Every year in August, California’s normally peaceful Monterey Peninsula comes alive with the sound of engines. Automotive enthusiasts descend upon the town of Carmel and its vicinity as owners participate in a multitude events over three days. Automotive masterpieces from all vintages can be seen parading down the historic winding coastal route of Highway 1 as part of the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, while others venture towards Laguna Seca’s historic races, the Quail Lodge and, of course, the reputable Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Celebrating its 62nd annual recurrence, the 2012 Concours d’Elegance honored the automotive artwork created by Jacques (nee Iakov) Saoutchik, the short-lived Mercer car company and the exquisite vehicles once owned by the royal Maharajas of India. These were joined by legendary Mercedes SLs, big-block Fiats from the turn of the Century and able-bodied Cobras created by the late Carroll Shelby. In all, the Concours d’Elegance showcased 220 cars from 33 US states and 15 countries competing in 27 competition classes.
The early morning hours of August 19 saw an array of bustling activity while owners rushed to ensure that every inch of their vehicles would withstand the scrutiny of the judges. We even saw a father and son team cleaning the treads of their tires out with cotton swabs…
Besides the current and former design directors seen walking abound the 18th hole at the Pebble Beach Golf course, they also make up its illustrious judging panel. Wayne Cherry, Tom Gale, Ian Callum, Moray Callum, Shiro Nakamura, Ian Cameron, Ed Welburn, Martin Smith, Freeman Thomas, Andrea Zagato, Gorden Wagener, Kevin Hunter and Tom Matano are all honorary judges, as are historic racing greats like Sir Stirling Moss and Jochen Mass.
