Well, not really. But if Nick Hogan did have one, this is totally the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe he'd drive. In fact, we bet he has a poster of this exact car on his jail cell wall right now. We'd also say the odds are high on this Phantom sticking out like a sore thumb at the Pebble Beach Concours.


(Thanks to J.F. Musial for the tip!)

Only 350 of the 2009 Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series supercars will ever be made, but that hasn't stopped one from appearing at the Pebble Beach Concours. The $320,000 Benz has a staggering 661 HP, but that's topped by the 6.0-liter V12's 738 lb.-ft of torque.


(Thanks to J.F. Musial for the tip!)

The Pebble Beach Concours is scheduled for tomorrow, but all the cars are taking their places already, including the debuting Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport. Here, the Veyron Grand Sport is seen running around in its underwear, hoping to avoid photography. Gee, wonder what it looks like? (Thanks to J.F. Musial for the tip)

Porsche celebrates 60 years by showing the mid-engine 'Porsche No. 1' sports car that Dr. Ferry Porsche built when he could not find the car of his dreams

Atlanta, August 5, 2008 - Porsche No. 1, the one-of-a-kind, two-seat sports car Dr. Ferdinand 'Ferry' Porsche developed and built after he searched and was unable to find the car of his dreams, makes its North American Concours d'Elegance debut when it joins other notable and historic vehicles August 14th at California's famed Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

This occasion is a happy one as Porsche No. 1's first North American trip, to Porsche's 50th Anniversary celebration at the Monterrey Historics in 1998, was thwarted when it was damaged in Chicago on its way to California. This trip also is special as it helps commemorate Porsche's 60th anniversary. Before arriving at the Pebble Beach Golf Links®, Porsche No. 1 had a starring role in Porsche Cars North America's 60th Anniversary celebration at its Atlanta corporate headquarters.

Affectionately called Porsche No. 1 by the Porsche family and thousands of the brand's loyal followers worldwide, this legendary sports car and the lynchpin of Porsche's design philosophy began life in June 1947 as engineering project Type 356 in the Porsche design office in Gmünd, Austria. Officially known as Type 356-001, Ferry Porsche's design concept took shape through the leadership of Karl Rabe, Porsche's talented chief designer who worked alongside Ferry's father to develop the original Volkswagen (VW).

In post-war Germany and Europe where resources were few yet the desire to rebuild was strong, the Porsche team diligently started building the innovative sports car. Starting with a hand-built tubular steel frame, engineers fitted already existing VW components including the suspension, headlights, clutch, gearbox, cable-operated brakes, worm-gear steering, and various small parts. VW parts were a natural choice due to the early VW-Porsche relationship and because of VW's key role in the post-war rebuilding effort after British military officers brought VW's Wolfsburg factory back online in 1945 to fulfill car demand and to stimulate the nation's economy.

The basic Volkswagen air-cooled, 1.31-liter flat-four engine put out just 25 horsepower at 3,300 rpm, so the skilled Porsche team enlarged the bore from 70 to 75 mm, increased compression from 5.8:1 to 7.0:1, and added slightly larger inlet valves and ports and twin carburetors, boosting output to between 35 and 40 horsepower.

The engine and transaxle were fitted into the frame in such a way that the engine ended up positioned in front of the rear axles with the transaxle trailing behind, making this a true mid-engine design. Mated to a four-speed gearbox, the drivetrain proved to be both lightweight and reliable.

Erwin Komenda, who along with Ferry Porsche and Karl Rabe formed the foundation of the fledgling car company, penned an aerodynamic and easy-to-build open roadster design. Friedrich Weber from Gmünd, one of just three of the company's body artisans, formed each of the car's aluminum body panels by hand, beating the then rare sheet metal and massaging it into shape over the wooden body buck Komenda had designed. The result was as shapely and beautiful as it was functional, with minimal protrusions to upset the aerodynamics or its visually graceful lines.

As with every Porsche since, form followed function on Porsche No. 1. The interior featured a bench seat to accommodate a third passenger if needed, a simple dash with only a tachometer (a speedometer was added later), a locking glove box, and map pockets on the leather door panels. An ample luggage compartment and the fuel tank were placed under the front hood, and the mid-engine layout provided space for a spare wheel and tire and battery behind the engine and above the transaxle. Finally, a frameless and low twin-panel front windscreen provided wind protection while accenting the sports car's gentile lines.

