Pebble Beach Concourse Concept Cars Hits or Misses – 2017-2022

Today we take a look at some of the concept cars that have been featured at the Pebble Beach Concourse Concept Car Lawn.  These cars are the first thing people see as they head into the Pebble Beach resort to see the classic cars being exhibited.  As with anything related to concept cars, some were outstanding hits, while others missed their mark.

We went to the Caradise Photo Archive of Several Visits we did to the Concourse from 2017 to 2022, and picked a few memorable concept cars, in no particular order.

Hit or Miss? – The 2017 Genesis X Coupe Concept

HIT: Revealed in 2017, this was the first shot on what would become the very successful design language that Genesis still carries to this day. This put Genesis in the minds of people that wouldn’t have even considered it before. The sleek headlines and rear lights was something very new in 2019, when Genesis was still on their ‘bulky Mercedes Benz’ design phase. We didnt get a Genesis coupe but it was a first step toward something greater for Genesis.

Hit or Miss: 2021 Lamborghini Countach

MISS: When Lamborghini announced they would release a retro-inspired Countach in 2021, everyone expected better than this. The headlights are in the middle of the snouty hood, and the big door side vent was a too large and too much of a caricature. The mirror, excuse me, the rear camera monitor looks so awkward and the white color they picked did them no favors.  Sorry Lamborghini, go home and try again.

Hit or Miss: Infinity Prototype 9 EV 2017

HIT: Back in 2017, Infinity still was somewhat cool. They raised the roof with this EV prototype, that has the lines of long gone 1950s roadsters – Just a long, tube-like body and space for a single driver. Plus, it was an EV! Imagine that, sometime not too long ago we thought EVs could be anything, and not only super heavy SUVs with limited range and twice the weight of the gasoline powered counterparts. Infinity got a lot of press from the Prototype 9. A future that sadly never came.

Hit or Miss: 2019 ID Buggy

MISS: As usual, VW has been taunting us with innumerable cool car concepts and EV concepts that promised so much and delivered nothing. We had an EV VW Bus also teased in 2016 and 2019. This Buggy EV looks like the recently released Mayers Manx 2.0 – The much ballyhooed VW EV platform didn’t deliver this, or any other cool concepts. We have the ID.4 SUV and who knows if the VW BUZZ EV will really happened.

Hit or Miss: 2019 BMW Z4

MISS: We can pinpoint BMWs fall from design grace on the concepts that appeared around 2018 and forwards. This BMW was not even a concept, but a pre-release Z4 model. However, the orange wrap or paint they used looked really awful, and the gray interior did it no favors. This one was really out of place and it was by far the ugliest one that year in the Concept Car Lawn

Hit Or Miss: 2021 Mercedes Benz Maybach 6

HIT: This gigantic Mercedes Benz Maybach 6 Coupe concept has lived rent free in my mind since I saw it. It was positively gargantuan and as large as a some Yachts parked not far away from Pebble Beach. An exquisite dark blue, with the whitest interior ever, it was very hard to take a picture up close and capture the sheer hubris of this car. Also generated quite a stir and publicity. Well done Mercedes!

Hit or Miss 2021 De Tomaso P72

MISS: Severely over-designed, the 2021 De Tomaso P72 concept was released when some company bought the rights for the DeTomaso brand and promised a re-birth. Instead we got this concept that tries too hard, to much, and certainly lacks the elegance and legacy of the DeTomaso Panteras of the past. I don’t think it led to anything.

So, there you have it, we hope we can bring some more cool concept cars and more this week at Pebble Beach.. What’s Your Favorite? Let us know!