Every year the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, centerpiece of Monterey Car Week, brings the world’s top sports and classic car collectors and enthusiasts to the California coast. This year’s titular winner of the Concours’ coveted Best in Show award was a 1934 Bugatti Type 59. But the real winner of the week’s beautifully-staged events and high-end happenings was Range Rover. And here’s why.
The storied British luxury SUV brand’s parent company JLR literally stole the show with its display of 10 bespoke Range Rovers and Land Rover Defenders from the personal and official collection of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the very first time that the inestimably valuable vehicles have been allowed outside the UK. The fleet of custom conveyances drove a scenic route along the coast before being displayed in their very own class at the Concours d’Elegance.
They also put in an appearance at a VIP event at Range Rover House, a luxe “brand home” established by JLR for the week in a mansion abutting one of Pebble Beach’s famed golf courses. At Range Rover House the brand also debuted two new special limited editions, the ultra‑exclusive Range Rover SV Carmel Edition, and the Range Rover Sport SV Edition Two, the most powerful and dynamic Range Rover Sport ever built.
Courtesy JLR
The Range Rover SV Carmel Edition was created by by Range Rover’s SV Bespoke design team and is “inspired by the hues of the lush green landscape and ocean cliffs along the breathtaking roads around Carmel.” Limited to just 17 exampled priced at $370,000 apiece, offered first to Range Rover House guests, the vehicle “showcases the pinnacle of SV Bespoke design curations” and is powered by a 606-hp twin-turbo V8.
The SV Carmel Edition features custom Satin Green paint and a two-tone leather interior, 23‑inch Dark Grey wheels with matching bespoke Satin Green inserts, black metal badging accented with 24‑carat gold surrounds, and bespoke treadplates highlighting the example number. Partial proceeds from the sale of each car are being donated to Del Monte Forest Conservancy, “committed to conserving, enhancing, and acquiring land that has been dedicated to open space within Pebble Beach.”
“Monterey Car Week provides the ideal platform for JLR House of Brands to showcase the world’s most desirable and culturally significant vehicles for enthusiasts and loyal clients to enjoy,” Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO of JLR North America said at Range Rover House, which was also home to a display featuring an ultra-rare original example of the very first Range Rover from 1972, in showroom condition.
“We celebrated some spectacular brand milestones at Pebble Beach this year,” Geraldine Ingham, Range Rover’s Global Managing Director tells us. “Range Rover House at Pebble Beach embodied the essence of contemporary luxury and exemplified the Range Rover brand pillars. We were pleased to showcase our vehicles in an immersive and highly curated space, which allowed our guests to truly experience the Range Rover lifestyle.”
JLR also brought some multimillion-dollar Jaguar D‑Type cars to the Concours and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion to celebrate the the iconic model’s 70th anniversary. And during the week we also had the opportunity to drive the latest-generation of the full size Range Rover flagship model, which has quickly become the world’s most desirable full-size luxury SUV, with the range-topping Range Rover P615 SV LWB priced at $235,475.
No other brand managed to bring out as many big guns or stage such an impressive display during Car Week, capped off by the historically important Queen’s fleet. “As well as being part of State and Royal life, they Royal family use Land Rovers and Range Rovers for their personal life as well” over the decades, Paul Barritt, Director of Jaguar Land Rover Classic, said at Range Rover House. “So in addition to official vehicles we have a number of cars over here that were use by the family for leisure and social activities.”
The collection includes the very last Range Rover owned and driven by Queen Elizabeth II, finished in Aintree Green and featuring several bespoke touches unique to her majesty’s vehicles. She preferred dark green for her personal cars, while the State cars are all finished in a custom dark wine red color called Claret, with saddle tan leather interiors. All the Queen’s vehicles also feature hand-painted Royal crests.
In addition to showcasing the priceless vehicles on display, Range Rover House hosted luxury experiences, master-class sessions, wellness activities, private dinners, and hospitality for invited guests, as well as an area where customers could order and customize bespoke cars. Famed British Michelin Star chef Daniel Clifford was brought in to prepare a multi-course meal in honor of the various Monterey debuts on the evening of the main VIP event.
With the SV Carmel Edition on display in an interior courtyard, Range Rover House featured an afternoon tea service and personal tea blending class; a milliner designing custom headwear for guests to wear; a curated display of iconic Launer handbags carried by HM Queen Elizabeth II; and an exhibition of vintage and luxury watches presented by Hodinkee. A member of the Range Rover design team also led a master class session in automotive sketching and design.
To assemble the one-of-a-kind Royal Household fleet, vehicles were sourced from various owners including JLR’s own Land Rover Classic division, The British Motor Museum, and private collectors, in a feat that may never be duplicated. On the day of the Concours, JLR set up a gorgeous VIP hospitality tent with a British garden party theme on the 18th fairway of the golf course where the event is staged, complete with Pimm’s Cups.
And last but not least, JLR had two more reasons to celebrate at the Concours: a 1993 Jaguar XJ220C Le Mans Coupe was awarded the Montagu of Beaulieu Trophy, which is presented to the most significant car of British origin, while a 1962 Land Rover Series IIA 109” Special Station Wagon was awarded the Ansel Adams Award, which goes to the most desirable touring car of its era. A glorious day for Britain, indeed.