The unique roadster weighed merely 1,290 pounds, and thanks to the modified engine it could reach a top speed of between 84 and 87 mph. In May 1948, Ferry Porsche himself set off on the first long road test, driving from Gmünd to Zell am See, Austria. During the rigorous test drive over some of Europe's most spectacular climbs, the rear torsion bar suspension failed but was repaired en route. Through this car's entire test period, this proved to be the only mechanical failure.

Journalists tested the car on July 4, 1948, and Robert Braunscheweig, editor of Switzerland's highly respected Automobil Revue, concluded, "This is how we imagine modern road motoring to be, where the advantages of modern springing and the resultant driving comfort are combined with the adhesion of an equally modern, low and handy sports car." On July 11, with Herbert Kaes at the wheel, Porsche No. 1 won its class in the Rund um den Hofgarten local race in Innsbruck, Austria. Just as today, testing and competition proved to be solid underpinnings for the company's commercial and motorsports success.

Soon after, Porsche ramped up production of the 356 sports car at the company's tiny factory in Gmünd, abandoning the complex steel tube frame in favor of a stamped floor pan. The engine also was repositioned behind the axles to provide more interior space and room for a rear seat. Not too much later Porsche moved its production operations in 1950 to its current home in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

After passing through the hands of several owners, Porsche No. 1 was reacquired by Porsche AG and became a centerpiece in the Porsche museum. As Porsche nears completion of its new museum alongside the Porsche factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Porsche No. 1 will be prominently displayed in a way befitting the historic car that shaped all future Porsche vehicles.

The Veyron Targa will be available to a mere 80 lucky individuals willing to part with 1.14 million Euros ( $1.8 million in non-Monopoly money) for the chance to drive around on the decks of their cruise ships that burn dollar bills for fuel with the sun shining down while they gargle melted Godiva chocolate. So what if the weight is up and the top speed is down, it's built by Molsheim and it's exclusive, so go ahead and add it to the garage as a gift to your other Bugattis. [Edmunds Inside Line]

Press Release:

August 15, 2007 - Pebble Beach, CA - Lexus will debut the 2008 Lexus SC 430 Pebble Beach Edition retractable hardtop convertible to commemorate its on-going partnership with Pebble Beach Company. With a limited production of 360 vehicles, the fifth special-edition Lexus SC will be unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Lexus Fashion Preview on Aug. 17.

The unique exterior design of the SC 430 is complemented by an elegant exterior/interior color combination that will be exclusive to the Pebble Beach edition SC. This special SC will feature a Smoky Granite Mica exterior paint combined with an exclusive two-tone Camel and Ecru leather trim interior and Espresso Bird-eye maple wood trim. Additional styling cues unique to the Pebble Beach SC include special-edition brushed chrome badging on the front fenders and center console and an Ecru Pebble Beach logo embroidered on Camel carpeted floor mats. The Pebble Beach SC will also feature White illuminated scuff plates, a sleek rear spoiler and aggressive 18-inch six-spoke chrome wheels equipped on all-season or summer run-flat tires.

In addition to its elegant styling, the Lexus SC 430 hardtop convertible benefits from its ability to hide the roof within the confines of its trunk in a mere 25 seconds, while still maintaining enough room for luggage. All without latches, catches, snaps or covers. And when the top is up, it defies traditional convertible logic by remaining solid, secure and weatherproof.

The rear-wheel drive SC 430 is powered by a 288-horsepower, DOHC, 4.3-liter V8 engine with Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i). The aggressive V8 is mated to a six-speed sequential-shift ECT-i transmission to achieve a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 149 mph. In addition to its impressive performance, the SC is certified as an Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle II.

The SC features a number of technologies designed to enhance driver visibility including an Adaptive Front lighting System headlights, which help better illuminate a turn as the driver steers into it. The SC also includes daytime running lights, fog lamps and projector High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights.

Dynamic handling is accomplished with standard features that include an Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist, traction control (TRAC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC).

Every SC 430 comes standard-quipped with a Mark Levinson® Premium Sound System. This extraordinary system has been configured to self-optimize performance for top-up or top-down driving. Designed by one of the audio field's legendary innovative brands, the SC 430's system uses a seven-channel DSP 240-watt amplifier and nine strategically located speakers to turn the SCs interior into a private concert hall. System equalization automatically adjusts when the roof is lowered to compensate for the changed acoustics and ambient noise levels, and it returns to its original levels when the roof is raised.

