Monterey Car Week, and in particular, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that is at its core, has always been an event for rare, finely crafted automobiles and the wealthy people that accompany them. It has mainly been for vintage cars, but that’s changing. Automakers are more frequently coming to Monterey to show new high-end models — to clientele with the means to buy them.
There are often plenty of reveals, but this year in particular has seen a deluge of amazing supercars and EV concept cars — though somehow even a Kia snuck under the rope line. The number of debuts has exceeded that of most traditional new car shows, and it’s likely a result of the smaller number of shows in the wake of the pandemic. In particular, the Geneva Motor Show, which has been the prime event for supercar builders, hasn’t been hosted, leaving Pebble Beach as a prime option for reaching monied customers.
With so many reveals, we wanted to provide a little guide for finding everything. So come along to see the millions of dollars of fine motorized machinery.
Acura Precision EV Concept
Image Credit: Acura
One of multiple manufacturers showcasing the future of their brands is Acura. The Precision EV Concept, which borrows a previous concept’s name, is a preview of Acura’s first electric SUVs. The first of which will be named the ZDX, which will have styling similar to the Precision. We also know that it will be based on a GM Ultium electric car platform, likely the same one that underpins the Chevy Blazer EV and the upcoming Honda Prologue. It will launch in 2024 and will have a performance-oriented Type S trim available.
Aston Martin DBR22
Image Credit: Aston Martin
Limited-production models with custom bodies and historical connections are a staple of Pebble Beach reveals, and the Aston Martin DBR22 is a textbook example. It’s a two-seat speedster with a custom carbon fiber body made to look like the company’s 1950s Le Mans race cars. It’s powered by Aston’s twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12 making 705 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. It will hit a top speed of 198 mph, go to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and only 30 of them will be built.
Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster
Image Credit: Aston Martin
Not content with just one V12 convertible, Aston Martin revealed a second one: the V12 Vantage Roadster. It’s the drop-top companion to the coupe launched earlier this year. It has nearly the same performance with a twin-turbo V12 making 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. It’s slightly slower to 60 mph at 3.5 seconds, but it’s slightly rarer with just 249 being built. They’ll be delivered by the end of the year, and every example is spoken for.
Bugatti Mistral
The quad-turbo W16 engines from Bugatti have reached the end of the line, and the Mistral gets the last of them. Each one makes 1,600 horsepower and will have a top speed of around 261 mph. Only 99 will be built and each costs about $5 million. Bugatti has already sold all of them.
Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster
Image Credit: Hennessey
Hennessey recently launched its Venom F5 Coupe, and it’s following up with a removable roof version. It has the same twin-turbo V8 making 1,817 horsepower and has the same target of a 300-mph top speed. It gets a new glass engine cover and wheels to further distinguish it. Thirty examples will be built at $3 million a piece.
Koenigsegg CC850
Image Credit: Koenigsegg
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first production car, the CC8S, and the 50th birthday of its founder, is the Koenigsegg CC850. It’s designed to look like an updated version of that original car with phone-dial wheels and a removable roof, but it takes its technology from the much newer Jesko. It has a version of that car’s twin-turbo 5.0-liter V8 which makes 1,185 horsepower and 1,022 pound-feet of torque. It also has a wild gated manual transmission that’s also an automatic. Koenigsegg is building 50 of them, and they’ll likely sell out quickly.
2023 Lamborghini Urus Performante
Image Credit: Lamborghini
Lamborghini’s SUV has become even quicker than before with the Urus Performante model. Just before it was revealed, it set the Pikes Peak hill climb record for a production SUV, edging out the Bentley Bentayga Speed. Performance gains come from upgrades throughout the SUV. It’s 104 pounds lighter with slightly more power (657 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque.) That allows the Performante to get to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds on the way to a 190-mph top speed.
2023 Land Rover Range Rover Carmel Edition
Image Credit: Land Rover
Land Rover just introduced its first North American location for a hang-out spot for Range Rover owners in Monterey, Calif. To kick it off, it invited a select group of owners to visit and see the new Range Rover Carmel Edition. Only 17 will be built, and it’s only available to people who came to the reveal. It costs $346,475, and the money gets the exclusive model plus a set of Titleist golf clubs. Some of the proceeds go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Marine Sanctuary.
Lincoln Model L100 Concept Exterior 7
Lincoln is celebrating its centennial this year, and part of it is a long, slinky luxury sedan. It has the biggest suicide doors we’ve ever seen and some wild light-up wheel covers at each corner. The car is meant to be all electric and fully autonomous. It’s unlikely to see production, but shows styling we’ll see on future Lincoln models.
2023 Lucid Air Sapphire
Image Credit: Lucid
Lucid already made some high-horsepower electric luxury sedans, but it’s going a step farther with the Air Sapphire. The new sedan packs three motors, two in the rear, one in the front. Combined, they make 1,200 horsepower and can propel the car to 60 mph in under 2 seconds. The quarter-mile goes by in less than 9 seconds, and the car’s top speed is over 200 mph. The suspension has been stiffened and carbon ceramic brakes fitted to help keep the power under control. The body is wider to accommodate wider tires, and a small spoiler and front splitter were added to provide a bit of downforce. Pricing starts at $249,000.
McLaren Solus
The Solus GT is a pretty remarkable car for a few reasons. It was first shown as a concept in the PlayStation game “Gran Turismo Sport.” Now it’s a real car. It weighs just over 2,200 pounds and has an 829-horsepower naturally aspirated V10 that revs to 10,000 rpm. Only 25 will be built and all of them have been sold.
2023_911_GT3RS_Monterey_Show_Car_001_
In a one-two punch, Porsche revealed the harder core version of the GT3, the 911 GT3 RS followed by a U.S.-specific “Tribute to Carrera RS Package” for the same car. It has a naturally aspirated flat-six making 518 horsepower and 346 pound-feet of torque plus bigger brakes, active aerodynamics and less weight thanks to carbon fiber and magnesium parts. The Tribute package features a color scheme inspired by the 1972 911 2.7 Carrera RS.
Ruf Bergmeister
Image Credit: Ruf
Famed Porsche tuner RUF has brought a special version of its in-house developed SCR. Though both the SCR and Bergmeister look like old 911s, they’re entirely RUFs, except for the Porsche engines, and are new. The Bergmeister loses its roof and gets a cut-down windshield and an older turbocharged 3.6-liter flat-six making 450 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.
