Once again we were privileged to receive an invitation to participate in the magnificent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance — the sixteenth time a car from the Herrington Collection has received the honor of an invitation. This year, we were entered in the Ferrari Grand Touring Class — an extremely competitive class with 10 of the rarest, most beautiful, and most meticulously restored examples of the marque from the golden age of Ferrari — the 1950’s and 1960’s. These are the decades when Enzo Ferrari led the company to greatness, both on the track, and also along the boulevards in Europe’s playgrounds for the wealthy. There, captains of industry and European royalty proudly and conspicuously wheeled Ferrari’s breathtakingly beautiful GT cars along the coast roads connecting the most fashionable and exclusive French and Italian Riviera resorts.

Our entry this year was #0853, a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Specialé built for HRH Prince Bertil of Sweden in stunning Swedish blue livery. This is a true one-off design crafted by Ferrari’s finest coachbuilder, Pinin Farina — a masterpiece of elegant proportions and flowing curves. I found #0853 in Sweden, although when the Prince owned it, he kept it exclusively in the south of France at his summer home at St. Maxime Sur La Mer on the French Riviera. While we did not receive a class award this year, once again it was a privilege to participate in the world’s most prestigious Concours — along with 200 of the rarest and most beautiful automobiles ever made, shown by a passionate group of enthusiast-owners.

In deciding to share this experience with our customers, it has become clear to me that the process of pursuing and acquiring these rare and elusive automobiles for the Herrington Collection is inseparable from what we do here at the Herrington Catalog. It is in fact an eye for exceptional design that rules product selection for the Catalog — the same appreciation for outstanding industrial design that has built one of the world’s foremost Ferrari collections. Let me know if you enjoy this brief commentary and scenes from Pebble Beach 2010, by emailing me at lherrington@herringtoncatalog.com.