Our goal for the Pebble Beach weekend was to make a major brand impact on the enthusiast community, blogs Stuart Schorr, VP, Communications & Public Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover NA.
Stuart Schorr with AC/DC's Brian Johnson, right, at The Quail.
For Jaguar, the focus was celebrating our past (E-Type), present (XKR-S) and future (C-X75) and emphasizing our design and high-performance credentials. For Land Rover, the focus was introducing the fuel efficient 2012 Evoque and, for the first time, offering off-road test drives of the newest Range Rover.
Throughout the weekend, both Jaguar and Land Rover conducted hundreds of test drives, XKR-S, above, at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering, The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. A select group of consumers were able to get behind the wheel of the Jaguar XKR-S for a few hot laps at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with driving legends Davy Jones, Roberto Guerrero, Martin Brundle, and renowned Jaguar racer, Bob Tullius. Not a bad way to take a 550 horsepower Jaguar XKR-S down the corkscrew!
Others took off-road drives in Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles, Evoque, right, as part of the brand's presence at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and The Quail Lodge, home of the Land Rover Experience Driving School. Led by Land Rover North America's Bob Burns, the driving instructors coached consumers on how to get the most out of the Terrain Response® System.
Of course, the Monterey Automotive weekend is about heritage, and in that sense, Jaguar was out in full force. The Pebble Beach Concours Kick-Off Party at the Lodge was chock full of very special E-Types alongside the 2012 Jaguar XJ, XF and XK lineup. A real show stopping moment was the parade of E-Type racecars, driven with a police escort from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to The Quail.
Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum also spent some fun time at The Quail with AC/DC rocker and Sarasota Café Racer, Brian Johnson and wife, Brenda, left, who were showing their spectacular Lola T-70 Spyder next to our Jags.
Also, our friends at Hagerty Insurance hosted an intimate E-Type luncheon in Monterey, for owners and restorers, including Gary Larson, Gary, IN.
The real highlight of the weekend may have been the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, where an 80,000-square-foot diorama highlighted Jaguar's racing history, including Le Mans, and relationships with Group 44 and Briggs Cunningham. An E-Type race featured an unusual father-son race to the finish, with Art Hebert taking the checkered flag in front of his dad, Bob. Both father and son drove 4.2-Liter ‘65 E-Type convertible coupes.
In addition to seeing Jaguars at the ticketed events, Pebble Beach attendees were treated to E-types cruising 17-Mile Drive, stretching their legs along the Pacific Coast Highway heading toward Big Sur. A big shout-out goes to all the amazing Jaguar enthusiasts for participating and making the weekend such a memorable one. Special thanks also goes out to JCNA President, Dick Maury, for organizing a Media Heritage Drive and Dick Klise who let me drive his gorgeous E-Type Roadster, below, on 17-Mile Drive.
Ending the weekend in graceful style as always was Sunday’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where three of the most significant E-Types in the world were showcased. Jaguar's Ian Callum, presented a unique, handcrafted trophy, below, to Stefan Ziegler for his ‘60 Jaguar E2A racecar. In addition to winning the Jaguar Cup, Ziegler's Jag was also an honoree in the Class O-1, Postwar Sports Open Category.
With a nod to the future, the sensational C-X75 hybrid Supercar, below, was on the Concept Car lawn outside the Pebble Beach Lodge. It had people stopping to stare throughout the entire day.
The day capped off a weekend, in which we repeatedly heard, “Wow, Jaguar is everywhere this weekend.” Only at Pebble Beach would you have people take a look at the C-X75 and ask, “So when can I buy one?” And mean it!
For more information about the latest Jaguar vehicles, please visit, http://www.jaguar.com/us/en/
Check out the Range Rover Evoque at, http://www.landrover.com/us/en/rr/