'14 Motorsports Reunion - aka MONTEREY CAR WEEK

[John Z Goriup]

It's not only about the cars, although I sincerly confess that I personally go only for the cars. For those who care about such things, Pebble Beach offers some of the best people - watching outside of major international airports.

Photo #1 shows famed restoration guru Paul Russel, ( center, with Mexico Blue tie ) whose organization is responsible for several 'Best of Show' cars, most notably the black Bugatti Atlantic from the R. Lauren collection.

Photo #3 - Art Center college graduate, New Beetle & Audi TT designer, Chrysler 300 designer, Ford Styling & global developement VP, R Gruppe co-founder and long-time Pebble Beach honorary judge Freeman Thomas

Photo #4 - Sports Car Market magazine publisher and "What's my car worth" TV show producer and anchor, Keith Martin - in grey trousers

Photo #5 - an old and burned-out looking Jay Leno - a shocking metamorphosis from his days on the Tonight show

[John Z Goriup]

Back to the cars………..starting with an extremely rare '68 Ford GT 40 Mark III Coupe. A total of 84 racing GT 40s were produced at Ford's Advanced Vehicle facilties at Slough, England. J.W. Automotive Engineering, headed by John Wyer, ex-Ford's GT 40 team manager, then took over Slough and began producing only road-going street-legal versions of the GT 40 in '66. This car has a de-tuned 289 V-8, a more civilized interior and better ground clearance. Only 7 were ever produced at $18,500 per.

Tom Shaughnessy's 392 cu. inch Chrysler hemi-powered '57 Kurtis 500X "Caballo II " open Sutton Sports Racer. This specific car is the only American car to have ever been entered in the famed original Mille Miglia. With its Briggs Cunningham donated motor it was good for a sustained 170 mph. Shot #3 is a framed 'centerfold' from the period, taken from 'Sports Car Illustrated' magazine.

Photos #4 & 5 are of the fascinating, mildly modified, record breaking Jaguar XK-120, which went 172 + mph to recapture the production car speed record for Jaguar.

[John Z Goriup]

Another set of various cars…………..

[John Z Goriup]

…….on to the Rolls-Royce / Bentley marques - starting out with a pair of images of one of the oldest cars on the lawn in '14, a 1908 Silver Ghost with Roi des Belges body by Barker, as well as one of the oldest surviving Silver Ghosts in the world. Regularly driven and to be featured in the upcoming season of 'Downton Abby'.

If I may be permitted a brief editorial, Rolls-Royces are not my 'cup of tea, and if I live to be a hundred I'll most likely never own one, yet I cannot imagine a proper Concours without the presence of a representative selection of classic 'Rollers'………as opposed to the atrocities being pawned off on the world these days under the BMW banner.

To be continued & finished tomorrow evening

[John Z Goriup]

…….and another set of images of the cars from Crewe, England.

[John Z Goriup]

Transitioning to the German marques, we lead off with a rare '37 Horch Model 853 Cabriolet. The Horch marque represents one of the four rings in the Auto-Union corporate grille badge, the other three being DKW, Wanderer and Audi. This particular car, is one of 50 similar cars purchased by the government of the Third Reich, you know, the one that was supposed to last a thousand years, as staff cars for general grade officers. Towards the end of the war this car's general was captured by US troops and his Horch confiscated and brought to the US. Completely original, with only the top of the hood repainted to cover up the yellow stenciled US Army inventory number, it now lives in a museum in Sprinfield, MO.

Photo #2 is of the winning 1914 Number 28 Mercedes Grand Prix car, one of three entered in the '14 French GP where they finished 1,2 and 3. Powered by a 270 cu. in 4-cylinder motor making 112 HP with total loss oiling system, the car was the first "modern" GP design of the era, light but strong, with NO front brakes. Note: Car shown at Laguna Seca, since it was not entered in the Concours.

Photos #3 & 4 - a rare '37 Mercedes 540K Cabriolet

Photo #5 - a very rare and exclusive '41 Mercedes 770K WQ150 Offener ( open ) Tourenwagen ( Touring car ). This specific car was personally presented by Adolph Hitler to the commanding general of his Finland invasion force in '41. In '44, when Russia invaded Finnland, the car was secreted away to neutral Sweden, who in turn confiscated it and sold it off to the US, this time to our general William Lyon in the early '50s.

[John Z Goriup]

Another set of various cars, starting out with a Hernandez et Darrin bodied '34 Hispano-Suiza, then a '34 Duesenberg with its distinctive Kelly-green engine, followed by a '33 Auburn 12-165 Salon Speedster, and photo #5, a '35 Packard 1207 Twelve Sport Phaeton.

[John Z Goriup]

A few more misc. cars, and starting with photo #4 moving on to the always fascinating & entertaining "Concept Cars" area, on the practice green by the course pro-shop.

[John Z Goriup]

Another set from the Concept Green, leading off with the grotesquely priced ( $ 185,000 ) MIDUAL Type 1 motorcycle, with 35 planned for production beginning in '16 and several pre-orders already on the books. Phot #2 shows the official Alfa 4C USA introduction display, followed by the most powerful Infinity ever, the 560 HP Q50 Eau Rouge - no plans for production - yet ! Photos #4 & 5 show a Mercedes AMG styling study……..words simply fail me.

[Flieger]

That's a Tesla Model S, not an Infiniti.