As one of the premiere automotive concours in the world, Pebble Beach is always a fascinating event to attend. Set on the fairway of one of the most beautiful and iconic golf courses going, it’s mix of highly creative classes always make for an unforgettable final day of Monterey Car Week. For 2024, event organizers have revealed their list of feature classes, so we’ve taken the liberty to create a wish list of the cars we’d love to see there.
Worth noting, we don’t know what cars will be there. We have no reason to believe that the cars we wish would be there will, in fact, be there. So, consider this as a suggestion from us, for Audi enthusiasts and to owners of these cars should they even still exist, to prep them and bring them to Monterey this summer. Finally, should you have a car you believe to be suitable, you can apply for inclusion by emailing a brief description and images of your car to [email protected] or click here to learn more.
Now, on to the classes. For the 73rd annual Concours, Pebble Beach plans to celebrate a more diverse range of cars, beginning with early Packards to FIA GTs of the 1990s. Feature classes include:
- Packard 125th Anniversary
- Maserati
- Frua Coachwork
- Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes
- 1990s BPR & FIA Racecars
Frua Coachwork
Pebble Beach describes this class as such, “Pietro Frua was not just part of the golden age of creativity in Italian design and coachbuilding, his work defined it. From the rounded lines of the early 1950s, to the sleek squared-off shapes of the 1960s, he mastered all. His designs were sometimes startling, but always tasteful, always inherently beautiful. He began his career with Farina and then built his own design studio, which he eventually sold to Ghia. Along the way, he bodied many marques, but his smooth, low-slung designs for Maserati are among his most celebrated.”
So far as we know, Pietro Frua only ever designed on Audi – the C1-based mid-engine 100S Coupé Speciale. We suspect this car would also qualify for the Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes class as well. Unfortunately, its whereabouts or very survival/existence remain unknown. We’ve not been able to find any modern photos or information on the car. However, we did recently highlight it in our blog HERE should you wish to learn more.
Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes
This class could be quite broad, so it’s worth examining the Pebble Beach definition. “A few 1950s prototypes hinted at the form, but Wedge-shaped designs really came to the fore with concept cars of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. Notable examples began with the Ghia Gilda Streamline S and blossomed with the Alfa Romeo Carabo, Ferrari Modulo 512, and the Lancia Stratos HF Zero. These dramatically different cars influenced production models like the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, DMC DeLorean, Lotus Esprit, Fiat X1/9, Lancia Stratos, Vector W2 — and vestiges appear in the Tesla Cybertruck of today. Our featured class will focus on One-Off Wedge Concept Cars and Prototypes.”
The first wedge-we’d suggest is the 1973 NSU Trapeze. With rotary power, styling by Bertone and staggered 2+2 seating, it would be both obscure and highly unique amidst a class of obscure and highly-unique cars. The Trapeze currently resides in the Bertone collection in Italy, so if it were going to come to Pebble then it would be up to Bertone to make that happen. Alas, Bertone probably has an infinite number of wedge offerings within its collection, so we’d expect its actual attendance to be doubtful.
Next up in our wedge wish-list would be the 1981 Audi Quartz by Pininfarina. Technically it’s based on the Audi ur quattro, so it may be a bit less low-slung than we’d expect from a wedge. However, we personally like it for its expansion of the idea of just what a wedge is. Forget the all-too common wedge-cue pop-up headlights. Quartz has piercing dual rounds similar to designs that we wouldn’t see for over a decade on cars like the second-generation Acura Integra.
The Quartz exists today in Audi Tradition’s own collection, meaning it would have to get the nod from Audi AG in order to make the trip to Pebble Beach. We’ve not heard of any plans to do so.
One of the most influential cars of the geometric and boxy 80s era of Audi models is the 1973 Asso di Picche by ItalDesign Giugiaro. The first in a series of three cars, The Asso di Picche led Audi and many other brands into the boxy era. Is it a wedge? Much like the Quartz that’s probably debatable, but we suspect Pebble Beach would love to see a reuniting of the Asso concepts together for the event. Audi owns the Asso di Picche, though we’re not certain of the whereabouts of the 1976 Asso di Quadri (BMW) and 1979 Asso di Fiori (Isuzu).
Some six years span the reveal of the first Audi-based Asso di Picche and the final 1979 Isuzu-based Asso di Fiori. In as much, we’re not sure that the Asso concepts have ever been seen together in one place. If it’s happened we’ve been unable to find photos, making us wonder how cool it would be to do so. Also, Italdesign is revealing its own modern Asso di Picche concept this month, a car that would likely enjoy a warm welcome on Pebble Beach’s concept lawn as well.
1990s BPR & FIA Racecars
The description for this final class is, “Just as legendary sports cars such as the Jaguar E-type, Ferrari 250 GT and Shelby Cobra went from road to racecourse with few changes in the 1950s and ’60s, the BPR Series sought to bring iconic supercars to the track in the mid-1990s—and it did just that. The McLaren F1, Ferrari F40, Bugatti EB110, Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, and Porsche 911 GT1, as well as exotics like the Lotus Elise GT1 and Dodge Viper, all took part, competing on tracks worldwide—from Europe to Zuhai in China and Laguna Seca in California. Named for founders Jürgen Barth, Patrick Peter, and Stéphane Ratel, the BPR Series began in 1994 and became the FIA GT Series in 1997.”
Alas, that means the 1989 Audi IMSA GTO is just a bit too early, while the 1999 Audi R8R and R8C are just a bit too late… not to mention slightly different FIA racing classes – GTO & LMP 900 respectively. On the surface then, it would appear no Audi fits the bill for this racing class.
For an Audi to take part in this class, you’d two things to happen. First, the class would have to be open to prototype race cars conceptualized but never raced. The decription doesn’t explicitly say development prototypes can’t partake, so we read that as they can. The next, and much less likely requirement would be for a car to exist.
Back in the late 1990s, Audi did commission the Suffolk, England based TOM’S GB to develop plans for a GT2 class TT meant to take Audi to Le Mans. Even then, Ferdinand Piëch had his sights set an Audi bid for Le Mans and one early idea was to take the about-to-launch TT to La Sarthe. So far as our source from TOM’S shared with us, the car never made it past the design stage, but should anything still exist at Audi, this would be a most obscure entry to this class. And while it’s not altogether uncommon for Audi to roll out a never-seen prototype, we’re fairly certain this one never made it past the drawing board.
A story on the TOM’S TT GT2 project ran in our Q2_2019 issue of quattro Magazine, and the image you see here includes both the TOM’S drawing and a rendering based on that which both ran with the story. If you are thinking you notice a similarity to the TT DTM racers that would later run by Audi Sport and ABT Sportsline, we’d tend to agree.
