Pebble Beach 2018: the star cars heading to California’s Concours d’Elegance
World record holders and multimillion pound hypercars to debut in Monterey next week
Motor shows are still the top choice among car manufacturers for showing off their latest and greatest concept cars.
Tens of thousands of people flock to major events such as the Geneva Motor Show in March and October’s Paris show, most of which are held in massive convention centres.
Next week’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motor show in California is a little different, though. The show only hosts the most premium carmakers, who in return use the Monterey-based event to unveil exclusive concepts and exotic machines that can sell for millions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
The show opens its doors to the public on 26 August, but carmakers often unveil their new vehicles for press shots over the previous days.
Here are some of the most exclusive cars set to debut in Monterey on Sunday:
Audi PB18 E-tron Concept
Audi is bringing an electric supercar concept based on tech featured in its Le Mans-winning R18 racing car to Pebble Beach.
Your weekly digest of stories about entertainment and leisure, delivered every Friday
Although the company has only released a single preview image of the PB18, the EV’s curvy wheel arches and large Audi bonnet logo appear to be inspired by the 1991 Avus concept. There new car also features a pair of rear-facing cameras on the roof that send live video into the cockpit - a more hi-tech solution than convention wing mirrors.
Don’t expect the PB18 E-tron on the roads any time soon, however, as it’s believed to be a design study rather than a production concept.
Bugatti Divo
Just when it seemed that Bugattis couldn’t get any faster, or more expensive, than 2016’s £2.1m Chiron, the French firm has announced plans to unveil a £4.4m track-focused hypercar at the Californian motor show.
Named after French racing driver Albert Divo, the new hypercar is expected to be based on the Chrion, although with a number of revisions aimed at improving grip and handling on a circuit.
Bugatti boss Stephan Winkelmann said the development team had “an opportunity to interpret the brand DNA in terms of agile, nimble handling in a significantly more performance-oriented way.”
“Happiness is not around the corner. It is the corner. The Divo is made for corners,” he added.
Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow Concept
A short video of a designer sketching the side-profile of a car that appeared on Mercedes’ Facebook page last week.
The sketch only shows the silhouette of the vehicle, but the concept is clearly inspired by the company’s historic grand prix and land speed record vehicles from the 1930s to 1950s. The pencilled design features a vast bonnet that extends in front of the small cockpit, and the wheels appear to be hidden by the vehicle’s bodywork.
Judging by the hashtag accompanying the video, the concept will be called the EQ Silver Arrow - a named derived from the firm’s grand prix machinery. EQ, meanwhile, denotes some form of electrification, so the sleek show car may take the form of an EV.
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Although Lamborghini’s upcoming Aventador SVJ has made headlines recently for smashing the production car lap record at the Nurburgring, the Italian carmaker still hasn’t showcased its new supercar in its final form.
The company posted a series of videos last month showing it setting a time of six minutes and 44.97 seconds around the historic 12.9-mile circuit in Germany. However, the car is wrapped in camouflage in every shot, making it difficult to see how it will differ from the standard Aventador.
We’ll have to wait until Pebble Beach to get the low-down on the SVJ, but expect it to pack an updated version of Lamborghini’s 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine and electrically assisted aerodynamics to improve cornering grip at high speeds.
SSC Tuatara
American carmaker SSC knows a thing or two about building very fast supercars. The company’s most recent offering, 2013’s Ultimate Aero XT, was equipped with a 1300bhp V8 engine capable of reaching speeds in excess of 256mph.
Now, the company plans to go even faster, with its jet fighter-inspired Tuatara. SSC says that the car, making its public debut at Pebble Beach, will be so fast that its top speed is “projected to easily surpass the current world record” of 278mph, held by the Koenigsegg Agera RS.
Porsche Project Gold
Porsche has built something special for this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Rather than bring a brand new model, or a hardcore version of one of its sports cars, Porsche plans to showcase a unique concept inspired by a 23-year-old 911.
The German car giant is keeping its cards close to its chest, so details of the “Project Gold” concept are hard to come by.
A handful of preview videos posted on the company’s social media channels have given fans a glimpse of what’s to come.
In the videos, it appears that the car will take the form of a “restomod”, where a company takes a classic design and pairs it with more modern architecture. Judging by the wheels and the vehicle’s silhouette, it appears the bespoke Project Gold concept is based on the 993 generation 911 Turbo.
But Porsche has confirmed that the engine is an entirely new 3.6-litre, flat-six biturbo motor, which boasts a power output of 444bhp.
We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out whether Porsche plans to launch Project Gold as a production car and whether more “restomods” will arrive in the future.