pebble beach

Steve McQueen's Jaguar at XKSS Meet in Pebble Beach

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

Steve McQueen's famous 1957 Jaguar made a rare outing from the Petersen Automotive Museum to take part in a historic gathering of XKSS models (above) at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance the other day. The meet, arranged in celebration of the famed British marque's 75th anniversary, was the very first time the cars have all been together in the same place at once since coming out of the factory. 12 out of the only 16 original surviving Jaguar XKSS's, road-going versions of the D-Type racer all valued at $3 million or more, were in attendance. The cars also participated in a convoy, threading their way through Carmel over the soaring Laureles Grade to the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway. Several of them had to be shipped over from Europe for the event. McQueen affectionately dubbed his car The Green Rat; he paid $5,000 for the Jag in the late '50s and sold it in the '60s, regretting it so much he later bought it back.

Tags: Jaguar, Jaguar XK-SS, Jaguar XKSS, Pebble Beach, Steve McQueen

Close Up on Bentley's 80-11 Edition Continental GTC and GTC Speed

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The Paris Auto Show is where the next Bentley Continental GT will be revealed, but that will concern the coupe only. The convertible GTC will continue a while longer while the new body style is prepared for its own fashion show next year. To keep North American buyers enticed, Bentley's dressed up the GTC and GTC Speed in Midnight paint and various accoutrement and called it the 80-11 Edition.

Shown off at Pebble Beach, in addition to their unique hue they both get shiny Union Jack badges on their front fenders, Dark Metallic soft tops and heavy-as-billet Mulliner gas tank caps. When it comes to telling the apart, the GTC gets 20-inch, 14-spoke wheels with black centers while the GTC Speed gets the lighter-weight Continental Supersports wheel in a dark tint, under which reside red brake calipers. Inside, they both get turned aluminum dashes and Beluga leather but the GTC gets contrasting white stitching, the GTC Speed wears Pillar Box Red stitching.

The final thing they have in common: FlexFuel engines capable of running on E85. Meaning the only thing you'll lose with these two is carbon emissions. They'll be arriving in dealer showrooms later this year.

Gallery: Bentley Continental GTC and GTC Speed 80-11 Edition

Tags: bentley, bentley continental gtc, Bentley Continental GTC 80-11, bentley continental gtc speed, Bentley Continental GTC Speed 80-11, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance

Luxist Captures Some Classics - and an SP1 - at Concorso Italiano

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

After doing the trials and tribulations thing for a couple of years, Concorso Italiano has found the perfect sized home in the middle of the action during Pebble Beach weekend. Several lawns full of vintage Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Fiat machinery, not to mention some Bizzarinis and DeTomasos, are all the reminder one needs that when it comes to cars – and food and fashion – the Italians have had it going on for decades. We ate up all the organic sportsters, predecessors of today's supercars filled with preservatives, and walked away full of beauty...

Gallery: Luxist at the 2010 Concorso Italiano

Tags: alfa romeo, classic cars, Concorso Italiano, ferrari, lamborghini, maserati, pebble beach, pebble beach 2010, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, vintage cars

Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Auctioned for $3.575 Million

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

The pre-sale estimate came good for Larry Ellison and his 1995 McLaren F1. Gooding & Company auctioned the Oracle honcho's supercar during Pebble Beach weekend, and the gavel slammed for good at $3,575,000. True, that's less than half the price of the top Gooding & Co draw, a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione that went for $7,260,000. Still, the McLaren came in at #5 on Gooding's top ten money earners that weekend.

More telling, the car is only 15 years old and only cost $970,000 when new – the next youngest car was from 1969, a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Speciale, that sold for half the price of the McLaren. The McLaren is probably the only production car out there in the last 30 years, and certainly the only nineties car, to claim that kind of appreciation. Not that Larry Ellison really needs it, but we hear he's serious about the Benjamins.

