Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance - '11

[John Z Goriup]

A small collection of a few shots from Sunday's Pebble Beach Concourse for all tastes and ranges of interest...............I guess I could carry on about how grand and glorious it was, but what can you say about any Concours which advertised for months and finally actually produced and displayed 21, yes TWENTYONE, Ferrari 250 GTOs of both Series I and 3 Series II cars.........PLUS the blue 250 Sperimentale at the head of the line, widely considered to be the works test mule used to develop chassis, aerodynamic & engine modifications for the "production GTOs !

It's tough to get people's attention with anything else, when you're competing with that kind of might. Thought I'd mix in a few personalities in this year along with the cars.

1. The entire line-up of 21+1 GTOs.....quite unbelievable. This months issue of Cavallino lists the current estimated value of a Ser. I GTO at approx. $ 25 - 28 mill.

2. A suddenly very old looking Sir Stirling Moss as one of the honorary judges.

3. the eventual "Best of Show" car, a '34 Voisin Aerodyne sedan.

4. A view through the hot air duct in the hood of a '65 Ford Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, driven to victory by Bob Bondurant at the Reims 12 Hours, to secure the FIA World Manufacturers Championship.

5. A one-off '52 Cadillac Special Roadster, personally styled by Harley Earl for another GM VP, introducing several firsts for US cars, such as the metal cover for the top when folded into its well behind the seats.

[Davz912/911]

John,

Thanks so much for posting the pic's.....Did you by chance get an interior shot of the Voisin? One WILD interior!

Thanks again!
Dave

[John Z Goriup]

.....and another set of five to complete the presentation. For more on the Monterey Weekend events please see the next issue of the ESSES.

1. A nicely done '73 RS on display at the Porsche display in the manufacturers area.

2. I recall a couple of our members expressing themselves somewhat impolitely about Cayennes & Panameras.......wonder how they feel about Ferrari's latest production effort.

3. The "other" Porsche on the lawn this year......a '57 356A Speedster, entered in the Postwar Preservation Class, and entirely original.

4. Hurley Haywood very graciously posing with the Porsche 918 RSR Hybrid Roadster.........he'd been on his feet all day hawking the car to every wanna-be that came by and had just sat down when I asked if I could snap one of him and his potential future ride at the Daytona 24 Hrs......he just sighed and walked over to the car.

5. Several years ago Bruce Meyers convinced the PB selection committee to include hot-rods, and a couple of years later came motorcycles. This year, this magnificent & utterly original & historic '78 Ducati 9800 NCR, ridden to a totally unexpected victory in the Isle of Man TT by Mike Hailwood against the Honda factory team,.....after his 11 year break from two wheeled competition.

[ret9191]

Thanks for the compliment on the RS

[peekaboo]

The RS was Stunning.

And Sir Stirling looks damn good in my book. The mans 81 , & tough as an ox . Remember , he fell down an elevator shaft & broke both ankles in march 2010.

I hope I am looking as good , and as spry at 81.

[John Z Goriup]

a couple additional images of the RS on display at the Porsche center at Pebble, a very well done car, and certainly worthy of being on display in the Porsche showroom, ..........right next to their latest RS 4.0 limited edition, which also happened to be in white !

[beh911]

From the RS sign above:

"The car has been preserved but never restored, and in 2010, the car was repainted, along with original factory decals. New carpet and a new dash as well as a pair of new Old Stock original seat belts..."

I would love to know more about what else is preserved, as the description in my opinion focuses on efforts that are restorative in nature.

Nice looking car for sure.

Thanks for sharing your always excellent photos and text

[John Straub]

I don't want to steal this thread, but I posted on the blog a day ago a photo of Stirling that was taken by a friend of mine in 1970. I guess we all are getting older. He was lookin' pretty tough.
John

[72targa]

Yes, sadly, we all grow old (best to enjoy one's time while you have the chance!)...

[peekaboo]

With all the recent McQueen talk. Maybe a stretch , but I thought this might be applicable here :

www.mcqueenonline.com/brandshatch.htm

"While in England filming The War Lover, Steve met up with his friend, motor car racing legend Stirling Moss. Steve had very few heroes, and Stirling was one of them. During their time together in England that year Sterling taught Steve some advanced skills in motor car racing, and also encouraged Steve to compete at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent (15 miles from London)."