Skip to main content

Former Microsoft President’s 1954 Ferrari 375 MM named Best In Show at 2014 Pebble Beach

The results of the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance are in, and they’re comprised of several firsts. Drumroll please.

For the first time in the 64-year history of the event, a Ferrari has been named ‘Best In Show’ at the Pebble Beach Concours.

Recommended Videos

Taking home the illustrious prize is the 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe owned by former Microsoft President and board member and avid car collector Jon Shirley, from Medina, Washington. Not only is this the first Ferrari to win, it’s also the first post-WWII car to win the event since 1968.

This, however, isn’t the first Best In Show prize for Shirley and his Scaglietti. It has won several Best In Show awards, this one, however, was the first to be bestowed by Jay Leno.

RELATED: 2014 Ferrari 458 Spider review

As for the car, it’s spectacular – and one of only five of its kind still on the roads(ish) today. However, this silver beauty has not lived a plush life, quite the contrary.

When it was first constructed for none other than infamous film director Roberto Rossellini, it was a competition Spyder built by Pininfarina. After a severe accident, however, the original body was scrapped and Carrozzeria Scaglietti constructed the form we see today on the original frame.

After passing through the garages of several collectors, it was eventually discovered by Shirley in a Paris suburb underground parking structure in 1995. Shirley had the vehicle restored … and restored once again several years later after several damaging road rally trails.

(Photo credit: Autoblog)

Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
BYD claims it’s made a major EV charging breakthrough
BYD megawatt charger

BYD, a Chinese EV (electric vehicle) manufacturer, has announced a new battery and charging system it claims can top-up an EV almost as quickly as it takes to fill a traditional combustion engine car with gas.

The Super E Platform is capable of delivering charging speeds of up to 1 megawatt (1000kW), equivalent to 2km of range every second at peak speeds. A five minute charge can replenish up to 400km (around 250 miles) of range.

Read more
Purely bespoke e-bike brand promises 22-pound expressions of passion and precision
Ponomarets EIDOLON bespoke ebike in platinum grey, right sideview.

Ponomarets Bikes, a German e-bike company based in Dresden, was founded in 2022 with a single mission:  to build the world's lightest bespoke e-bike.  The result is the Eidolon, a sub-22-pound, precisely engineered, made-to-order e-bike that Ponomarets creates one at a time. The Eidolon isn't for everyone but sets a high bar for other brands.

The Eidolon also isn't a red convertible in the front window of an auto dealer's showroom. It's not bait for more prosaic, less expensive e-bike models. Company founders Roman Ponomarets and Ludwig Eickemeyer are only interested in crafting moving art that epitomizes elegance and performance.
What makes the Eidolon so special?

Read more
Rivian is more tech company than car company, and that’s a good thing
Rivian R1S Gen 2.

The car world is kind of split right now. There are the legacy automakers -- the ones you know and love -- but there are also the new startups building all-new kinds of cars. The first of that new generation of car companies was Tesla, and obviously by now it's certainly not a startup. But over the past decade or so others have popped up. There's Lucid, which builds ultra-premium EVs, and, of course, there's Rivian, which has secured its spot as the go-to for those who want a more rugged EV.

I was recently able to tour Rivian's Palo Alto location and one thing became clear. The divide between traditional carmakers and the new startups is much deeper than just when they were founded. Companies like Rivian, in fact, are actually tech companies, that built high-quality computers that happen to have wheels on them.

Read more