The tranquil region around the small Californian town of Monterey has been a fixture for automobile culture in the upper segment for decades. Every August, one week is dedicated to vehicle world premieres, exhibitions, concours and auctions. Special attention is paid to sub-events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where historic automobiles are judged in museum-like rigor, or »The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering«, which has established itself as a highly exclusive stage for automobile manufacturers since it was founded in 2003. While some brands that are usually very present, such as Mercedes-Benz, exercised restraint this year, others took advantage of the free space in the Californian sunlight to make a grand entrance.
While Pebble Beach cultivates the aura of history, The Quail The Quail is increasingly becoming a place for new launches, studies and unique coachbuilt vehicles. This is where brands deliberately choose the stage to place their design strategies, beyond classic car shows. Chapter presents five particularly exciting models that give an outlook on how form, materiality and technical approaches will shift in the coming years.
Statement for the future:
Lexus Sport Concept
Lexus made a surprising and therefore particularly impressive appearance at The Quail this year with the unveiling of a sports car concept. The progressively designed coupé stood out with its wide, flat shape, clear aerodynamic lines and sharp cuts as well as exciting design details such as huge ventilation openings at the rear.
The manufacturer was conspicuously reticent to provide further information, but the study was intended to »show the way for Lexus design«. In any case, it is a design that looks more like a production car than a concept car.
Double innovation:
Chevrolet Corvette CX / CX.R Vision Gran Turismo
The Corvette made two appearances as a concept car at The Quail: with the electric CX and the quite radically designed CX.R Vision Gran Turismo.
The CX reinterprets classic Corvette features such as the long silhouette, striking »chine«-line and double tail lights—all in an uncompromisingly futuristic form. Instead of doors, a fighter jet-style cockpit hood opens up, while an all-wheel electric drive with four motors and over 2000 hp ensures concept-level performance.
The CX.R Vision Gran Turismo, on the other hand, is a tribute to Corvette’s racing history and is also intended to provide a glimpse of the brand’s high-performance future. With its aggressive aerodynamic design, reduced mass and traditional yellow and black color scheme, it is a fitting celebration of the brand’s racing DNA.
»While the shape of a Corvette has always been expressive and forward-looking, each crease and line has its roots in the generations that came before it. It is aspirational, it is cultural, it is the reason people want to come and work at Chevrolet,« explains Phil Zak, Design Director at Chevrolet. »The CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo demonstrate our design teams stepping away from the constraints of production vehicles and unleashing their creativity. Through this exercise, we’ve added to Corvette and defined the design direction for Corvette moving forward.«
Luxury Grand Tourer:
Bentley EXP 15
EXP 15 the latest design vision from Bentley Motors, made its public debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Although not intended for series production, the imposing and luxurious Grand Tourer, both inside and out, is intended to give a foretaste of the design of future Bentleys, including the brand’s eagerly awaited first all-electric model.
Parallel to the presentation of the EXP 15 , five design principles were defined, all of which will characterize Bentley’s future production vehicles: »Upright Elegance« defines the profile of the front fender; »Iconic Grille« reinterprets the famous Bentley radiator grille for the electric age. »Endless Bonnet Line« is intended to reflect the brand’s design heritage. »Resting Beast« conveys the visual language of dynamism and power—and »Prestigious Shield« defines the rear trim that frames the redesigned Winged B emblem.
Robin Page, Director of Design, comments: »The visitors at Monterey Car Week include some of the most discerning collectors, enthusiasts and aficionados in the world, many of whom already own Bentleys. EXP 15 is a strong statement of intent, and it was outstanding to see the concept resplendent in the California sunshine. Feedback received from the audience at Pebble Beach will be used to inform the brand’s design evolution, as we continue the journey to design and develop the next generation of electrified Bentley grand tourers.«
High-performance luxury crossover:
Cadillac Elevated Velocity
With the Elevated Velocity study presented here, Cadillac is shifting its V-Series towards the EV crossover concept and shows a possible design language for future models: gullwing entry, increased ground clearance including oversized illuminated wheels, an emphatically long hood and aerodynamic lines. »We started the concept with the dramatic proportions of Opulent Velocity, which gave it its characteristic prestigious presence. But evolved them over a high stance and cascaded a fast roofline over the entire vehicle creating an impactful silhouette,« Tom Grech, exterior designer at Cadillac Advanced Design, explains the design concept.
The show car’s striking red interior offers comfort on an almost wellness level: While you make yourself comfortable on the futuristically designed seats, body temperature measurement, air purification and light therapy ensure well-being and regeneration. A concept car with no intention of production that combines the brand’s performance tradition with the future of the electric ultra-luxury class.
Artful homage:
Bugatti Brouillard (Solitaire program)
Bugatti did not present a concept in the classic sense at the Monterey Car Week 2025, but a unique coachbuilt vehicle: the first order from Bugatti’s new customization program Solitaire—an exclusive offer for the creation of unique vehicles. In the case of the Brouillard, this is a tribute to Ettore Bugatti’s horse named Brouillard, whose beauty and elegance embodied everything that the car designer admired and then wanted to translate into automotive design languages.
In this sense, the Brouillard combines the elegant Bugatti design language as well as the technology that has been continuously perfected over the last 20 years in a bold design concept including a sophisticated color scheme. According to the responsible design team, the harmonious proportions of the Brouillard are also intended to reflect the principles of classical art.
Taking the volume distribution into account, the lower third of the vehicle is kept in dark tones that visually create a connection to the car’s shadow. While the upper two-thirds help to create a lighter, more dynamic silhouette that appears both lower and longer, making the wheels appear proportionally larger.
Incidentally, the client of the Brouillard is said to be a passionate Bugatti enthusiast who is not only closely associated with the car brand, but also collects the furniture of Carlo Bugatti and the bronze sculptures of Rembrandt Bugatti. With this in mind, the new owner wanted to unite the entire artisanal and artistic legacy of the Bugatti family in one masterpiece. [CS]