Gallery: Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Auctioned by Gooding & Co

Tags: Gooding and Company, gooding company, larry ellison, mclaren f1, pebble beach, pebble beach 2010

One-of-a-Kind Ferrari Fioravanti SP1 Debuts at Concorso Italiano

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

They say money can't buy you happiness, but we don't know what else to call the Fioravanti SP1. Commissioned by an undisclosed Japanese collector a couple of years ago, this one-of-a-kind supercar has made its sole public appearance at the Concorso Italiano during the prestigious Pebble Beach weekend.

The product of a joint collaboration between Ferrari and their former (now independent) designer Leonardo Fioravanti, the SP1 is based on the F430, but features unique bodywork, coach-built to the owner's specifications. It was the first vehicle produced under Ferrari's Portfolio program, which teams up clients with design houses to build unique creations like this one and the P540 Superfast Aperta. And this may be the last time it is shown in public, so click on the image above for a closer look.

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Tags: concorso italiano, ferrari, ferrari sp1, fioravanti, fioravanti sp1, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, sp1

Bentley Announces Special Edition Continental GTC 80-11

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you were disappointed to learn that the latest limited edition Bentley Continentals were limited exclusively to the Middle East, we've got good news for you. The British prestige marque has announced another pair of specials, these destined exclusively to the North American market.

The 80-11 edition can be ordered on either the Continental GTC or GTC Speed, and upgrade on the standard models with special 20-inch wheels, brake calipers and badging, plus the availability of an exclusive Midnight paint shade. The name is derived from the limited run of 80 models available, and the 2011 model year in which they'll be built.

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Tags: bentley, bentley continental, bentley continental gtc, bentley Continental GTC 80-11, bentley continental gtc speed, bentley Continental GTC Speed 80-11, continental, Continental GTC 80-11, Continental GTC Speed 80-11, pebble beach, pebble beach 2010, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance

101 Years Of Bugatti Cars At Monterey 2010

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Founded in 1909, Bugatti has had a fascinating history as one of the most important collector's cars in the world. Starting in the 1990s, the brand was due for a major comeback led by then owner the Volkswagen Group. Today with the Veyron, Bugatti produces the most expensive new production car in the world with a starting price of about 1.7 million dollars. Several of its highly coveted vintage models yield far more than that at auction.

During the auto festivities around Monterey, CA 2010, Bugatti celebrated 101 years of passion and car making, as well as the release of their new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport car - which was a follow up, higher performance model of the Veyron which was originally released in 2005. The Veyron Super Sport claims a top speed of close to 270mph, and will cost about $2 million. Highly collectible vintage models are valued in the several million dollars each. Bugatti also saw the debut of a new watch - the Bugatti Super Sport timepiece presented by their watch making partner Parmigiani.

Bugatti and Bugatti owners brought out their best to Monterey, especially at the Laguna Seca raceway for the Concorso Italiano. Beautifully restored Bugattis (and a few in original condition) were brought out to be seen and driven. You can see the famous luxury auto maker through different eras, and observe the loving care their owners bestow upon them. I've put together a pictorial showing some of the coolest Bugatti's seen in Monterey at the Quail Lodge event, at Laguna Seca, and at the Pebble Beach Concours de Elegance. Check out the rest of them below in the image galley. Fantastic to see so many rare and beautiful Bugatti cars together - chances like this are extremely rare.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: 101 Years of Bugatti Monterey 2010

Tags: 101 years, 2010, bugatti, Concorso Italiano, monterey, pebble beach, Quail lodge

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Bugatti Details New Veyron Super Sport at Pebble Beach Debut

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Visitors to the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this summer were treated to a wide variety of octane-drenched eye candy, but arguably none as enticing as the new Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

The ultimate Veyron was announced a few weeks ago when Bugatti took it to a record 268 mph top speed on a closed track. Now that the Super Sport has made its debut, however, the prestige auto marque has graced us with a few more details to fill in the remaining blanks.

