The 61st year of the Pebble Beach Concour d’Elegance is a premier automotive Super Bowl event that takes place every August.
To understand the event, you have to know that there are thousands of applicants that are whittled down to just 850. Then a committee of automotive experts further carves that number down to the 220 cars deserving enough to be on the Pebble Beach’s 18th fairway for Concour Sunday.
When the event came, I left a day earlier than my San Diego-based buddies Roger (who should name this get-together something clever) and Parvin because another friend, Bob Jacobs, got an extra invitation to Gordon McCall’s 20th Motorsports Revival.
It was an easy drive up Highway 1. I made all the lights in SLO town and was only slowed by one ugly, clumsy 1-800-4RentRV that pulled out in front of traffic at Ragged Point. He only lasted a few turns and then pulled off. Other than that it was clear sailing all the way to Point Lobos.
I met up with Bob in town, and we made our way to the Monterey Jet Center for the McCall party. This is a charity event for the 11-99 Foundation, which helps orphaned children of California Highway Patrol officers.
This is a gala blending of new Gulfstream G-5s, Embraer Phenom 100s, Beechjets, racing motorcycles, and fast, exotic cars. It’s where you go if you want to sign up to drive the latest and hottest machines. Bob was there to sign up for the brand-new, this-season Lamborghini Avantador, a 700-horsepower, all-wheel-drive, 0-62-mph-in-2.9 seconds, oversexed Italian machine. They had two of them: an orange one and a flat, black stealthy one, along with a rolling chassis bare-bones version without the skins, windows, or interior.
The newest, brightest star that stole the show was the candy apple red and hot pink Pagani Huayra totally formed and trimmed in carbon fiber. There was a crowd around it all night long. Pagani also brought to the party a Zonda R in black.
Bob and I got back to the Monterey Jet Center the next day to drive the cars. Bob had been looking forward to driving the Avantador for several months, and today was the day.
All of the hot-looking cars were out on test drives, but then the Bentley people pointed out a refrigerator-white four-door Salon car. I had signed up for the new Continental GT, but it was very much in demand and busy all day. That bigger, somewhat bulkier, four door with giant chrome wheels didn’t automatically catch my eye.
I was introduced to Ryan Flynn, who described the car and would be riding shotgun. It was a 2011 Bentley Flying Spur, powered by a 552 hp W-12 engine with twin turbo chargers and an automatic or semi-automatic six speed. On second glance, I decided to look inside: all hand-crafted, with paddle shifters on the wheel. Hmmm … this 5,600-pound cruise ship might be a sleeper. I asked Bob, “Do you want to ride along?”
I eased away from the parking space. We quietly made it up over a hill and to the stop sign on Highway 68. We continued south on Olmsted Road, where it goes over a knoll and through some trees to a clearing. We were only doing about 35 mph and coming down off that little knoll, and I could see a string of ordinary cars—all stopped on the road.
We could have become No. 15 in line, but we were in a 2011 Bentley Flying Spur! I told Ryan, “I’m going around!” and nailed it. The W-12 came to life and seamlessly accelerated us from 35 to 110 mph, faster than you can read this sentence.
I told Ryan, “This is one helluva road machine,” but he already knew that. Bentley also offers the Flying Spur in a “speed” version with even more horsepower.
Rolex sponsors the Tour d’Elegance, which starts next to the polo grounds. We were allowed to walk among the cars on the starting grid, enjoying all of the joy, excitement, and anticipation that comes before a memorable drive: 250 GTOs, V-12 Packards, Delahayes, Dusenbergs, V-16 Cadillacs, Jags, Pierce-Arrows, 300 SLs, Minerva, Stutz, and a one-off Rialton-Rippon, all driving down that Pacific Coast Highway.
There were three full sections of these wonderful vintage cars that headed out into the coastal fog that morning.
Cadillac, for the first time, revealed its new Ciel at a dinner gathering Thursday night at the Tahoma Golf Resort in the hills overlooking the Carmel Valley. It’s a spacious, four-door convertible, like a slimmed-down ’72 Eldorado. The passengers have suicide doors that must have motion sensors and some interlocks or else your passengers could provide some exciting freeway moments.
Infinity had a reception to introduce its four-door concept car, again with suicide doors for the passengers, as well as the current F1 points leader Sebastian Vettel’s Formula 1 car on display.
We went over to the Mercedes Pavilion while it wasn’t crowded. The 1939 W-154 would have ruled racing, except for the war. It’s a supercharged V-12, a stunning example of the craftsmanship of that era. I noticed the turbine wheel blades radiating from the brake drum—very jet engine-like. Each component of this racing car was like polished jewelry.
The Concourso Italiano is held at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch and keeps getting bigger and better every year. Picture a par five fairway with Ferraris perpendicularly parked four deep along its entire length, a virtual Red Sea of Ferraris for as far as you can see.
