There are four words on every car enthusiast’s lips around this time of year: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The marquee automobile event arrives at the famed 18th hole of the Pebble Beach Golf Links on August 17, 2014, with auto week events happening all throughout the week of August 13. To gear up for the one-day extravaganza featuring the world’s most legendary cars, Previews® Inside Out caught up with Concours chairman Sandra Button. She gave us the inside scoop on this year’s forums, expos and cars.

Previews Inside Out You added two new events to the calendar this year—the Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum and the Pebble Beach Classic Car Expo. Can you tell us a little about each event and why you decided to add them?

Sandra Button The Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum presented by Credit Suisse is a speaker series addressing topics facing the collector car world today. Individual sessions will discuss everything from “Finding the Collector Car of Your Dreams” to “The Future of Automotive Design” to “The Stewardship of Significant Cars.” The Pebble Beach Classic Car Expo is a place where people can view and purchase authentic and unusual vehicles from highly respected classic car dealers. Both of these events are located at The Inn at Spanish Bay.

Previews Inside Out If we could only attend one event during the week, which event is a must-see?

Sandra Button The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, of course! We take great pride in inviting only the best collector cars in the world to appear, and we judge them carefully. The competition to win our top award, our Best of Show trophy, is intense. This Concours has achieved a number of firsts over the years, and we continually strive to set the bar high for ourselves and others.

Previews Inside Out Rumor has it that Maserati and Ruxton will be featured at the marquees this year—why these two automobiles?

Sandra Button Each and every car that we invite to our show field is very special, but we do focus attention on our annual features, which we choose for a variety of reasons. Often, our features align with special announcements or anniversaries for a particular marque. For example, Maserati is celebrating its centennial this year, and as soon as we learned of that a few years back, we determined to feature Maserati in 2014. We also have features that come about because enthusiasts express a strong interest in them. That’s why we added hot rods to our show field back in 1997 and, more recently, motorcycles. Our event is guided by the passions of enthusiasts; for example, our Ruxton display came at the request of an enthusiast.

Previews Inside Out What’s your best advice for car collectors attending the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance?

Sandra Button My advice for car collectors visiting our show field would be to take time to talk with the owners of the cars on the lawn. These are the people who dedicated countless hours to restoring their cars. They know all there is to know about them and love to share their passion with others. I guarantee you will hear some amazing stories!

Previews Inside Out Which car (or cars) are you most looking forward to putting on display this year?

Sandra Button I think it will be the most amazing to see and hear over 20 Ferrari Testarossas together.

Previews Inside Out Are there going to be any surprises this year?

Sandra Button Our show field this year holds many surprises, because there are so many cars and marques that we’ve never featured before—everything from Ruxton, which is the first American production car with front-wheel-drive; to the Czech Tatra, which was at the forefront of technology in its day with its air-cooled rear engine and streamlined styling; to postwar Rolls-Royce Phantoms built primarily for royalty.