To start with, Bugatti will build only 40 examples of the Super Sport, those forty counting towards the 300 total Veyrons that will be built in all before the model rumbles off into the history books. Second, customer models of the Veyron SS will be speed-restricted to 258 mph – which is still faster than just about anything else out there, but 10 mph short of the record speed. Sources speculate that the reason behind the limit comes down to fuel consumption and tire durability, though we doubt any owners will be putting it to the test, anyway.

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Tags: bugatti, bugatti veyron, bugatti veyron super sport, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, veyron, veyron super sport

Jaguar XJ75 Platinum Marks Marque's Anniversary at Pebble Beach

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A marque as prestigious as Jaguar isn't about to let its landmark anniversary come and go unnoticed, but if the limited-edition XKR 175 wasn't enough to tickle your fancy, feast your eyes on the one-of-a-kind XJ75 Platinum.

Unveiled at Pebble Beach, the XJ75 Platinum features a superchagred 5-liter V8, pearlescent white paint scheme with contracting black grille, pillars and wheels. The interior's been decked out in quilted leather with a 1,200-watt, 20-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system, and Bremont has manufactured a special dashboard clock for the special saloon. Unfortunately this remains a concept car at the moment, but that won't stop us from staring.

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Tags: jaguar, jaguar xj, Jaguar XJ75 Platinum, jaguar xj75 platinum concept, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, xj, xj75, xj75 platinum concept

Rolls-Royce Custom Luggage & Picnic Set For $30,000 - In The Flesh

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Handbags, Luxury Cars & Autos

We covered the custom Rolls-Royce picnic set previously here as part of Rolls-Royce's new Bespoke Program. The Bespoke Program allows Rolls-Royce customers further access to customization features on the cars, as well as a series of accessories. I met with Rolls-Royce at car festivities for 2010 at Pebble Beach for some hands-on with the new picnic and luggage set along with some addition information. My first question was "who is making this stuff for Rolls?" According to the spokesperson - no one is. Roll Royce is making it all themselves at their special wood and leather shop. I thought that was pretty cool. Would have been pretty easy to go to a custom maker of such stuff and ask them to put the Rolls Royce name on it.

The luggage set is beautiful. Retro in design (what, no shoulder strap?), it features very soft leather and serious looking zippers! No plastic here, "luxury hate plastic!" The picnic set is too nice to actually use. Unless you travel with a caravan that will delicately clean it for you after each use. All the silverware is polished like a brand new wedding ring, while the glasses are crystal. If only I ate this well at home! The picnic case looks as though it weighs a ton, but owners will likely have spare people form their palanquin carrying team to move it to their picnic spot. Or maybe you can say "tailgate Rolls Royce style!"

Together, the set is said to cost about $30,000, of course with varying prices as this is the "Bespoke Program." Makes a great addition to your new Drophead Coupe.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com

Gallery: Rolls Royce Luggage and Picnic set

Tags: 2010, bespoke, car, luggage, pebble beach, picnic, rolls-royce

Porsche 918 Spyder Makes Its Driving Debut [video]

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

This past Thursday, the Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid – which could become the world's most expensive production Porsche – made its driving debut on a closed road in Monterey, California, just days prior to its North American debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. After being shipped over from Germany by private plane, engineers handed the keys of the new 918 Spyder, dubbed the world's first true hybrid supercar, to Porsche AG Design Chief Michael Mauer. The car drove superbly under its own power, which comes from the mid-mounted 3.4 liter V8 engine out of the RS Spyder as well as an all electric mode which powers just the front wheels. That's good news for the 2,000 prospective buyers willing to fork out an estimated $630,000 to get their hands on one.

Tags: California, electric car, Germany, hybrid, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Porsche, Porsche 918 Spyder, supercar

Jaguar XKR 175 Celebrates at Pebble Beach

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Feast your eyes, ladies and gentleman, on the new ultimate Jaguar. Like the XKR 75, the new XKR175 has been made to celebrate the marque's 75th anniversary. But unlike its European counterpart, the XKR175 is destined exclusively for North America.

