MONTEREY MAGIC

Cruising Carmel in a 550‑hp Jaguar XJR; celebrating Jaguar’s high‑performance models with Playboy Magazine; and talking Jaguar Project 7 Concept Car with Jay Leno, nothing fully prepares you for the automotive sensory overload that is the annual Pebble Beach Automotive Weekend, writes Julian Thomson, Jaguar’s Director of Advanced Design.

I hate to admit it, but even though I’ve been in the car design business for almost 30 years, this was my very first time at the annual prestigious automotive gathering in Northern California. No regrets however, because this was surely one of the best years to be there.

What I didn’t realize was this isn’t just about one event; it’s an entire weekend of car nirvana comprised of The Quail: A Motorsport Gathering on Friday, a full product display on Peter Hay Hill on Saturday, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday and a furry of other automotive receptions, reveals and events put on by organizations and manufacturers.

Jaguar kicked off the weekend with a cocktail reception co‑hosted by Playboy and held at a spectacular private estate just off 17‑mile Drive in Pebble Beach. It was a great opportunity to showcase our 2014 F‑TYPE, XJR sports sedan and the ultra‑track ready XKR‑S GT to a terrific group of VIPs, Jaguar owners and media.

I had a great chat with the very lovely actress, Gal Gadot, who was our special guest for the evening. She plays the character ‘Gisele Yashar’ in the Fast & Furious movie series. We had a lot in common in that for fun, she thrashes around on a Ducati 916 superbike similar to the one I used to have. She was also telling me about how much fun she had taking part in the caravan of red, white and blue F‑TYPE cars that powered through Monterey ‑ no doubt making a lot of noise ‑ earlier in the day.

I also bumped into the equally‑lovely Raquel Pomplun, who is the reigning 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year and now a Jaguar F‑TYPE driver.

While Gal was driving, I was at the Nicklaus Club‑Monterey up on Pasadera Drive explaining the thinking behind our Jaguar Project 7 Concept Car to journalists and enthusiasts; one of who was television host, famed car enthusiast and Jaguar owner, Jay Leno. He got behind the wheel of our newest concept car for a fast blast along the club’s property and loved it.

How couldn’t he? Unlike most concept cars, we designed Project 7 to be absolutely spectacular on the move. The performance, with our full 550 horsepower 5.0‑liter supercharged V8 engine and everything turned‑up to 11, is just sensational. It’s even louder than the standard F‑TYPE V8 S on which we based it.

Naturally, the highlight for this Pebble Beach “newbie” was the Concours on Sunday. I was there at 6am to see the ‘Dawn Patrol’ when all of the entrants rolled out on to the grass and owners set to work primping and preening their cars for the show.

We had Project 7 taking pride of place on the prestigious Pebble Beach Concept Lawn, and I spent a fair bit of time just listening to the reaction from passers‑by. There was a real enthusiasm for the car throughout the entire weekend.

For me, one of the best parts of the whole weekend was just driving around the Monterey Peninsula, through Carmel and Monterey, and out to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, just gazing in amazement at the hundreds of exotics and classic cars out on the street.

It was certainly a treat to have the keys to one of our new 550‑horsepower 2014 Jaguar XJR sedans for the weekend. That car really represents the ultimate combination of supercar performance, assertive looks and true luxury.

The problem was I only got to see a fraction of what was going on throughout the whole weekend which can only mean one thing; I really do need to go back next year.