The 2008 Lexus SC Pebble Beach Edition will be available for purchase in late August.

We weren't raised wealthy, but we were raised in the 1980s, when conspicuous consumption was everywhere. We mostly came of age in the 1990s, when our weird punk geek friends made bundles of money in tech and bought us drinks and drugs, but it was cool to be (or appear to be) broke. As Ian MacKaye so famously sung, "Cool's eternal, but it's always dated." And if that line isn't as famous as it should be as a social critique, well, it should be. And now? Well, now we're in an age of some weird aspirational decadent affluence that seems like a strange melange of the self-consciousness of the 1990s and the weird rah-rah, score-at-all-costs innocence of the '80s. So what does this have to do with cars? Largely everything.

As we've mentioned before, we think cars, in some ways, hit a peak in the late '80s/early '90s. Not the way they peaked pre-1929, in 1963, 1957 or 1970. They were safe enough. They had begun to become fast again, but they hadn't entirely been weighed down by nanny-state devices that had to be counteracted by more and more horsepower and increasing amounts intrusive gadgetry to counteract said horsepower.

But it was an abysmal time for exterior design. What cars of that era were the sex? (We're officially tired of the "teh" meme, but we still like the phrase.) Not the Diablo, for sure. Ferrari was doddering along with uprated Testarossas that nobody cared about. The AMG Hammer and the early M3 were carrying the torch for Teutonic porn-club majesty. And they're both still rad today, frankly and will only get radder as time goes on. Only the Mighty Starion, its Conquest twin and the revolutionary NSX were carrying the torch for Japanese kogal smut in the USA. (No, sorry, your Supra still doesn't qualify.)

In America, the situation was more dismal. The Fox-body 5.0, while a straight-line bargain that could be turned into a fun road racer given a plethora of available aftermarket components, wasn't exactly hot. The Camaro and Firebird, while a no-brainer in the performance department for the cash, hadn't been genuinely pants-dropping since 1978. The Fourth Gen cars are so insulting ergonomically, they're sort of not even fun to drive unless you're at at least eight tenths. At which point, they're insanely fun, but you still look like an ass. What else did we have? Err...the C4, and while the end-of-series Grand Sport tribute models were actually pretty rad-looking, they're later in the game than what we're discussing here.

But, the correct cars of that era hit the balance between awesomeness, safety and weight. They offered a hoot to the average driver without stepping in and correcting him via electronics. This, after all, was the micro-epoch that gave us the original Miata, which, if not aesthetically, was essentially a Lotus Elan without most of the Brit-car drawbacks.

Which brings us back, finally, to our initial thesis. People still love old cars. There's a glamour to them that no Maybach can touch. Oddly enough, the only car to recently come close is the Chrysler 300C. Yet when you get in, it's a sea of cheap materials. The Aston DB9 hits the mark, but who can afford one? Rich guys. Rich guys who take their vintage cars to Pebble Beach. And oddly enough, a number of these characters are schmoes like us with more money. And after being there, you understand their rationale. You understand why our late, high-school teaching friend Dave Beeman was so proud to have been asked to judge at Pebble, and why he worked so hard to bring a concours event to our hometown.

You understand why Bill Mitchell used to buy a new Ferrari every year and park it outside the GM styling studio. You understand why motoring isn't just a way to get from place to place. It doesn't have to be a slog through traffic. None of us here at Jalopnik are exceptionally wealthy men, and frankly, most of us barely scrape by. But when you do something like the Bullrun or go to the Monterey obsession-fest, you understand why some people essentially decide to become rich to feed their car habits. And some of those guys don't let it turn them into assholes.

Women leave. Rock bands reunite and nearly invariably suck. But an awesome car that's stirred your loins for decades? That, friends, is forever. And you know what? We'll take cool every time. We don't care if we seem dated.

Related:
Rollin' Correct in a Saab: Eric B. & Rakim [Internal]

We were talking to our folks last night and mentioned the majesty of the Hoover Dam, one of the few unnatural features of Nevada that doesn't reek of chintzy artifice. Being of Nevadan stock ourselves, we have mixed feelings about the state; the superficial glitz, dumb hicks and ridiculous high-roller wannabes get to us, but you know, there's familial history there and we've got a weakness for strippers. Six o' one, a half-dozen of the other, we suppose. While we were in Pebble Beach a week ago, we caught the auction of a rather fascinating 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 that somehow dovetails with all of this yammering.

