What not to miss at Monterey & Pebble Beach Week 2015

Like the proverbial 'swallows returning to Capistrano' each year, tens of thousands of the world’s most rabid classic car enthusiasts converge on California’s Monterey Peninsula for the automotive equivalent of Woodstock…

  

It’s always the Summer of Car Love in central California for what used to be called 'The Weekend' but has grown to become 'The Week'.  And if you haven’t made your travel plans yet, best get Google fired up, because rooms, flights, and hire cars rapidly become fully booked – and at top dollar.

The Concours

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has, for more than 60 years, been the epicentre of Monterey Car Week. Expect about 200 of the finest and rarest classics, arguably the best on any given single day, anywhere in the world. It happens on Sunday 16 August at the world-famous Pebble Beach Lodge, and highlights this year include an historic gathering of early Shelby GT350s, celebrating that seminal Mustang’s birth 50 years ago.  There are several special classes dedicated to Ferrari again this year, and expect a fly-by appearance of the 1955 Mille-Miglia-winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLR #722, along with its most legendary pilot, Sir Stirling Moss (a long-time Honorary Judge at Pebble Beach).  More additional special classes are dedicated to DuPont, Carrozzeria Touring, pre-WWII British, Cunningham, and the 75th anniversary of the original Lincoln Continental.

The Tour

The most hearty and knowledgeable types will show up at the field’s entrance at around 6:30am for the Hagerty Insurance-sponsored Dawn Patrol gathering to witness the entrants’ arrival onto Pebble’s vaunted 18^th Fairway.  If you’re in town as early as Thursday, pick a spot along the route of the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance (we recommend arriving early in Carmel’s Ocean Avenue for prime viewing real estate), an 80-mile on-road run that puts the show on the road, and costs nothing to witness.

Auction action

Enjoy the frenzy of some of the world’s most expensive cars trading hands among skyrocketing bids and record-setting prices? Well there's plenty to choose from. Gooding & Company presents Pebble’s officially sanctioned two-day sale, while RM Sotheby’s also runs a multi-day dazzler in nearby Monterey. The RM Sotheby’s highlight this year is a single collection of sports and exotic cars judged to be among the best ever assembled, called The Pinnacle Portfolio. Meanwhile, Mecum Auctions has substantially upped its game with great offerings lately, this year including Steve McQueen’s last, bought-new, special-order 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera coupé. Bonhams is also back for its annual Quail Lodge sale.

The Quail

If you insist on “the right crowd and no crowding”, check out 'The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering' in Carmel Valley.  Ticket numbers are limited, helping to keep the crowd and parking more manageable, and your very expensive admission includes a day’s worth of fine international food and drink, and spectacular motors.  

Aficianados unite, at Laguna Seca and beyond

Historic racing aficionados are likely to look in at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, for a weekend of classic tin running hard at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. If you’re all about Porsche, check out the Porsche Club of America’s Werks Reunion programme on Friday 14 August.  And if you love seeing (and drinking) red, feast on the 'Celebration of Italian Style' that is Concorso Italiano (cars, bikes, boats, fashion, food) on the following day. Plus there’s a happy home for non-Porsche Germans called Legends of the Autobahn. Something else special and new this year is a celebration of the former Pebble Beach Road Races, formally dubbed the Del Monte Cup, that ran through the forests there from 1950 to 1956, prior to the opening of Laguna Seca Raceway in 1957.  This year, a group of historic racing Ferraris will retrace the original race route taken by winners that included Jim Kimberly and Phil Hill, the latter being the only person to win the Pebble Beach sports car races and Best of Show at the Concours.  

Photos: © Drew Phillips for Classic Driver / Bonhams, Gooding, RM Sotheby's

Want to find out more? Take a look at our article overview of the 2015 Pebble Beach & Monterey Car Week.

YAMAHA YARD BUILT: THE ROAD TO GLEMSECK

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If you’ve been following the custom scene for the past three years, you’ll know all about Yamaha’s ‘Yard Built‘ program.

It kicked off with the Wrenchmonkees’ brutal MonkeeFist XJR1300, and since then we’ve had top-drawer builds from some of Europe’s most exciting custom shops—including Deus, JvB-moto and It roCkS!bikes.

Yamaha has now handed the baton to its own dealers, who’ve been given a chance to show off their own skills and win a public vote. The bikes are all based on the Sport Heritage range, and the winner will be showcased at the Glemseck 101 café racer festival in Germany next month.

We’ve had a look the entries, and picked out an example of each model that caught our eye.

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XJR1300 ‘Klein’ by Motorrad Klein, Germany One of the most heavily modified bikes in the competition comes from Saarlouis, near the border with France. The XJR1300 engine hardly needs a power upgrade, so the dealer has focused on big dynamic upgrades to boost the riding experience.

We’re looking at an MT-01 fork, Öhlins shocks, and a swingarm and subframe from OVER Racing, both anodized in black. The brake system is a mix of Magura, R1 and OW01 parts, clamping onto high-spec wave discs. Other goodies include custom triple clamps, forged aluminum PVM wheels, and Brandy-Red paint inspired by the 1973 Yamaha RD350.

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XV950 ‘TB114′ by Twinsbike, Italy The Yamaha XV950—aka the Star Bolt—is usually given the standard cruiser custom treatment. After all, it’s a valid alternative to the Sportster 883. But Twinsbike of Milan has taken a most unusual tack, choosing to give the XV950 a flat track vibe.

The Twinsbike crew has MotoGP experience, and they’ve made an incredible transformation with a minimum of new parts. The stock fender and seat are gone, replaced by a custom unit that looks like a factory design—and completely changes the style of the bike. The SC Project exhaust system and the air intake are new too, but virtually everything else is stock.

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VMAX ‘The V-Speed’ by Liberty Yam, France The picturesque Dordogne is a favorite region of France for tourists who’ve had their fill of Paris. But there’s nothing pretty about this ‘café dragster’ VMAX from Boulazac dealer Liberty Yam.

The new bodywork is even more brutal-looking than the standard kit, with a half-fairing inspired by the MT-OS concept bike of ten years ago. This VMAX sits an inch lower than standard, and there’s a new aluminum subframe bolted on. It supports a stubby black leather seat designed to hold the rider in place during full-bore take-offs—which are helped by the oversized rear wheel.

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SR400 ‘Red Flake’ by Planète Yam, France The popularity of the evergreen SR400 shows no sign of waning. It’s a simple, reliable commuter bike that scrubs up well when the occasion requires. This elegant, BratStyle-inspired machine comes from the Yamaha dealer in Rennes, in northwestern France, but would look even more at home on the streets of Tokyo.

This SR has been lowered, with a new rear frame loop and a slim seat lowering the side profile even further. The tank has been remodeled, dropped, and painted a delicious candy red. The cockpit is cleaner too, with the ignition relocated alongside the kickstart lever and a simple Koso gauge fitted up front. On this machine it’s all about the visual flow, from the relocated headlight to the neat little aluminum fender over the rear wheel.

Check out the bikes in the Yard Built dealer competition here, and then vote for your favorite.

via BIKEexif

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