THE BEST OF THE BEST; There's no better collection of cars anywhere, and you can wear goofy hats.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Pebble Beach is the best concours d'elegance in the history of concours d'elegance. The cars you will see here are the best ever built in more than 100 years of the automobile, and every year there is a whole new collection of them, 200 or more sprawled out on the 18th fairway of the gloriously photogenic Pebble Beach Golf Course.

"Every year I say, `How in the world are we ever going to accomplish this next year?','' said Glenn Mounger, chairman of the selection committee and co-chairman of the event. "I felt like this after doing Bugatti last year, `We'll never do a show like this again,' and I'm sitting here now thinking the same thing, `We'll never get a show as good as this again.'''

This show, the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours on Aug. 15, will be tough to beat.

It is the 100th anniversary of both Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza. An impressive collection of Ferraris, maybe the most impressive ever, will be on hand. Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza and Ferrari are the featured marques at Pebble Beach this year, as there is no longer one featured marque. Now they spread the glamour around.

First, the Ferraris: This will not be some show 'n' shine of ratty 308s seized at a drug auction. "The guys who have put this together feel this is the most significant display of Ferraris ever gathered,'' said Mounger.

There are classes for open and closed Ferraris, specials and prototypes, competition cars, major race winners-from such events as Le Mans, Mille Miglia and Sebring-and a display of 50 years of Ferrari Formula One cars, one from each decade. Organizers are hoping to get Michael Schu-macher's 2003 world championship car.