Click To View Complete Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Gallery (504 Images)

Text and Photos by Dubspeed Media Associate Editor, Donald Bond

During our lifetime, we have dreams that one could only imagine turning into a reality. When these opportunities present themselves, we embrace them as they become an imaginable reality. One such opportunity did occur for my wife and me as we were fortunate enough to attend this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

As a small boy, I was mesmerized by the beautiful automobiles that graced the pages in automotive magazine coverage of the event. Following the event through my adult life, as the best automotive conceptions were being displayed on the 18th Green, only whetted my desire to see these fine examples of craftsmanship and art in person.

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I was first introduced to Pebble Beach through the weekend editions of Wide World of Sports narrated by Jim McKay. I had seen celebrities like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus walk the famous Greens of Pebble Beach, and now, I was going to walk the same Green, admiring the very visages of automotive finesse that I had admired as a child.

I started packing for the trip to Monterey on Friday morning, yet this time, I was having to pack for two. Now guys, you know it’s hard to do the packing for a woman since all we usually do is throw stuff in a bag and be done with it. This doesn’t mean we will have all that we need, but we are ready nonetheless. This time I did things a little differently. I had to pack day and evening wear not only for myself, but also for my wife! I spent the day getting all our things packed, simultaneously on the phone with my wife, asking things like “…Okay, what make-up do you need, where do you keep the you-know-what…”. My packing adventure successfully complete, Kellea arrived home from work and we were off to Monterey!

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The drive usually takes only three and a half hours, but she likes to do sensible things…like stop and eat. I would rather drive it straight and get there. Well, being wise in the ways of marriage (happy wife, happy life) I stopped at the famous Harris Ranch off Interstate 5 just outside of Coalinga. Having never visited this end of California before, I quickly realized we were certainly amongst the bovine. One step out of the truck and I knew this was a cattle ranch like none other I have encountered. As the smell of cattle excrement wafted our way, I kept hoping that the dining experience would exceed the olfactory experience. I was not disappointed.

We had a wonderful steak dinner before taking off on the rest of our journey, but of course, we didn’t leave without incident. While sitting there, the busboy behind us was cleaning off a table and proceeded to walk away with a tray of dirty dishes on his shoulder. He tripped, sending the dishes crashing to the floor…and one heavy glass hurling up in midair only to fly over Kellea’s chair and land directly on her shoulder bone. A small squeal of pain erupted from her, as her eyes spontaneously teared to the brim. Grabbing her shoulder, she then bent over in anguish and silently began to cry. Immediately, we had the manager, waitress, security, busboy, cook, dishwasher, and anyone else in the vicinity with a curious notion to behold the spectacle of glasses, water and plates surrounding our table, approach to determine her need for medical aid. I realized that the only one with that ability was my wife, so I figured she was really out of luck. After waiving off all offers of condolences and attempts at diagnostic interventions, she rose from the table and excused herself to the ladies room. There I can only imagine that once inside the privacy of a stall, the pain that was welling up was released in a torrent of verbiage only recited during the act of childbirth. I cannot be certain of this, but from the expressions of other lady patrons exiting the bathroom, I quickly realized she wasn’t reciting the Hail Mary in there. But, being the good sport she is, she bucked up and only suffered a very bruised shoulder blade for the rest of the weekend. Perhaps because the ventilation system from the bathroom was in someway connected to the manager’s office, our meal was paid in full. I guess I should have ordered that lobster for market price! The restaurant staff were very nice about it and we didn’t ask for a free meal but they insisted. On the way out, I told Kellea that the next time we need a free meal, just use the ol’ hair-in-the-soup trick.

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Taking off from the Ranch, we headed up I-5 and various other roads to make it to Monterey. There is no straight route to the coast, but we made it in around 1a.m. I won’t mention the name of the motel where we stayed, but I will say this: take out a bank loan for your room because it will be expensive. The normal room rate was $99 a night but we paid almost four times that amount. This is typical for the Pebble Beach crowd. Being from Texas, air conditioning is a necessity but on the Coast of California most places do not have that luxury as the temps are usually 40 to 50 degrees cooler even in the middle of August. At least they did supply a box fan for our added comfort. I did feel better to see Bentleys, Maseratis and even Ferrari owners staying at the same motel and putting up with the “luxury.” Was it worth it? Yes it was and here is why…

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We got up Saturday morning very early. In order to get into the event for media you must pick up your credentials by Saturday so we did just that. I dressed as if I was going to see a client and Kellea to consult with a patient. This is not a place for jeans and your favorite West Coast Choppers t-shirt. We made our way into the Pebble Beach Golf Course through the only entrance off of 17 Mile Road. The winding road took us past the multi-million dollar homes and the beautiful view of the Pacific Coast. My skin was tingling the entire time just driving through to find a place to park. We were seeing vintage Ferrari 275 GTB’s passing us along with so many Rolls-Royce Phantoms it would seem that they were a dime a dozen! Pick a color, it was there.