Although Johnny Von Neumann sold Ferraris in Southern California, Luigi Chinetti, who brought us the rather unfortunate Cadillac NART coupe, was pretty much the only game in North America. Casino magnate Bill Harrah, however, had a special relationship with old Enzo, and eventually ended up the West Coast distributor for the marque.

While Harrah had owned a Tour de France, a couple of Superamericas, a 500 Superfast and a 275 GTB/4, he ended up rather displeased with his 365 Berlinetta Boxer. He didn't like the way the mid-engined flat-twelve car handled, and the storage space was absolutely dismal. So, being the bold western adventurer from the other end of the 110 from Pedro (Harrah grew up in South Pasadena), Bill sent the thing back.

Ferrari, not wanting to bum the man out, dusted off a '71 Daytona they had lying around, added fender flares, uprated the motor, pretended the thing was smog-legal and shipped it off to Nevada.

At some point during the Me Decade (Harrah died in 1978), a Sikorsky salesman approached Harrah in an attempt to sell him a helicopter, saying, "You have a Casino in Reno and one in Lake Tahoe; of course you need a helicopter."

Harrah agreed to spot the guy full retail for the chopper if it could get him from Reno to Tahoe as quickly as a car and challenged the salesman to a race. The car was this 365 GTB/4. The helicopter guy lost a sale that day. Aside from the Gurney/Yates Cannonball Daytona, this is basically the coolest front-engined Ferrari road car ever. It kind of seems like a steal that the fully-restored car went for only $341,000 at the Gooding & Co. auction.

The Harrah Hot Rod [Gooding & Co.]

Related:
In Defense of a Cheesewagen: Ferrary Daytona Replica at Barrett-Jackson [Internal]

Imagine gargling six-penny nails and then running the resultant sound through an analog, vacuum-tube powered signal processor. Now imagine that sound being one of the best sounds you've ever heard. That, friends is the Lancia D50 bombing into a turn at Laguna Seca in the hands of Steve Tillack. He may have finished 17th, but there wasn't a cooler car on the track during the 1955-1965 F1 & F2 race at the Monterey Historics.

More on the Monterey Historics and Pebble Beach [Internal]

We Yanks tend to think of Euro cars as machines for overmoneyed, caviar-nibbling, expensive-jeans wearing sleazebags with expensive watches and questionable facial hair. Manliness is measured by the pure cubic inch, not the horsepower-per-cubic-inch. And truth be told, there's more than a fair dose of reality in that stereotype. But. But, there was a time when European sports racers, while more sophisticated than the Hudsons and Chryslers running 'shine across the backroads of the South, were just as goddamn rip-your-nips-off hairy-chested as anything we ever produced.

The 1958 Ferrari 412S is such a car, and this particular example — which, by the way, sounds like Yahweh on a six-day coke binge — was driven by luminaries such as Richie Ginther, Alfonso de Portago, Mike Hawthorn and Phil Hill (or "Feel Eel" as the French call him). Twelve cylinders, four cams, 4.1 litres of displacement, an aluminum body and drum brakes. You could've owned it for 5.6 mil, assuming that you didn't get outbid at RM's Monterey Auction.

Related:
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

Luigi Chinetti was famously the original American distributor of Ferrari automobiles and honcho of the company's North American Racing Team. In the late 1960s and early '70s Chinetti was worried about impending emissions regulations possibly strangling his Ferrari business, so he turned around a front-drive Eldorado powertrain and stuffed it in the back of a four-seat coupe designed by his son, Luigi, Jr. and had Zagato whip up an example. The result was somewhat horrifying, and despite the fact that it's a one-of-one vehicle comissioned by a legend in the realm of motoring and constructed by a fabled coachbuilder, it's still, shall we say charitably, two-bag ugly. No wonder it sold for tuppence ha'penny (read: $52,500) at the RM auction in Monterey.

