How concours judging works: the 100-point sheet, deductions and how Best of Show is chosen

At a serious concours, a car does not earn points. It starts with all of them and tries to keep them. At the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, each car begins with 100 points, and judges deduct for flaws they find. The organiser's own account of the process says every judge must describe the specific flaw each time a point comes off, so a deduction is a written note, not a feeling. Authenticity is the priority, and an over-restored car is marked down just as an incorrect or faulty one is.

Two sets of people look at your car. Pebble Beach says its class judges, led by the Chief Judge, look at originality and authenticity and whether a car has been properly preserved or restored. Honorary judges, led by the Chief Honorary Judge, look at the same cars with an eye on elegance. The two groups review each class together.

What happens on the field

About 100 technical judges work the Pebble Beach field, chosen as authorities in the classes they are given, and each judge gets roughly 20 minutes with every car in that class. The judges in a class must agree on First, Second and Third in Class. Field judging at Pebble Beach begins at 8 am on Concours Sunday after a 7.30 am judges meeting, and all forms are due for review by 11 am.

Best of Show is a vote, not a total. A car has to win its class first. Then the Chief Judge, the Chief Honorary Judge, each Chief Class Judge, each honorary judge team leader and selected class judges vote for the car they want, and the car with the most votes wins. That is why the highest-scoring car on the lawn does not always take the top trophy. In 2026, the 75th Pebble Beach Concours, the vote went to a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster shown by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, one of only two built. There were 218 cars in the competition, 33 of them international entries from 14 countries.

Getting on the lawn is its own test

Judging only matters if you are accepted. Pebble Beach puts entry applications online in November and wants them back at the beginning of January, with most applicants hearing back by April. The selection committee reviews provenance and studies the car's history and details. It prefers cars that have not been shown at Pebble Beach or other major concours before, and cars generally cannot return within 10 years unless ownership has changed and the car has been freshly restored, or it is an original preservation car. Accepted cars also cannot appear at any other public show, display or auction in August before the Concours.

What this means for an Indian owner

The same people judge in India. The second Oberoi Concours d'Elegance runs at The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, from 20 to 22 February 2026, with Sandra Button, chairman of the Pebble Beach Concours, as chief judge and a panel that includes Sir Jackie Stewart, Jacky Ickx, Giacomo Agostini, Derek Bell and Jean Todt, with David McKirdy leading motorcycle judging. Cars run in 10 categories and motorcycles in four, including Cars of The Maharajas, Indian Coachbuilt and Indian Heritage classes, and a committee curates the entries. The 21 Gun Salute Concours d'Elegance lists a jury of more than 30 judges, among them a FIVA scrutineer and judges who have worked at Pebble Beach.

Indian cars travel, and they win. At the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours, Hemant Kumar Ruia of Mumbai won Class F with a 1929 Mercedes-Benz 630K Sports Tourer, Harsh Pati Singhania of New Delhi took the Jules Heumann Most Elegant Open Car award and Nishant Dossa of Mumbai took the Ansel Adams Award.

Sources

• Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance: Judges
• Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance: Entrants
• Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster Named Best of Show at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
• 2026 Pebble Beach Concours Class Winners, 1st Place
• Insights into the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Judging Process
• The Oberoi Concours returns to The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, 20 to 22 February 2026
• 21 Gun Salute Concours d'Elegance: Jury