If you’re one of the lucky folks who attended the incredible auto show that is the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, you witness first-hand some of the most spectacular cars on the planet. Pebble Beach is known for having everything from high-priced supercars to mint classics that make the high-priced supercars look cheap. This year, we saw some pretty amazing cars at Pebble Beach and the Concept Lawn was where we saw some of the most impressive stuff. So let’s take a look at the best from the 2016 Pebble Beach Concept Lawn.
Lamborghini Centenario Roadster LP-770-4
To celebrate the 100th birthday of legend Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Sant’Agata brand created the Lamborghini Centenario. Based on the Lamborghini Aventador, the V12-powered Centenario is one of the most extreme cars in the brand’s very extreme history. However, Lamborghini decided to make it even more extreme by cutting its roof off. The Centenario Roadster is actually prettier than its coupe sibling, which is far too exaggerative to be pretty. But for some reason, cutting the roof off brings out the beauty in it a bit.
The naturally-aspirated V12 screamer mounted in the middle makes 759 hp, through a seven-speed automated manual gearbox to all four wheels. Lamborghini claims it can get from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds. It features four-wheel steering and a seemingly absurd amount aerodynamic scoops. But it sure is awesome and we loved seeing it at Pebble Beach. Plus, it honors one of the greatest automotive minds in history.
Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo
When Bugatti first came out with the Veyron, it shocked the world. Packing 16 cylinders, four turbochargers, eight radiators, four driven wheels and over 1,000 horsepower, it was an engineering masterpiece of excess. It was also the fastest production car in the history of the world. With each new iteration, became even more and more extreme and even faster. So how does a company top that? With the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo.
Designed for the Gran Turismo 6 Playstation game, the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo is suitably extreme. However, Bugatti built just one real-world example. Surprisingly (Or unsurprisingly), someone actually bought it for a ludicrous sum of money. With a Veyron-inspired quad-turbo W16 engine, the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo develops over 1,500 hp because why the hell not. Speaking of hell, that’s what the Bugatti sounds like.
Cadillac Escala Concept
It’s not often that Cadillac’s are genuinely pretty. Sharp, dynamic and exciting, sure. But pretty? Not so much. However, the new Cadillac Escala Concept is actually quite pretty. Admittedly, it does take a lot of its design inspiration from the Audi A7, regardless of whether or not Cadillac will admit to that. However, the change from vertical headlights to horizontal ones, combined with the vertical fog lights was a good one. It gives the Escala a far prettier face than anything Cadillac currently makes.
The Escala also looks really good in profile, as its sweeping roofline is both aggressive and elegant. And with a 4.2 liter twin-turbocharged V8, this isn’t your Granddad’s Caddy.
Genovation GXE Electric Car
While many electric cars can be boring (See: Nissan Leaf), the Genovation GXE certainly is not one of them. In fact, it’s about as exciting and as violent as electric cars get. It started out life as a C6-generation Corvette Zo6. The donor car used to pack 505 hp 7.0 liter V8 engine, something that really gets the blood pumping with its monstrous growl and mammoth torque. However, it’s been replaced with something…silent. Two electric motors create a powertrain that pumps out 700 silent hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. Oh and it broke an electric car record, being able to hit a top speed of 205 mph. Take that, Tesla.
Infiniti Q80 Inspiration
This is an interesting car. It’s hard to actually say the Infiniti Q80 Inspiration is pretty, but it’s certainly visually engaging. The front end is actually quite good looking, but its from the A-pillar back that things get weird. There’s a lot of strange creases and flowing lines that don’t seem like they should be there. But it gets better when you look at it from there rear, where the rear window and taillights have a sort of Corvette Stingray Split Window look, oddly enough.
However, what lies under the skin is quite exciting. A 3.0 liter twin-turbo V6 mounted up front is said to develop a whopping 550 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. To make that sort of power, the small displacement six is aided by an electric motor. All of that power is sent through a nine-speed automatic, which would replace the seven-speed automatic in current Infinitis. This shows where Infiniti is headed which doesn’t look pretty, but should be fast.
Lincoln Navigator Concept
Right now, somewhere, Mathew McConaughey is smiling, while wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo, in the dark holding a glass of whiskey and saying something pseudo-intelligent. Lincoln has finally developed an actual concept to replace the Navigator. The current navigator is so old there are cave drawings of it in the Smithsonian. So it’s nice to see a fresh version of it. Admittedly, the gullwing doors and staircase won’t ever make it to the production variant. But they should because they’d be awesome. But that’s neither here nor there. The basic design language of this Navigator is actually really quite nice. It’s sharp, modern and simple. It’s exactly the kind of thing the Navigator needs.
Inside, the Navigator Concept follows the same simple but modern and high-tech. I also personally like the two-spoke steering wheel, which looks both modern and retro. Those seats also look spectacularly comfy. Overall, this is a great concept from Lincoln and I can’t wait from the McConaughey commercials.
McLaren 570GT MSO
McLaren Special Operations sounds more like an agency that James Bond might freelance for, but it’s actually a group of folks at McLaren who make the British brand’s cars even more incredible. For instance, the new McLaren 570GT MSO is a more luxury oriented variant of the standard McLaren 570GT. It features a Pearl White paint job and Piano Black detail package. The latter coats all of the exterior aerodynamic bits in glossy black paint. But my personal favorite touch is the visible exhaust shield with a “golden titanium nitride tint” to it. McLaren likes gold and this reminds me of the gold-lined engine bay of the McLaren F1.
Inside the McLaren 570GT MSO is a more luxurious cabin than the standard car, packing a two-tone tan and black leather interior, a carbon fiber trim package and a 12-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system. It also features a electro-chromic roof, similar to the Magic Sky Control roof. So with the push of a button, the roof goes from opaque to transparent, with five different setting in between. A 3.8 liter twin-turbo V8, making 562 hp, lies underneath the glass hood behind the driver. While the McLaren 570GT was already one of the coolest sports cars on the market, the MSO variant is even cooler.
Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6
We’ve already extensively covered the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6. The almost hilariously long grand touring car from Maybach is a throwback to sports cars of a bygone era. While the concept is obviously and intentionally outlandish, the idea is actually quite pretty and the design language should make for a great looking car. The Maybach looks better in person than it does in pictures, as well.
It’s also packed with impressive technology. While it’s retro on the outside, it’s completely futuristic underneath the skin. Packed with four electric motors that combine to make 750 hp, the Maybach 6 would be the most powerful production electric car in the world. It’s also said to get over 200 miles of range. The Maybach is also supposed to have autonomous capabilities while also being able to be driven like a proper car. Oh and it has gullwing doors. Who doesn’t love gullwing doors?