Past Concours d’Elegance winner drives 1937 Bugatti cross-country from Rhode Island

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (KION) - Many of the cars on display or up for auction this week have an interesting backstory. The winner of last year's Concours d'Elegance drove his historic ride across the country. 

Fritz Burkhard gave a fist pump after his 11-day trek across the county. Burkhard, a world-renowned automotive collector, is arriving in Pebble Beach.

He was behind the wheel of his $30 million 1937 Bugatti Type 57s.

Burkhard won Best of Show at last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. He talks about his journey across the country, traveling 300 miles a day.

“Eight hours at least driving every day. You have a great country, the roads in Nebraska, Wyoming, we went off the highway. Sometimes we were half an hour or one hour alone. Nobody around us. Just cruising through those beautiful landscapes. Fantastic. So much fun at every gas station,” Burkhard said. 

Burkhard is checking out some of this year’s cars up for auction by Gooding Christie’s.

But what is it like to drive a 1937 bugatti?

"It’s like a mustang horse, except you have brakes to slow it down," Burkhard said.

When asked if he would be driving back to Maine after the car show, Burkhard said, “No…no.”

The Concours d'Elegance will be held on Aug. 1