We parked across from the Blackhawk Auction tent in a dirt area. Today was a free day. Before grabbing our camera equipment, we had to walk about a mile to find the media tent. On Saturday they were still putting up signs so we had to ask several times where the tent was. We found it conveniently located across from the Pebble Beach Café. This was the first year at Pebble Beach the media had computers set up for email and sending photos back home. One thing they do stress is to wear comfortable shoes, because there is a lot of walking to do…all day. There is so much to see and things are spread out across the entire complex.

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Saturday gave us an extra day to meet people and to take the extra photographs you see in the photo gallery. First off we stopped at the Blackhawk Collection to photograph automobiles you could only imagine; the kind that would give your banker a heart attack trying to secure a loan for one of those babies. It was hard to say which one was my favorite in this area but I would have to say several of the Rolls-Royces and one of 20 Porsche 911R’s. The 911R was the only one commissioned to be painted blue. This was a fine example of a racing car that never hit the track. Another Porsche auctioned off was one of 49 RSR’s and this particular example was the only one with a 3.0 liter instead of the 2.8. It sold for a mere $475,000!

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We made our way over to the Saleen and Ford GT display where we met Diana Spicer, Saleen Director of Communications. She gave us some insight into the S7 supercar and the new Ford GT. I have already read about the S7 but this was my first time to actually see it in person. I have to say I was highly impressed with the workmanship that goes into this vehicle. The fit and finish is impeccable! This supercar monster can take you to 0-60 in less than three seconds with more than 750 horsepower on tap! Diana gave us an inside tip that most of us gearheads do not know…the Ford GT is assembled by Saleen at their Milwaukee plant. You heard me right, Saleen is responsible for the putting them all together, and they also have input in the production of the car as well. We thanked Diana for her hospitality and made our way down the gravel path to view Aston Martin and Maybach.

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Aston Martins have come a very long way in the past several years. Give me any color and I’ll be satisfied! The Maybach area was small but also had one of the largest crowds that day. Everyone wanted to sit in the backseat and learn about all the amenities and how to be pampered while being chauffeured to the office. They had several parked for everyone to go over and view. A couple of NBA basketball players showed up later on Sunday to check them out.

Kellea and I stopped off at the Café to have some lunch on the balcony overlooking the Concept Show area. On the putting green were covered concepts that would only be debuted on Sunday. We were not disappointed the next day, nor were we disappointed at the several vintage and concept rides that strolled up and down the road in front of the Lodge. As we sat there I was busy photographing across the area to catch glimpses of the new Mercedes R-Class which I have to say in black, looks like a hearse. Vintage Ferraris and Lamborghinis made their way back and forth, but the real treat was the Bugatti Veyron in black and gray. I just about drooled on my Polo shirt and began blubbering like a fool in an insane asylum when it drove up and parked. Of course I had to spit out the stats on the car to my wife who happily nodded her head to appease me and make me feel special. Thank you, dear.

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After lunch we hurriedly went down to the Bugatti to take some up-close photos of the car. It was nice to see the world’s fastest production car on the street and not on a turn-table. I spoke with the Bugatti representative who could not give me access to the interior of the car for photos as she was waiting to show the car to a prospective buyer.

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I then pulled out my map to see where to go to see the new Ferrari’s and of course the FXX. As we were soon to find out how special they thought they were, Ferrari and Maserati’s display was situated 600 yards away from everyone else. So, we had to walk along the golf path and over a berm to get to them. Ferrari did in fact have a wonderful display as they had set up a dome-like tent with a wood floor. Red carpet treatment…literally. Well, at least from the outside. We made our way inside the sparse tent, to find that there were only 3 Ferrari’s inside! We were greeted first by an F430 (Spyder?) in traditional Ferrari red with the top down. Over to our right was a Ferrari red grand piano. I’d love to have that in our home! Then there she was…the FXX Enzo in traditional red, sporting the wide white stripe from front to back with black powdercoated five-star wheels. It was hard to photograph it with all the slobbering enthusiasts, but I crouched down and managed to shoot off a few clicks when all of a sudden a screaming Italian (not stallion) waving his arms like he was trying to take flight told me NOT to take photos of their cars! “Don’t you reporters ever listen!” he wailed. Hmm, well no actually…just ask my wife, I don’t listen. I got up and threw my camera over my shoulder and we made our way quickly around the FXX. Massive engine to say the least, but we didn’t stick around long as I didn’t need someone to tell me to delete my photos. As we left the display area, I looked at Kellea with a shrug and told her, “Well, that was worth it.” …meaning I had gotten the shot I wasn’t supposed to get. Kellea proceeded to tell me as we walked back to the concept area that because of the Ferrari attitude, she no longer wants a Ferrari. Drat!

Knowing Sunday was going to be a big day, it was great to have the opportunity to walk around and photograph all the cars that were already there on Saturday. It could not have been feasible to do all we wanted to do in just one day! Pebble Beach Weekend is actually an eight day event with rallies, tours, and races including other concours events going on before the Grand Finale on Sunday.

We viewed artwork and sculptures in the Retro tent which was quite fascinating. After a long day we packed up and headed back to our luxurious room. We cleaned up and not letting our tired feet stop us, we headed downtown.

