Pebble Beach Concours: Dawn Patrol

For the past couple years, I’ve been lucky enough to live within a quick drive of the Monterey Peninsula - home of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. That said, I’ve only really had peripheral dealings with Car Week through shooting Bring a Trailer’s Alumni Gathering at Laguna Seca and some supporting photo roles with Rolls Royce. This year I had the opportunity (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s my only opportunity) to get inside the actual Concours, so of course I dove headfirst into researching how to get the most out of the day and subsequently learned about Dawn Patrol.

You can google the whole long story of Dawn Patrol, but I won’t rehash it here. Suffice it to say the event is now larger than ever, with a couple hundred folks out on the 18th hole hours before the event is open to the public (which has always been my favorite time to take advantage of any time I’m hired on to take photos at car shows).

(Click images below to view in a Hi-Res Lightbox)

I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to my alarm going off at 4 AM and me getting a little too dressed up to be squatting and taking photos of cars all day. Once I got through the gates of 17 Mile Drive and made my way to the parking area, I hopped on a bus with about 6 other people - all ready to stake their claim along the ropes leading down the fog-laden fairway. Upon arrival, we all started walking a bit too quickly for comfort knowing there were only a very limited number of the coveted Hagerty Dawn Patrol hats given away alongside the coffee and doughnuts.

I had accepted that I must have missed the giveaway when I saw people begin to quickly and quietly walk to a few different spots around the green where Hagerty employees were standing. Leaving my camera to hold my spot at the ropes, I speed-walked over and managed to get the last one in the bag (much to the chagrin of everyone around me). A cursory glance shows these hats going for $100-150 on ebay so it’s a neat little reward and proof you got out of bed before the sun.

Forgive the photo quality as it was just from my phone before cars started driving past (5:45 AM).

Finally, on to the cars. I won’t pretend to know too much of anything about any of these cars but I will tell you seeing these machines move and make noise instead of parked behind ropes or on a museum pedestal was a special soul-nourishing moment for every car lover in attendance. I personally came to see the “wedge-shaped concept cars and prototypes” - two of which I took an hour or so taking photos of - but we’ll get to those a little later.

As the morning went on and the sun rose, neighbors became acquainted with each other and exchanged stories and comments about each vehicle passing. One of my favorites, and a favorite of those standing around me, was this Ford 1979 Probe I Ghia concept. Unfortunately this car burned to the ground in it’s transport trailer leaving the show in the afternoon, so I’m happy it was one of the few cars I got multiple angles of when it passed.

One of the more interesting things in the lineup was Queen Elizabeth II’s collection of Land Rovers and Range Rovers, seen on US soil for the first time ever. They were all heavily modified and I figured a video would capture the entire group better than a hundred photos with their staff photographer running around in the foreground of each one. Side note, the music was indeed playing all morning and I did not edit it in.

As soon as the final car made it’s way up the path the crowd dispersed faster then it had appeared, all headed to see the cars in their final display. That’s where we’ll pick up with the Honda HP-X and Lancia Stratos HF Zero (the two cars I came to see, hell or high water).