Carmel-by-the-Sea, August 16th, 2011
The Concours on the Avenue in Carmel is the first of several
events held in the week prior to the Pebble Beach concours.
What started many years ago (in the 1950s) with just one event
became a busy week some call the “Monterey Madness”. A
newer part in the calender is the Concours in Carmel on Tuesday
that was first held in 2007 by the Ocean Avenue Motor Club as a
by-invitation-only multi-marque gathering with a focus on Porsche
and Ferrari.
Carmel-by-the-Sea became known on this side of the ocean when
Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood became mayor of the town for a
short period in the mid-1980s. Carmel is a small gem with white
sand beach separated from the nearby Pebble Beach grounds by
the “Carmel gate” between Carmel Way and the famous 17-miles
Drive. In the beginning of the 20th century Carmel became a
colony for artists when the town was planned in typical American
chequered pattern with a main street (today Ocean Ave) marked
by a row of cypress trees. The small Victorian style houses of the
time still shape the appearance of the center as the construction
of new and the renovation of existing houses is strictly regulated.
Today the picturesque Ocean Avenue is the perfect location for
this public concours to start the week.
Being dependent from sponsorship due to the missing entrance
fees last years event had to be cut short to a small meeting but
this year it was back at old strength with a display ranging 4
blocks on the main street and a few side streets. The cars were
grouped by marque or theme in front of the shops under the trees
where the owners sat on white chairs waiting for the jury to come
by. The concours officially started at 11 am so the first cars
arrived well before 10 o´clock but the preparation is not that
extensive so the owners also had the time to look at the other
cars.
As mentioned above a focus of the event is traditionally on
Porsche and Ferrari. There are not many marques that attract so
many people all over the world as these two names do and
especially the Porsche family is huge in North America. The
classes featured the street version ranging from the early 356 to
the 911 from the 1970s. One rarely sees so many Speedsters
lined up either with standard pushrod engine or the rarer 4-cam
Carrera version. What was missing that day was one of the few
America Roadsters build for the American market but it was soon
replaced by the Speedster. Because of the costs of the shipping
and import in the US the Speedster with its cheaper top and
spartan interior was intended to cut the costs for the new market
and just as the Ferrari California Spider these versions are today
the most sought after. Later the Speedster was replaced by the
so called Convertible D (D for “Drauz” were the car was build) with
a slightly higher front window frame and wind up side windows
and even later (with the 356B) by the Roadster. The display of 356
had several B and C type Cabriolets and Coupés but one of the
class winners was a rare Continental model. The American
version of the 356 was called Continental in 1955 but a lawsuit of
Ford (who wanted to keep the name for a Lincoln model)
prevented the use after that year.
The other featured marque with classes on its own was Ferrari.
On one side of the street seven 365 GTB/4 Daytona were lined
up, all in red except on example in yellow, on the other side a
class featured the 275 GTB. In a mixed class a pair of 330 both
as coupé and cabriolet were put together with the 250 GT range
that was represented by a 1960 GT SWB and a Lusso plus a duo
of Boanos. Whereas the first one (0553GT) had a standard
bodywork the second one (0461GT) was a one-off that was once
Geneva, Torino and New York Show car before it was acquired by
the present owner. With its tail fins and many unique features and
details (just to mention the indicators to start the side line) and
the fact that Robert Lee once bought this car directly from Enzo
Ferrari impressed the jury and it was no surprise that this highly
important example became Best of Show.
As this year is the 50th anniversary of the legendary Jaguar E-
Type it was obvious to have some Jaguar classes as well. Beside
the E-Type itself the XK range was present with XK120, XK140
and XK150 either in open and closed form. A few more British
cars could be seen spread out over the field including a Bentley
41/2 Litre tourer, a Continental R or a Austin A90 Atlantic
Cabriolet, a car that is rarely seen at a concours.
Other European classics included a very early Maserati 3500 GT,
a Lamborghini Miura, a Lancia Aurelia B24 and an ASA 1600 GT.
An Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS with Ghia Special body was brought by
Bill Noon of Symbolic Motor Car. The car is currently for sale
there and was seen again the following Friday at the Concorso
Italiano.