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We parked our X5 on the street and stopped by the Russo & Steele Auction going on. The majority of the heavy metal was parked inside the parking garage and on the street. You could hear the numbers being shouted from loudspeakers nearby. Most were muscle cars with a few Ferrari’s sprinkled in. My favorite here was the 409-powered Chevy Impala in red with polished Torque Thrusters. My wife’s favorite was a hugger orange and white Camaro SS 396. After snapping a few pics inside, we made our way toward the marina. We passed two more auctions including the Barrett Jackson auction. This is where the high-dollar European cars were being bought and sold. For $30 you could walk into a fenced area to take a look at the vehicles, but we opted to walk around the outside and view them as if they were held captive. There were a few examples that stood out but honestly nothing that really caught my fancy.

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It was a sight to see though with so much expensive iron rolling through the streets of downtown and parked along the streets. When was the last time you saw a Ferrari 250GT or a black 2-door Bentley Arnage parked between two SUV’s? Kellea and I finally called it a night around 10pm. We needed to get some needed sleep before the big day!

Sunday morning rolled around with not much sleep, as the people upstairs had a wild-banging night that continued until 5:30 that morning. Nevertheless, we were ready and out the door about 6:30 a.m. and arrived about 30 minutes later. It wasn’t that bad of a drive as we followed a couple of flatbed trucks carrying the ‘stars’ of the day. We followed the parking signs to the Equestrian Center just down from Blackhawk, and chose to walk instead of waiting for a bus. It was quite cold that morning with temps in the low 40’s in August!

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We made our way to the Pebble Beach Lodge for the Bentley Press Conference where they debuted the new Bentley Azure convertible. To our surprise, they had breakfast waiting for us and we were the first ones there. Bentley Representative John Crawford greeted us with enthusiasm and made us feel right at home. The presentation was short and we enjoyed our much needed nutrition for the morning. The commoners were going to be arriving inside the complex at 10:30 a.m. so we had to get busy taking photographs down on the 18th Green. It was also foggy that morning along with a little drizzle – something you wouldn’t normally expect in sunny California but during the summer months on the Coast, you do. This didn’t hamper us from getting the shots we wanted to bring to you and I feel we captured the essence of Pebble Beach.

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The 18th Green was divided up into different sections of moving art. The Alfa Romeo section, celebrating 100 years of motoring, was presented very well. Next, the Rolls-Royce and Bugatti section along with Pininfarina concept cars of yesteryear. Also, the 75th Anniversary of Pininfarina, the premier coachbuilder of all time. I can remember viewing their concept cars in books I had received at Christmastime, and to finally come face to face with them here was breathtaking. Again, Kellea humored me as I gave her the history of all the ones I was familiar with. I love vintage race cars and I wasn’t disappointed! Ferrari owners brought in the best, from my brother’s favorite – a 1963 Lusso in metallic brown to race cars to refresh our memories of LeMans. One car that almost went unnoticed was a GT40 Mark I presented in dark blue metallic – now that is a LeMans racer!

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Straight out of my Matchbox car collection was this blue Mercedes Benz transporter with a beautifully restored silver 300SL race car, a wonderful presentation of the racing days of yesteryear! As I was standing there, I wished my hand was the size of Paul Bunyan so I could have rolled it around the grass back and forth making ‘Vroom-vroom’ sounds!

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We made our way through the scores of spectators arriving for the event to see who would be awarded Best of Show. A beautifully restored 1937 Delage D8-120 S Pourtout Aréo Coupé (double check all that verbage) owned by Sam and Emily Mann from Englewood, New Jersey won the coveted trophy. The proud owners made their way up the award podium to receive their trophy in their car to show everyone that these beauties actually run! As we headed back up to the Concept Car area I met Steve Saleen, the mastermind behind the S7 Supercar and the S281 Mustang. He was a very personable gentleman and we look forward to meeting Mr. Saleen again at his facility in Irvine. I also had the privilege of meeting one of his customers who had his 1000hp S7 shipped in from Florida so he could take in the Pebble Beach experience in style!

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It was hard to say which car was our overall favorite, but I have to say and Kellea agrees, our favorite was the 1910 Rolls-Royce Titanic Ghost. It is truly a sight to see as we are both Titanic buffs and to see the Ghost in its restored glory…well, was eerie. It is known as one of the most expensive cars in the world. The car resides in London under lock and key. Read more about this car here.

The fog stayed with us most of the day or at least until we departed a little earlier from the prestigious event. We finally packed up around 1:30 p.m. as our duty from roving reporters faded to being parents again.

The Pebble Beach Concours is the pinnacle of all shows. It’s like no other. To see the best of the best all in one place is breathtaking. If you ever get the chance, buy a plane ticket to Monterey and see the Greatest Show on Earth on a Sunday. If you have a chance to take a week off, then I suggest you pack up and stay for the entire Pebble Beach experience so you can take in all in. This once-in-a-lifetime dream has become a reality for me; now it’s time to work on the next one.