Related:
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

Armed with only our trusty little Nikon Coolpix L3 — which is a fine we camera for shooting things that happen to be static, but not so good for objects moving at a high rate of speed — and Pen's access to the trackside Ferrari Club of America tent, we went for broke shooting the no talkin' man, all action IMSA race. While some of the other classes were more of a high speed exhibition, the IMSA guys weren't poontangin' around; dudes was haulin' some serious poop. While the race was dominated by 935s and Monzas, Bobby Rahal showed up in an M1 and put on a strong showing. Ultimately, though, Bruce Canepa of Scotts Valley, CA (the #12 car pictured above) walked off with the win in his '79 935, but not after doing some serious Ginsu-style slicing and dicing to score the victory. Best race we saw all weekend.

Related:
More from the Monterey Historics and Pebble Beach [Internal]

The last vehicle to cross the block at the last event of the Monterey weekend was a 1953 Muntz Road Jet. Bidding started at $35k for what's reputed to be the cleanest unrestored Road Jet in the country. One person took the bait and the car rolled offstage. Sort of a whimpering end to a wallbanger of a weekend. But Earl "Mad Man" Muntz, who made his bacon selling televisions (he named his daughter "Tee Vee") was no shrinking violet.

After losing his shirt selling Kaiser-Frazers and subsequently earning it back in the electronics industry, Muntz took one last stab at the auto industry, buying a design and tooling from Frank Kurtis for a two-seater, stretching it into a four-place car and then stuffing a 318-inch Lincoln motor in it.

The example at the Gooding auction has been viewed by B.V. Munsen, the keeper of the Muntz Registry (what else are you gonna do with your time if your name is B.V. Munsen? What else, we ask?) who proclaims "This is the best original interior I've seen."

We wanna weld up a full cage in a Muntz and run it on La Carrera Panamericana. How ridiculously awesome would that be? Answer? More ridiculously awesome than a twentysomething Markie Post in a bikini with a boom box, Minor Threat's Complete Discography and a cooler full of Tab with some black bean tortilla chips.

Related:
The Muntz Car Company
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

The nutso thing about the Monterey Historics is that everywhere you look, there's something to catch your fancy, even if you're not checking out the action on the track, which can get pretty heated at times — to wit, the Saturday Trans-Am race and the Sunday IMSA battle. But just walking around the reserved parking areas taken up by various and sundry clubs, you'll run across something you haven't seen in a long time, or perhaps have never laid eyes on before. (Although we have to admit, in the case of the de Tomaso Guara, we wish we hadn't laid eyes on it. Why, Alejandro? Why?)

Related:
More from the Monterey Historics and Pebble Beach [Internal]

What's cooler than seeing a vintage Alfa Romeo race car cruising around the pits at Laguna Seca on Saturday and then spotting it again on the grass at Pebble Beach on Sunday? In our opinion, very, very little. Four cylinders or eight, these two Alfas are teh sex.

Related:
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

We have to admit that Voisin was only an automotive name that hung somewhere in the back of our mind, along with Buick and Lincoln until we got to Pebble this year. A long-past-gone luxury marque with an illustrious history that ended long before we were born. That said, even the most incredible Lincolns and Buicks have nothing on the insane vehicles Gabriel Voisin came up with during the first half of the century. If Saab can claim to be born from jets, Voisin automobiles were directly birthed from the loins of the glorious age of early propeller aviation. If looks could stun, these cars' phasers are set on "kill." And the switch is stuck there.

Related:
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

As debutante balls go, this one was a doozy, featuring all manner of exotica and just plain expensica. While our favorite car in the building was Spyker honcho Victor Muller's three-place vintage Rolls with a wooden deck and a side-mounted gun-rack built for some maharajah or other, all eyes were on the stage for the unveiling of James Glickenhaus' Pininfarina designed-and-built P4/5. We've written about it ad nauseum, and pix from Pebble have already appeared on the site, so this post is essentially an addendum to illustrate the sheer madness as the great washed (you think they let the unwashed through the gates at Pebble Beach, son?) swarmed the magnificent vision in carbon fiber. Still, Jim, we've gotta give you shit on the horrid Jock Jams you cranked during the reveal. Next time you drop four mil on a custom car, call us. We'll set you straight on the tunes. H sker D 's "New Day Rising" seems like it would've been the natural choice for such an occasion.

Related:
Coming Out: James Glickenhaus Unveils His Pininfarina-Built Ferrari P4/5; More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

Simply put, these two cars (the second is featured after the jump) are the two coolest cars that the Bavarian Motor Works ever pumped out. Ironically, the car above featured a design by Giugiaro and an Italian-built chassis commissioned by BMW, while the car after the jump was designed by an Italian firm and licensed to to the Motor Works after the Second World War. Sheesh, the Monterey Historics make our pants tight.

