Concours d’Elegance 2018 — Showstoppers From The World’s Most Prestigious Car Event

Concours d'Elegance is French term, which literally translates to ‘a competition of elegance'. The event is held on the last Sunday of the Monterey Car Week. The Monterey Car Week is a week in August, which witnesses a number of car-related events such as the Quail, Rolex Monterey Motorsports reunion, Concours d'Elegance and even car auctions as part of the week-long activities.

Out of all, the events during the Monterey Car Week, the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is considered to be one of the most prestigious car events in the world. The first gathering was held on 4th November 1950, with the exhibition of thirty cars. In 1952, the exhibition was moved to the 18th green in the Pebble Beach Golf Links, between the Lodge at Pebble Beach and the Pacific Ocean.

Concours d'Elegance was initially started as a ‘Pebble Beach Road Race' event sponsored by the Sports Car Club of America, in 1950. The race was held on the circuit of closed public roads, adjacent to the Beach Club, Del Monte Lodge (now known as ‘The lodge of Pebble Beach).

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has been held every year since 1950, at the same venue. However, in 1960, the event saw its only cancellation to date, due to scheduling conflicts. Also, in 1963 and 65, the event was moved to the old start/finish line of the race, due to heavy rains which made the lawns unusable.

The Event: Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an event where collector cars, from both the pre-war and post-war era, are judged and awarded based on a number of qualifications. The cars are judged based on their authenticity, history, style and function.

The cars are arranged according to type, marque (Manufacturer), coachbuilder, country of origin and time period. A group of honorary judges, each with their own significant contribution to the automotive industry, then, award the top three places in each class. The winners in each class, then compete with each other to win the ‘Best of Show' award at the end of the event.

Top-8 Car List

Now, let's look into the top-eight cars, which managed to grab the most attention at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

*The cars listed below, have not been arranged in any particular order.

Porsche Project Gold

Porsche revealed their special edition, Project Gold at the event recently. The Porsche Project Gold was unveiled to celebrate the company's 70th year of car making.

The Project Gold was seen in a Golden Yellow Metallic paint scheme. The car is based on the original body shell of a 1998, 993-generation 911 Turbo. The car took a total of 18 months to build and is said to be auctioned off at RM Sotheby's Porsche 70th Anniversary Sale on 27th October.

The Porsche Project Gold is powered by a 3.6-litre, flat-six engine. It produces 450hp, sent to an all-wheel-drive system through a six-speed manual transmission. However, the engine and the driveline on the Project Gold are now the originals and have been sourced from the Porsche Classic's extensive inventory.

The Porsche comes with a chassis number that is the immediate continuation from the last 993 to roll of the production line. The car also features a badge, proclaiming the car's one-of-one nature.

Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Lamborghini unveiled the Aventador SVJ at the Concours d'Elegance. The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (SuperVeloce Jota) is their final iteration of the supercar and is also their fastest and most powerful.

The Lamborghini Aventador SVJ will be limited to 900 units of production. The supercar comes powered by a naturally-aspirated V12 engine with 770hp power output. The Aventador SVJ comes with a four-wheel drive, along with four-wheel steering, allowing for superior handling and control.

Lamborghini also revealed the Aventador SVJ-63, a more track-focused version of the regular SVJ model. The SVJ-63, as the name suggests will be limited to just 63 units. The number also represents the year Lamborghini was founded - 1963.

The Lamborghini SVJ has been in the headlines, even before the official unveiling. This is because, the flagship supercar already proved its capabilities at the ‘Holy Grail' of motorsports, the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The car holds the record for the fastest lap time around the track at 6:44.97. Click here, to know more!

BMW Z4 M40i

BMW unveiled their latest iteration of the Z4 at the event. The BMW Z4 M40i is in its third-generation and developed from the ground up to compete in the roadster segment. The car revealed in its M Performance First Edition Avatar.

The BMW Z4 M40i comes powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine producing 340hp. The BMW M performance updates, help power the car to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds from stand still. Click here, to know more!

Bugatti Divo

The Bugatti Divo is the latest iteration of the Chiron hypercar. The Divo is limited to just 40 units, each costing USD 5.8million. The car is named after Bugatti's legendary driver, Albert Divo, who's won many races, including the Targa Florio in the 1920s.

The Bugatti Divo comes powered by an 8-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1479hp. The power plant is further mated to a new race-derived transmission sending power to all four wheels.

The Bugatti Divo has a top speed of 380km/h, which itself is a high figure. However, this is lower than the Chiron, which has a top speed of 420km/h. Remember, the top speeds of both the Divo and the Chiron have been limited by Bugatti. The company, with the Divo, has concentrated less on straight line speeds unlike usual, rather focussing on corners. Click here, to know more!

Audi PB18 e-Tron Concept

Audi revealed their new all-electric concept, the PB18 e-Tron. The concept showcases, Audi's radical vision for a high-performance sports car of the future. The new Audi PB18 e-Tron Concept has been designed at the company's new design studio in Malibu, USA.

The PB18 e-Tron concept uses three electric motors, one at the front with two at the rear. The car claims to deliver a power output of up to 150kW (201hp) at the front axle, while the rear axle gets 350kW (470hp) of power output.

The name PB18 is an abbreviation for the location of its unveil ‘Pebble Beach'. The car shares its DNA with Audi's LMP1 car, the R18 e-Tron.

Ferrari 488 Pista Spider

Ferrari took the wraps off their 50th convertible model ever made, the 488 Pista spider at the car week in California. The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider was showcased in a white paint scheme with blue racing stripes along the length of the car. This was to acknowledge its presence in the USA, which is the top-selling market for ‘high-performance convertible' in the world.

The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider features a metal-folding roof, along with new 20-inch diamond finish, 10-spoke star effect alloy wheels. The car weighs 90kg more than the coupe, however, it offers similar performance figures.

The new 488 Pista Spider is powered by the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine producing 720hp. This makes it the fastest Ferrari convertible yet. The power unit is also a three-time winner of the ‘Engine of the Year' award. The engine powers the car from 0 to 100km/h in just 2.85 seconds. Click here, to know more.

2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition

Ford celebrated its 50th anniversary of the 1968 and 1969 Le Mans-winning GT40, with the unveiling of the 2019 GT Heritage Edition. The Ford GT Heritage Edition is a limited-edition model, featuring the Gulf oil racing livery.

The livery is considered to be one of the most famous auto racing paint schemes, gathering a lot of attention at the show. The car carries forward the same engine specifications as the new GT model, however, it goes come with exclusive colours and equipment which are reminiscent of the original GT40.

The Heritage Edition will have a two-year run, with the number 9 and 6 features on the 2019 and 2020 models, respectively. The car also gets a seat pattern similar to the 1968 GT40 Le Mans winning model, while also featuring contrast stitching with the same colours as the livery.

Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow

Mercedes unveiled its all-new electric hypercar, the EQ Silver Arrow at the car week. The Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow pays homage to the original W125 Grand Prix racer. The original ‘Silver Arrow' averaged 268.9mph on the autobahn in 1938, with legendary driver Rudolf Caracciola behind the wheel.

Mercedes, pays homage to the Silver Arrow, through the new retro-style electric concept. The EQ Silver Arrow uses a rechargeable 80kWh battery pack, capable of 738hp, along with 250 miles on a single charge.

Thoughts On Top Eight Cars At The Concours d'Elegance

The Concours d'Elegance is one of the most prestigious car events in the world. The event witnesses a number of cars, from the vintage collector models to the latest in designs and concepts in the automotive industry. The week-long car event also offers a chance for various car companies to showcase and unveil their latest models to the world.