BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN

FOR A BRIEF PERIOD in early 2020, it was easy to assume that the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance would just go ahead as planned, partially because of what we then knew about Covid-19 (next to nothing), and partially because of what we knew about the Concours, which had been cancelled precisely once since 1950, and that was in 1960.

More than a year later, we are still looking forward to the 70th running of the event that spawned Monterey Car Week, and when it finally comes, on 15 August, our patience should be handsomely rewarded. There will be special classes dedicated to Pininfarina, Iso Rivolta, the Porsche 917, early electric vehicles and Carrera Panamericana cars. Most excitingly, the organisers have arranged to bring together Best of Show winners from the past seven decades, meaning the 2021 field is technically guaranteed to be the greatest ever assembled.

The events that precede Pebble have also pulled out the stops to ensure that 2021 is a year to remember for all the right reasons. Monterey Car Week proper kicks off with the Concours on the Avenue on 10 August, when some 200 cars, from extravagant land yachts to bare-bones hot rods, will pack the elegant downtown area of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

From 12 August, visitors will have to make some tough choices because every one of the car shows listed below is worth attending, but 20 minutes inland at Laguna Seca the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will begin, with more than 500 historic racing cars duking it out over three days.

Fans of French cars will certainly want to make time for The Quail, which will feature a class called ‘Automotive Couture’ for all things Gallic and graceful, but celebrating in particular the Citroën SM, which is now 50 years young. Also highly recommended is the Concours d’LeMons, a lighthearted gathering of oddball or truly terrible cars that will make you smile like no other concours on the planet.