Each year, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gathers some of the world’s most beautiful automobiles and places them atop one of the world’s most scenic locales: Monterey, California. Although the event occurred almost two weekends ago, we managed to snap several photos we think are more than worthy of our weekly trivia challenge.

Think you can identify the mystery Pebble Beach car above? If that curve looks familiar or that beaten aluminum panel triggers a flashback, send us your guess via the comments section below.

Did You ID Yesterday’s Polished Pebble?

Yesterday’s car is one of, if not, the most famous BMW’s of all time. It was a race-spec 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL.

In 1972, BMW established its Motorsports Division, known more commonly simply as M Division. The group’s first product was the vaulted 3.0 CSL, which was shortly transformed into a mean race car. BMW blessed the stock ’73 3.0 CSL with a potent 206-horsepower, 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine. Although that was plenty of power for a road going car of the day, it wouldn’t have stood a chance on the track.

Because racing was, and still is, so competitive, BMW took care to seriously upgrade even the most potent version of its small coupe for racing. The race-spec cars typically featured a larger 3.2-liter I-6 producing around 480 horsepower. Later versions would get single- and even later twin-turbochargers to boost output north of 750 horsepower.

In addition to boosting power, BMW of course stripped out the interior and upgraded the suspension for track duty. These changes helped to create a lighter, more agile car capable of (hopefully) winning races. All the upgrades worked as BMW 3.0 CSLs competed effectively in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning their class several times.

Rolls-Royce may be known for creating extravagant one-off examples (falcons’ heads on a Phantom, anyone?), but a model designed for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is subdued, tasteful elegance. The Phantom Drophead Coupe in question commemorates 60 years of the event, but if you want a shot at owning it, you’re out of luck.

Chief designer Ian Cameron was on hand at the Pebble Beach Concours to show off the marque’s latest unique model. The exterior and interior enhancements on this particular Phantom Drophead Coupe are meant to reflect on the history of Pebble Beach. In the tradition of Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke customization program, the colors and finishes are unique to the vehicle.

Outside, the deep blue paint, reminiscent of the Monterey Peninsula’s Stillwater Cove, is appropriately called Stillwater Blue, and paired with a deep blue softtop. Inside, the cockpit is outfitted in Creme Light leather, and complemented by Santos Pallisander rosewood trim.

Other vehicle details take cues from the nautical theme of the event as well. Concours-themed logos and emblems are peppered throughout the cabin. The roof tonneau and various surfaces are constructed of teak, and a Rolls-Royce set of requisite champagne glasses joins an underfloor cool box for the ultimate picnicking package.

Interested? Unfortunately, the one-off was snatched up within minutes of its unveiling at the show, but Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke program ensures that other customization opportunities are readily available.

Source: Rolls-Royce

Each year, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gathers some of the world’s most beautiful automobiles and places them atop one of the world’s most scenic locales: Monterey, California. Although the event occurred almost two weekends ago, we managed to snap several photos we think are more than worthy of our weekly trivia challenge.

Think you can identify the mystery Pebble Beach car above? If that curve looks familiar or that beaten aluminum panel triggers a flashback, send us your guess via the comments section below.

Did You ID Yesterday’s Polished Pebble?

Once again we seemed to have stumped our readers. Yesterday’s teaser photo was the interior of a 1956 Ferrari 250 GTZ.

Ferrari’s 250 GT is a beautiful and well known car. The GTZ however, is a much rarer sight as it was born from the relationship between Ferrari and famous design firm Zagato.  Ferrari’s 250 GT was already a proven car by this time, and Zagato looked to enhance its looks and aerodynamics to further the car’s success.

Penned by Zagato founder Ugo Zagato himself, the 250 GTZ was a marriage of Zagato’s aircraft experience and Ferrari’s racing experience. Zagato used techniques he learned in the aircraft industry when designing and building the body for the 250 GTZ. He designed it to be lightweight and aerodynamic for racing duty.

Zagato’s techniques worked, and rather well too. Although each car varied slightly depending on a customer’s specific desires, each body was so well designed that two different models won Italian road racing championships. Both examples were driven by ex-Italian fighter pilot Camillo Luglio. He also claimed second in the 1958 Mille Miglia in a 250 GTZ.

In total, the Zagato-Ferrari marriage bore just ten examples of the 250 GTZ, each individually tailored to customer specifications. This makes the car one of the rarest, and in our opinion, one of the most beautiful Ferraris of all time.

-Andrew Peterson