Related:
More Pebble Beach [Internal]

Pebble Beach summons a diverse, and times, slightly-off crowd. For some, it's the thing to do in the area that weekend, and the $175 admission fee is no barrier to entry whatsoever. For others, it's a carefully-planned vacation for the hardest of the hardcore car geeks. For us, it was an adventure in skin-of-the-teeth party crashing and media-credential scamming. But at any event, there are almost always at least two people whose hairstyles rise above the rabble and make themselves known with a yawp like a crack of thunder. (Apologies to Whitman and Chaucer.) This year's awards for best coiffure go to Odd Rattail Guy and Weird Blonde Poof Lady.

Related:
More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

On the way back from Laguna Seca on Saturday, we noticed this old car carrier abandoned in a dusty turnout. And Pen, like us, being a lover of all things old, cool and most likely better off left alone, immediately took a shine to it. After Sunday's races, on our way to the Baja Cantina, we pulled over for a closer look at the beast. Although obviously a Ford, the front emblem had been replaced with a stylized, ox-horn-shaped logo that read "Babe," with "The Blue Ox" rendered on the side of the cab. Paul Bunyan was nowhere to be seen, having apparently left his poor, broken-down longtime sidekick on the side of the road, where it was, according to the ticket, overdue to be towed away. Please don't let this be the end of Babe, people. Don't send the ol' ox off to the rendering plant!

More on Pebble Beach [Internal]

Being a Ferrari owner apparently has its perks, one being an invite to the Ferrari North America preview of the 599 Fiorano. We tagged along with Pen to check out the scene and were greeted by some magically delicious Ferrari-branded sportswear-clad ladies, one of whom seemed to take quite the shine to Pen, as she was a Navy brat who used to cut through the Camp Pendleton Marine base on her way to the beach, which was named for one of Pen's relatives, General Joseph Henry Pendleton. Meanwhile, we were disappointed that the 599s in attendance were sporting the upgraded tire and wheel packages, rather than the base Satano-star Pentagram examples. We mean, really, shouldn't the Beelzebubbian initimidation factor be worth a premium? Alternately, the boys in Maranello could pervert Chrysler's slogan: "Ferrari: Lucifer Comes Standard."

Related:
Ferrari Panamerican Starts This Week; More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

Last Thursday, around 7:30am we were supposed to be on our way to Pebble Beach in a Ferrari 308 GTB with Jalopnik reader, Larry Manetti fan and all-around fantastic character Pen Pendleton, who was to play Rick to our Thomas Magnum. But we weren't. We were asleep, having snoozed right through our alarm. A few frantic phone calls and some mad Interwebs clicking later, we were in the Durango on the way to LAX to catch a flight to San Jose, where we were offered a ride to Monterey by a very nice woman from Texas named Susan, who refused payment for the lift. (Thanks, Susan!) We hooked up with Pen upon arrival, who actually had been passed by Haller's two-SUV caravan on PCH on the way up, for which he received a bit of grief.

After mutually drooling over the Lotus Formula Junior parked out in front of the Marriott at Calle Principal and Del Monte, we got on our shoe telephone to Haller, who was at dinner with Jim Glickenhaus and was about to give us Annabelle Frankl's number when we spotted a man in pink pants across the street, which could only mean one thing: Nicholas Frankl, sometime Team Polizei co-driver and twin brother of Annabelle. What followed was a mini-Bullrun reunion at Cibo, an Italian restaurant with a bustling bar, due to its proximity to the RM and Russo and Steele auction sites.

After much chatter and catching up, we marvelled at the sound of the straight-pipe exhaust kit on Nick's DB7 (what else would an Englishman in pink pants drive?) and wedged ourselves through the rollcage in Pen's thoroughly awesome 1976 308GTB, complete with snap-on plastic windows and headed to the house where we'd be spending the weekend. We swear, after four days of stepping over that rollcage we're 50 percent more limber than we were when we hopped on the plane. And in the 308, we found an unintentional workout that's almost as much fun as sex. We think we need to figure out a way to own one.