But not just European car were displayed in Carmel. Several
classes featured a wide range of American car culture, starting
with a Woody as used in the 1950s to carry surfboard to the
nearby beach, other classes featured the hot rod culture and
Muscle cars. Crowd pullers were a pair of Plymouth, a viper green
Barracuda and a Roadrunner whose rear spoiler made those of
the Ferrari F40 look small. The road cruisers with lot of chrome
and intense colours gave a lot of photo opportunities for the many
visitors.
The Concours on the Avenue was a great start of the week and
one can hope that the difficulties of the last years are history and
that it becomes a tradition over the next years. For many of the
visitors this is the only opportunity to look at the cars beside the
crowded Pebble Beach Tour stop in Carmel as most of the other
events are not affordable for normal families with kids. What is
very refreshing to see is the fact that even on the crowded road
the cars were treated with respect and that owners of more
expensive cars do not have to worry about that.
The next Concours on the Avenue should be again on Tuesday
before the third weekend in August 2012.
Report&Images Peter Singhof www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
Concours on the Avenue Entries
AC Cobra s/n CSX7041
Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS Ghia Special 1955
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Zagato Spider s/n 10814344
Allard J2
ASA 1000 GT Spider s/n 11042 1966
Austin Atlantic Convertible 1949
Austin Healey 100M 1956
Avia MK3 Monoposto Streamliner 1956
Bardahl Special
Bentley 4 1/2 Litre s/n HF3177 1928
Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback 1955
BMW 3.0 CSL 1973
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 1969
Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396
Chevrolet Corvette Roadster 1960
Chrysler Ghia GS-1 Special Coupe 1954
DeSoto Adventurer Hardtop Coupe 1959
DKW 3=6 Kombi
Dodge Coronet 500 2-door convertible 1966
Ferrari 246 GTS Dino
Ferrari 250 GT Boano Convertible s/n 0461GT 1956
Ferrari 250 GT SWB s/n 1905GT 1960
Ferrari 275 GTB/4 s/n 10583 1967
Ferrari 330 GTS s/n 10719 1967
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona 1971
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona s/n 14265 1971
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona s/n 15425
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona s/n 16333 1972
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona s/n 16963
Ford Coupe 1938
Ford Deluxe Coupe 1940
Ford Galaxie 500XL
Ford V8 Roadster Pickup 1932
Jaguar C-Type Rep. s/n 1150040N
Jaguar E-Type 1963
Jaguar E-Type 1965
Jaguar E-Type Cabriolet
Jaguar XK140 FHC 1955
Jaguar XK140 OTS 1955
Jaguar XK150 DHC 1958
Kaiser Darrin Roadster 1954
Karmann Ghia Typ 14
Lamborghini Miura P400 s/n 3342 1968
Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible 1956
Lincoln Premier 2-door Convertible 1956
Lola T70 MK2 Spider s/n SL71/34 1966
March C84 Indy Car 1984
Maserati 3500 GT Prototype s/n 101124
McLaren M6B s/n 50-17 1969
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing s/n 198.040.5500223
Mercury Monterey
MG Arnolt Bertone Cabriolet
Nash Healey Convertible 1953
Packard 1958
Packard Caribbean Convertible 1956
Plymouth Barracuda Convertible 1971
Plymouth Road Runner Superbird 1970
Porsche 356 B Roadster 1961
Porsche 356 B Super 90 1960
Porsche 356 C Coupe
Porsche 356 Carrera 2 GS 2000 1962
Porsche 356 Continental 1955
Porsche 356 Convertible D
Porsche 356 Pre-A Cabriolet
Porsche 911 Carrera line-up
Porsche 911 Carrera RS
Porsche 911 S 1968
Porsche 911 S Targa 1973
Porsche 911 Targa T Softwindow 1968
Porsche 911 Turbo 1988
Porsche 912 1966
Rene Bonnet DJET 1963
Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn 4-door sport saloon 1952
Shelby Cobra 427 SC s/n CSX4818 1965
Tatra 603 1957
Toyota 2000 GT 1967
Volkswagen Beetle 1960
Volkswagen Microbus 1958
Volvo P1800
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