Monterey Car Week, with its multitude of sometimes highly exclusive events around picturesque Pebble Beach, is considered the ultimate automotive event. Once a traditional showcase for classic car rarities, the event has now advanced to become a multi-day, multifaceted luxury event at which renowned car brands present themselves and their new, sometimes strictly limited edition models to the public. Chapter was on site to experience the staging of a perfect brand presentation that combines tradition with innovation, using Mercedes-Benz as an example.
It’s a dreary week for the members of the exclusive and, with a members’ fee starting at $18,000, not exactly well-heeled Pebble Beach Golf Course: Every year in mid-August, when Automotive Week and the Concours d’Elegance are held, the golf equipment has to stay at home in the family estate, because the world-famous dream course on California’s Pacific coast, between the no less idyllic towns of Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey, becomes an opulent stage for the most exclusive car brands and a playground for car lovers from all over the world.
Think big
It’s unusually warm this year for the famously temperate climate in Pebble Beach, California. A challenge for the many visitors strolling through the grounds in stylish but not exactly airy robes. And there is plenty to see, even on the days leading up to the final Concours d’Elegance, which regularly marks the grand finale of the event: Many of the leading automotive luxury brands, from Ferrari to Aston Martin to Maserati, have rented their own representative villas here to present themselves and their most exclusive models – including many world premieres. Mercedes-Benz did not miss the opportunity to build its own – there is no other way to put it – impressive presentation palace in order to raise the diverse brand experience to a new level. In addition to historical gems from a wide variety of eras, the »Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge« will also showcase the latest Mercedes-Maybach highlight models from the top-end luxury segment and present the in-house MANUFAKTUR customization program, which customers can use to put together their Mercedes according to their personal wishes and ideas and thus give it a personal touch. With the Vision One-Eleven and PROJECT MONDO G, innovative concept cars from the brand’s recent design study history can also be admired. The highlight, however, will certainly be the eagerly awaited world premiere of the Mercedes-AMG GT.
»At Pebble Beach Automotive Week, we would like to invite you on an epochal journey through time and show with selected icons of our brands why Mercedes-Benz has fascinated for 137 years. Among the international automotive platforms, this event enjoys an incomparable status for us«, says Bettina Fetzer, Head of Communications and Marketing Mercedes-Benz AG, explaining the significance of the event and the accompanying, truly impressive effort behind the brand’s presence on site.
World premiere
There is probably no more fitting setting and location for the new presentation of such a vehicle that fuses sportiness with comfort and audibly screams »road trip« than this dream setting located on the legendary California 1 Highway. The new AMG GT is now the fifth vehicle developed entirely in-house by Mercedes-AMG. In its new edition, the AMG GT presents itself with a somewhat modified dimensional concept that ensures additional comfort compared to its predecessor (which, among other things, brings better all-round visibility and optional 2+2 seats), but still remains true to its sporty attitude: long wheelbase, short overhangs and steeply raked windshields give the new AMG GT a dynamic and at the same time powerful appearance.
The balanced proportions, the compact greenhouse with fastback silhouette and the enormously expressive front view are particularly impressive at first glance. Flowing surfaces without beads and edges, including recessed door handles, characterize the side view. The expressively designed rear shoulder area gives the vehicle its additional sports car appeal and completes the overall truly outstanding harmonious design – a true masterpiece of balance between elegance and sportiness.
Visions and works of art
By no means overshadowed by that world premiere, two absolute highlights of Mercedes-Benz’s recent creative history were showcased as eye-catchers in the »Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge«: the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven sports car study and the PROJECT MONDO G art project.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven , which was presented for the first time a few weeks ago, pays homage to the legendary C 111 experimental cars from the Sixties and Seventies. With its highly dynamic design language in one-bow design combined with a front design in iconic high-tech look, the sports car study is also proving to be an absolute eye-catcher and crowd puller at Pebble Beach, which is truly not lacking in automotive attractions.
The PROJECT MONDO G. artwork, presented at the beginning of 2023, was the result of a collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Moncler and combines the characteristic features of the iconic G-Class off-roader with the style-defining Moncler puffer jacket. A play on the contrast between the angular design of the G-Class and the soft, flowing lines of the quilted textile.
Grande Finale
Every year, Monterey Car Week culminates in the Sunday highlight: the traditional Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which is being held for the 72nd time this year, is a beauty contest for classic automobiles that awards prizes to the most outstanding models in a wide variety of categories. The jury decides according to a point system based on the criteria of originality, functionality and elegance.
The abundance of outstanding automotive gems on display this year on the immaculately manicured lawns of the Pebble Beach golf course is indeed overwhelming, and an illustration with even a slight claim to a representative selection would go beyond the scope here. (At this point we refer to the comprehensive picture gallery)
This year, there are once again over 200 breathtakingly beautiful cars from more than a dozen countries competing for the coveted class wins.
Every year, the international audience awaits with particular interest the decision as to which of the classic cars will take home the especially coveted »Best of Show« prize. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes-Benz, as the oldest automobile manufacturer in the world, is one of the most successful brands in the history of that honor, and so it seems like a perfect rounding-off of these impressive days that the Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster from 1937 (pictured below), of all things, wins the prestigious title of »Best of Show« at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2023. An almost overly idyllic ending to this Swabian-Californian storybook story of several days, in the perfect parallel world of Pebble Beach. [CS]
