Pebble Beach proper - PH Blog

The Pebble Beach golf lawns beckon, 20 Testa Rossas merely a sideline to the main event

PistonHeads is at Pebble Beach! Dan will be blogging throughout the event and you can find the latest update right here, with links to related stories and archived posts below as they arrive. You can also watch for images and other updates via Facebook (/SpeedMatters) and Twitter (@PistonHeads, #PHPebbleBeach)

Incredibly despite all this talk of 'Pebble Beach' today has been only my second visit to the place in the space of the last few days. Plan had been to get up early for the 'dawn patrol' and see the cars arrive on the golf lawns, meaning an 0530h transfer from the hotel. Suffice to say the plan became a slightly more leisurely start and a later bus after drinks at the Crown and Anchor, apparently the traditional wind-down for all post-Pebble events. The man from the Porsche museum was there, telling me stuff about the collection and recent acquisitions I'm not sure I was supposed to know about but excited about a forthcoming exhibition at the museum in Stuttgart for weird and wonderful prototypes never before seen in public. And I met Chris Porritt, formerly of Aston Martin and credited with managing the development of the One-77 and now at Tesla. Quite a shift but he seems hugely fired up by the 'can-do' culture of the firm and what sounds like a pretty inspirational working model.

But to the golf lawns. It's a busy event, clear views of the cars not always easy (curse that lie-in!) and the people watching often as entertaining as tyre kicking. Chrome and silicone ... both seem to be in abundance around here. Plus a bloke with a parrot on his shoulder mewing like a kitten. Honest to god.

And though cars parked on putting greens isn't really my thing who can argue with an event that can attract 20 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas. As in the 50s one, not the 80s one. By the reckoning of those in our group who know more about such things that equates to around two thirds of those ever made. Crazy stuff. Special mention too to the James Glickenhaus owned Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione Pininfarina Coupe - the stunning gullwinged coupe at the top of the page. Shown at the 1967 Frankfurt show it was kept privately by Pininfarina until Glickenhaus acquired it in 2006. Amazing thing and very much the talk of the lawns.

Meanwhile the massive art deco American cars looking like something out The Great Gatsby are all very impressive too. Can't admit to being as into them as I am the 50s Ferraris, Alfas and Maseratis but they're definitely impressive, likewise the Rolls-Royce Phantoms and 540K Mercedes.

At the concept lawn I also got a chance to look at the McLaren P1 GTR which is little more than a rolling concept car and most definitely not the finished article. Also on a McLaren tip I gather the white F1 everyone was excited about at the Gooding & Co auction was withdrawn when the bidding petered out at just over $10m. Seems the way of it, the crazy numbers and frenetic bidding many - us included - were expecting just didn't quite materialise.

And with that it's time to fly home...

Dan