 with another 1935 Duesenberg SJ Speedster known as the "Mormon Meteor," adding to Duesenberg's status as Pebble's winningest American marque, now with eight Best of Show trophies.Mark VaughnThe win was a homecoming of sorts for the car, too: "I found out recently that the second owner lived right here on the point in Pebble Beach," Yeaggy said, pointing west to a big house on the water. "He owned the car for almost 12 years, so this car has come back home today."The restoration was very thorough. The team took the car all the way back to what it had been when Gable "owned" it, from the particular black paint to the shade and texture of the leather interior. That part took some detective work."We found about a two-inch section of the original paint at a spot where the body attaches to the firewall," said Chris Charlton, owner of Classic Restoration Services.AdvertisementAdvertisementSame with the leather."The car had been reupholstered twice," said Charlton. "We found a piece of that, too."The interior, confetti and all.Mark VaughnBoth the leather and the paint on the finished car were superb. The Duesenberg had been restored in 2023, "...but not to its correct form, so we went down to the bare chassis." Which was where they found the original material.The engine had been rebuilt by Duesenberg specialists Straight Eight in Troy, Michigan. So Charlton's team didn't have to do the engine. It was fine the way it was."Dual-carbs, supercharger, dual overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, once you get into the power band, there's nothing else like it," said Brown.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe chassis had been shortened by 13 or 14 inches, said Brown, making it a real hot rod.1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi CabrioletMark VaughnThere were other strong contenders this year, including:A 1938 Delahaye 165 Figoni et Falaschi Cabriolet shown by The Pearl Collection of Baar, Switzerland, whose unrestored 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports won won two years ago.The 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta shown by the Heinecke Family Collection of Bangkok, Thailand.And the 1954 Ferrari 375 America Vignale Cabriolet shown by RQ Collections of The Woodlands, Texas.This year was also the last for concours chair Sandra Button, who has worked for the Concours for 40 years. Next year it will be semi-retired lawyer and lifelong car enthusiast Vince Finaldi at the helm as the concours faces the challenge of recruiting young enthusiasts into the car preservation hobby and maintaining its status as the world's leading concours d'elegance. Come back in 2027 to see how things are going.