Based as it is on the existing XKR, the 5-liter superchagred V8 has been boosted to 510 horsepower, the aerodynamics have been enhanced, the wheels upgraded along with the brakes. A special interior treatment is also fitted, with individually-numbered treadplates almost warranting the $104,500 asking price all on their own.

Tags: 2010 pebble beach concours delegance, jaguar, jaguar xkr, jaguar xkr 175, monterey 2010, pebble beach, pebble beach 2010, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, xkr 175

Bid On A Chance To Play With The Greats At Pebble Beach

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Charity, Sports

Imagine playing at one of the most famous golf courses in the United States with some of the world's most respected golfers. The First Tee, a charity that helps young people from all backgrounds learn about golf, is auctioning the opportunity for one lucky fan and a guest to play alongside Hall of Famers including Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and Nick Price in a Champions Tour event at the The Homecare & Hospice First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. The auction through charitybuzz ends on on August 19. The package is a week-long experience on the Monterey Peninsula that includes accommodations at the Inn at Spanish Bay, a practice round and one tournament round at Pebble Beach, unlimited practice rounds at the pristine Del Monte Golf Course and more. The Homecare & Hospice First Tee Open is a 54-hole golf event with 78 Champions Tour players paired with 78 junior golfers ages 15-18 and 156 amateurs. They will compete on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course over Labor Day weekend 2010. The package is estimated at $25,000 but bids start at $7,250.

Clint Eastwood is the chairman of the event and former President George H. W. Bush and Arnold Palmer are honorary co-chairs. Golfers will play both courses Friday and Saturday and on Pebble Beach only on Sunday. All three rounds will be broadcast internationally on the Golf Channel.

Tags: champions tour, CharityBuzz, golf, pebble beach

Larry Ellison's McLaren F1 Up for Auction at Pebble Beach

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

It's not every day that a McLaren F1 becomes available for purchase. After all, only a hundred were made. But that day is coming up, and coming up soon.

At the fast-approaching Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Gooding & Company will auction off one very desirable example of the supercar that's still trouncing the competition a dozen years since it ceased production. This particular example, in silver with black interior, once belonged to Larry Ellison, whose company Oracle sponsored the McLaren racing team, and stands as one of the few ever registered for use in the United States. Pre-sale estimates place its value at around $3 million... give or take $500k.

[Image: Paul Litwinski © 2010 Courtesy of Gooding & Company]

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Tags: f1, gooding, Gooding and Company, gooding co, gooding company, larry ellison, mclaren, mclaren f1, monterey, pebble beach, Pebble Beach Concours dElegance

Queen Elizabeth II's 1984 Daimler Double Six LWB up for Auction

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

It's not every day that the Queen's limousine is offered for sale. That day came a few months ago in the UK, where Her Majesty's 2001 Daimler Majestic V8 went up for sale. Now comes to consignment of Her Majesty's previous vehicle, the 1984 Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon you see here, marking the first time a royal limousine has been offered for sale publicly in the United States.

Built specifically for Her Majesty's use, this Daimler underwent over 2,000 miles of testing to iron out any kinks and was fitted with a series of special features before being delivered to Buckingham Palace, upon which it became the Queen's personal transport. Her Majesty was known to drive it around herself much of the time rather than take a back seat to an official chauffeur, driving herself along with princes and prime ministers around London and to her palaces across the kingdom. After being retired from service, it was returned to Jaguar where it became part of the company's museum.

Jaguar says that this will be the last of its royal limousines offered for sale, offered as it will be at the upcoming RM Auctions event in Monterey, California, during the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, with pre-sale estimates placing its value between sixty and eighty thousand dollars.

Gallery: Queen Elizabeth II's 1984 Daimler Double Six Long-Wheelbase Saloon