More from Pebble Beach [Internal]

James Glickenhaus may have produced such B-movie cult classics as "Frankenhooker" and "Maniac Cop," but the unveiling of his coachbuilt Ferrari P4/5 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this past weekend went directly to video. We're talking about streaming video, of course, and the venue is YouTube, not Blockbuster, and no one is maimed, wronged, or smokes "supercrack" (not that we can tell, at least). Check out a long-form vid of JG's speech, and a special, secret bonus trailer after the jump.

Related:
More on the James Glickenhaus Ferrari P4/5 [internal]

Each January, a shadowy cabal of ladies meet for lunch in a Neman Marcus caf in a fortress near the core of the earth. In between sips of the world's finest teas, sweetened with Splenda, the group plots the year's Lexus SC Pebble Beach edition. Will it have special Pebble Beach badging? Why yes! Will it be painted in Tiger-eye Mica, with a camel-tinted leather interior? No! That was last year's model. How about Starfire Pearl, with a passionate Pimento Red leather interior and black birds-eye maple wood trim? Sounds lovely. Will 18-inch G-Spider alloy wheels do? Indubitably. Now, what to wear to its introduction ceremony and fashion show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance? Something kicky.

Related:
Lexus Launches Pebble Beach Edition Lexus SC [internal]

With all of the hubbub about the rollup to the Woodward Dream Cruise that's been happening here on tha Jalop, it may seem like we've been neglecting the Euro-car hoopla happening in Steinbeck Country this weekend. We haven't. We've roped up a last-minute posse. We've got a Ferrari of some sort to ride up in (either a race-prepped 308 GTB with questionable electrics and cooling, no windows, no A/C and a cage, or a 365 GT 2+2 that runs strong but may require a gallon or two of reserve Mobil 1 in the trunk). (Thanks, Pen!)

We have our Thomas Magnum mustache prepared. We will be in the (Glicken)haus at the P4/5 shindig. We will be doing myriad and sundry other things. We have precisely no idea what we're doing; all we know is that we'll be awash in polo shirts and Delahayes. And yes, we are bringing extra shorts and a box of prophylactics, just in case.

Billionaires' Ferraris Vie for Speed, Awards at Monterey Fest [Bloomberg]

Related:
More Pebble Beach [Internal]

We've never videotaped a new-car test drive before — 20 minutes of bullshit talk from a guy in a bad suit, and us trying to decide when to "test the brakes," isn't exactly cinemographic gold in the making. But again, we didn't spend $3 million to get our own, custom Ferrari, designed by Pininfarina. Luckily, buyer James Glickenhaus recorded his first time behind the wheel of his Ferrari P4/5 for posterity. It's not long, but at least there's no one yammering on about trunk space. [Thanks to Anthony for the tip.]

Related:
You Are There: James Glickenhaus Drives His Custom Ferrari [internal]

The Forbsies sent out a reporter to check out the four-car preview auctioneers Christie's had set up in New York at 20 Rockefeller Plaza. Due to go up for bid on the 17th at the Monterey Jet Center are a '28 Mercedes Typ S Torpedo, a former Scuderia 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spyder and '67 Michelotti Coupe, as well as a '72 Lambo Miura SV, which undoubtedly has Spinelli currently tearing his couch apart in search of the $400k in change that fell out of his jeans last week.

Christie's Previews Top Models for Monterey Auction [ForbesAutos]

Related:
RM Auctions' Monterey Results [Internal]

Ferrari 612 P4/5 [Italia Motor]

Related:
You Are There: James Glickenhaus Drives His Custom Ferrari [internal]

Our new best friend James Glickenhaus [our birthday's in April, J. — ed] took his custom Ferrari for a spin in Italy, ahead of its unveiling at the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance next month. If you'll recall, Glickenhaus is the Ferrari collector who's commissioning Pininfarina to build him a $3 million bespoke update of the Ferrari P4 over an Enzo chassis, the 612 P4/5. Check out his account of driving the car for the first time, after the jump. Dear diary...

She was sitting in the sun when we pulled up. Seeing her outside with a PROVA Plate attached to her tail took all of this to a new level. We walked around her slowly admiring her lines and the interior that was starting to come together. We slipped in, strapped down, and set off. The first thing I noticed was that the reduction in front overhang made a huge difference compared to the Enzo. The next thing was the panoramic vision through her fighter cockpit greenhouse. Her newly sculpted interior seemed very roomy as we pulled out of the driveway without any problem and turned onto the road. You've heard the expression "Traffic Stopping"? This time it really did. Even The Sport bike stopped and let us enter the road. The Babe on the Back looked over and down as we pulled by. She smiled and slowly raised her thumb straight up.