The next fairway was entirely devoted to Lamborghinis. There was an orange Lamborghini Muira, a favorite of mine, which was a breakthrough car for its time.
It never ceases to amaze me how the Pebble Beach Concour is always doing things to top itself. Two racing luminaries—Sir Stirling Moss and John Surtees—were at the media center for photos and an hour-long exclusive interview. Surtees is the only man to hold both world champion motorcycle rider and world champion car driver titles. He won seven world championships on motorcycles and was the world champion F1 car driver in 1964.
A lot has been written about the 1000 Mille Miglia and, in particular, the 1955 race. It was a 990-mile open-road course from Brescia to Rome and back. Moss had made three earlier attempts for Jaguar and had failed miserably. This year, the Pebble Beach Concour brought together the three major elements that were ultimately a success in that race: Sir Stirling Moss, his navigator Denis Jenkinson, and the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR. This might be the first time all three have been together since the race in 1955.
Moss and his team averaged more than 120 mph for the first 80 miles and 140 mph for the last 40 miles, taking 10 hours and seven minutes to cover the 990 miles for an average of 97.95 miles per hour. This has been considered one of the greatest drives of all time.
Gooding & Company had the biggest tent and most remarkable group of cars up for auction. I was stunned by the Whittle Coupe as I entered the display area. It’s hard to call this car a coupe; it’s a 1931 Duesenberg J, LWB, which stands for long wheel base, and it really is longer than many sedans. It was a one-off with an aluminum fabricated removable top. It is drop-dead gorgeous.
All of the world’s car manufacturers try to outdo each other every year on the putting green in front of the lodge:
• Porsche 918 RSR: This fabulous-looking car is a development platform for hybrid technology. It is a mid-engine RS Spyder V-8 that puts out 563 hp at 10,300 rpm, plus two electric motors that provide another 204 horsepower to the front wheels. The power generated during braking is stored in a flywheel accumulator and transferred to the electric motors during acceleration. This car is a rolling developmental laboratory.
• Shelby Super Car: Carrol Shelby’s latest will have 1,375 horsepower and top out at 275 miles an hour. It sure looks like Shelby has reinvented himself again. It’s just a roll around plug at this time, but already looks supersonic fast.
• Jaguar C-X75 Concept: This car is like a spaceship. Power comes from two gas mini-turbines that store energy in Lithium-ion batteries that power electric motors at each wheel, for a total of 1,180 lb./ft. of torque. The tail lights are like cat’s eyes even when they’re off. Jaguar announced partnership plans with Williams F1 last May to build this car.
• Ford “Start Concept”: I noticed this car late in the day. It wasn’t the only red car on the green. The most timely and relevant was this pesky little Ford. The chrome roofline strip gives it a bug-like profile, but there’s a roof accent piece that adds just a dash of style, like an apostrophe. It has big, beetle-like doors. The slotted taillights look sharp. This will compete with the Mini Cooper, the new Bug, or an upgraded version of the Fiat 500.
All three of us managed to get together in front of the Gallery Café after the Concour. We agreed we were going to head over to Spanish Bay. Roger said he wanted to hear the waves crashing on the rocks.
Roger was in the lead, then Bob, and then me in my ’64. We went a few short blocks and Roger hung a left and went about 600 feet to stop at a viewing site.
“Why are we stopping here, fearless pathfinder?”
“We’re stopping here because I’m sick and tired of leading this expedition.”
“What if Shackelton or Byrd said that? Where would we be today?”
“Maybe we would be back some place where we belong.”
More bickering ensued, punctuated by Roger’s final point: “All right, Mr. Smarty. Why don’t you take over all the planning for next year?”
“OK, here it is: The Concours is on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, see you there!”
I stayed an extra day just to rest up before heading down that long lonesome highway.
Roger stayed on also, for some much-needed rest, and he prefers to hit the L.A. traffic in the middle of the night.
We met up at the end of Ocean Boulevard at the beach before leaving town. We started our own gathering of Corvette friends from all over the country and portions of Europe, which lasted an hour and a half.
It always seems like I’m going downhill when heading south after this weekend. I’m still at the same relative elevation, so maybe it’s the orientation of the map—or more like a great time and drive are coming to an end.
I decided to stay the night in San Simeon and walk Moonstone Beach in the morning.
Later that evening Roger checked in again: “Hey—where are you at?”
“I’m in San Simeon. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”
“Nah, I don’t want to unpack again. I’m already in Morro Bay, and I’d have to backtrack. Besides I’ll hit L.A. at just the right time.”
“Have you thought of an official name for your tour?”
“Yeah, it’s ‘Roger’s Invitational Monterey Run.’”
“OK, we’ll go with that.”
John Ready likes cars. Can you tell? Send comments to Arts Editor Shelly Cone at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 6, 2011.