We were running without ABS or traction control because the computer hadn't yet been programed for the new sized wheels and tires. We were also running in low downforce mode because one of the actuator motors hadn't awoken properly from its three-year sleep. The amount of engineering to get to this point boggles the mind and The Pininfarina Special Project Team continues to amaze me with their ability to meet all of these challenges. I'm also very happy to report that Ferrari is very pleased and is giving full technical support as well.

We continued on to the secondary road and set off. Pininfarina had already put on a few hundred test miles and reported all was well so when it came time to pass I rolled on the throttle and felt the hand of God push me back into the seat. You immediately feel just how light she is. The brakes are SUPER and the wider tires really grip. The suspension feels great as it works and the motor sings. When you get to 3000rpm the exhaust shunts to the new system and it sounds like that the horn that blows before the Four Horsemen ride into view.

We headed to the Autostrada and put her though a few gears as we left the toll gate. The Video Jesse shot from the chase vehicle is unlike any I've seen. P 4/5 pulls away and vanishes into the distance like an F 16 launching from a carrier deck. As she vanished the only thing than seemed strange is that she was still on the earth not standing on her tail in afterburner mode shooting towards the heavens...

"Ground Control to Major Tom..."

Related:
That's Not My Car!: Collector Answers AutoWeek's P4/5 Speculation [internal]

These days, soap boxes are flimsy affairs just barely larger than the actual bar of soap — not at all the kind of thing you'd send your kid screaming down a hill in Akron, Ohio in. Now, soap box derby cars are called "gravity racers" and the designers no longer labor in midwestern basements, with restless pre-teens fidgeting nearby. They're hotshots of the auto industry, laboring in Gehry-designed hothouses and crystal palaces outfitted with fine Corinthian leather (in our mind's eye). This year, the 2006 Pebble Beach RetroAuto event is hosting a dozen gravity racers, from Ferrari, Bentley, General Motors, Nissan, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Audi, Mazda and Porsche (whither Volvo?). The Ferrari racer was created by Maurizio Corbi a Ferrari designer who pens for Pininfarina, and whom we'd be willing to bet has never been anywhere near Akron. The racers will be auctioned for charity on eBay during Concours week in late August.

Gimme a Push: Ferrari "Soap Box" Racer To Debut at Pebble Beach Concours [Edmunds]

Related:
More on Gravity racing [internal]

James Glickenhaus, the Ferrari collector who's commissioning Pininfarina to build him a $3 million bespoke update of the Ferrari P4 over an Enzo chassis, the 612 P4/5, says AutoWeek's sea-mammalian rendering (above) completely missed the mark. He sent us an e-mail this morning to that effect.

The AutoWeek Computer Photo is NOT what this car looks like. It is quite different. They have NOT seen the styling model and their "photo" is a complete guess that is far off.

Related:
AutoWeek Reveals New P4/5 Prototype [internal]

AutoWeek put up its feature piece and digital illustrations of the Pininfarina-designed one-off commissioned by a Ferrari collector, the 612 P4/5. Granted, it's only a mock-up of what the custom job will look like when it's unveiled in Pebble Beach later this year. Still, the original P4 was arguably the most sultry track Ferrari ever built, while this ungainly creature looks like someone grafted the front section of Orca on to the rear section of a 1987 Testarossa. If this is what $3 million buys these days, we'll stick with ex—cop cars.

New exotic Ferrari [AutoWeek]

Related:
New Ferrari P4 Story is AutoWeek Exclusive [internal]

The latest issue of AutoWeek reveals the 612 P4/5 Ferrari that's been the talk of the blogosphere of late. It seems the car is a one-off built for a prominent collector with a beaucoup of bucks, James Glickenhaus, who's been talking about his latest acquisition on Ferrarichat.com. Like a modern-day Lorenzo di Medici, Glickenhaus commissioned Pininfarina to build the car, based on an Enzo chassis, for him to enter in the new prototype class of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It reportedly cost him $3 million over the price of an Enzo (seven figures). The pics are only in the print issue of AW, but we'd imagine they'll post them online before too long.

Related:
Ferrari Building a New P4? [internal]