Experienced by Kimatni D. Rawlins and Uthman Ray
The Concept Lawn never disappoints. It’s an olive-toned sea of elegant, aggressive, and inspirational automotive machines from across the globe, and this year was no exception. The 75th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance brought together defining production models, concept vehicles, ultra EVs, and elite hypercars in one sprawling presentation.
Whether it was Acura’s NEXERA Vision concept, Aston Martin’s $2 million Valen supercar, or the Karma Gyesera Grand Coupe, spectators moved seamlessly outside the field gazing and snapping away in enthusiasm. But for those given direct access to the manicured green, the art and innovation created a euphoria unlike any other. Here is a selection of Automotive Rhythms’ favorite and most compelling future models on display.
Acura NEXERA Vision
The NEXERA Vision sat in confidence with its wide posture, showcasing Acura’s new ethos ahead of its production debut as the 2028 RDX Hybrid. The architectural concept features a sleek, coupe body, forged carbon-fiber accents, active aerodynamics, dual-hinge butterfly doors, and lighting that shines through the bodywork. It’s finished in Matte Titanium, a color with deep metallic character.
The NEXERA Vision was conceived at the Acura Design California studio in Los Angeles under the direction of Yasutake Tsuchida, the brand’s new Creative Director and Vice President of Auto Design. Sculpted, muscular surfaces and an aero-channel fascia give the coupe its performance stance. An active rear spoiler manages airflow over the rear decklid, improving high-speed stability and braking performance. The future has arrived for Acura.
Aston Martin Valen
What is more purifying than a British supercar engaging your senses with V12 power while warping at the speed of light up to 214 mph? Aston Martin chose The Concept Lawn to present its Valen supercar in an Andromeda Red satin finish, making it the most powerful front-engined Aston Martin in the company’s 113-year history. Only 150 examples of the roughly $2-million Valen will be manufactured worldwide, each individualized through Q by Aston Martin.
Valen takes its name from the Latin word valens, meaning strong, continuing Aston Martin’s habit of naming its most potent specials with a single word starting in V. It follows Valour and Valiant as the newest project from Q by Aston Martin, the company’s bespoke commissioning arm, and the first result of the newly formed Special Vehicle Operations department. The twin-turbo V12 is tuned here to 850 PS and 1,000 Nm of torque, available from just 2,500 rpm. Aston Martin puts the sprint to 60 mph at 3 seconds. Are you ready to drive with distinction?
Karma Gyesera Grand Coupe
Karma Automotive is not a car company; it’s an experience company. The Orange County-based manufacturer continues to center itself at leading car shows and events that recognize the finest in automotive design, performance, and innovation. In keeping with the narrative, the Gyesera Grand Coupe carries forward the optimism and design ambition once associated with American automobiles. The Gyesera runs on Karma’s EREV hybrid powertrain, combining electrified performance with exquisite design principles. Style-wise, it leans on strong proportions and clean surfacing rather than added complexity. The vehicle on display featured burgundy racing stripes honoring the 75th Concours d’Elegance. Inside, the focus is on comfort and craftsmanship, with materials and tech built around the driver’s intended experience.
Audi Nuvolari
Audi is calling the Nuvolari the fastest and most powerful production car it has ever built. It’s the German brand’s first supercar with a high-performance hybrid powertrain; 1,001 PS and a top speed over 217 mph, to be exact. As the debut vehicle under the four rings’ new design language, the Nuvolari pairs supercar performance with a distinct expression: taut surfaces, tech integrated into the bodywork, and active aerodynamics. This particular model is a European pre-production prototype. A U.S. arrival hasn’t been confirmed yet, and if it comes, final specs, pricing, and EPA figures will likely differ from what’s shown here.
BMW M Concept Neue Klasse
While walking The Concept Lawn we bumped into good friend Frank van Meel, Head of BMW M, who was happy to announce the BMW M Concept Neue Klasse will be ready to rumble silently in 2027. The future vehicle marks the start of a new stage for the M division, an electric performance vision that blends expressive design with next-generation engineering.
The design combines powerful proportions and an athletic stance with familiar M cues: flared wheel arches, a forward-leaning shark nose, and a kidney grille that flows directly into the headlights. M Yellow lighting elements and sculpted Track Lights nod to the brand’s motorsport roots. Every surface serves a purpose, shaping aerodynamics, cooling, and stability at speed. The concept originally debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Underneath, the concept runs on BMW’s Gen6 Neue Klasse platform, built specifically for high-performance electric applications. Two drive units, front and rear, work with a central control system called M Dynamic Performance Control to manage wheel-specific torque and braking. Inside, the driver-focused cockpit is built around Panoramic iDrive, giving the driver a clear, immersive view of what the M is doing. It’s an E-concept that honors
BMW M’s legendary motorsport heritage.
Bugatti Destrier
The Bugatti Destrier houses the French automaker’s W16 engine in a physique sketched to blur the line between racetrack and road. It’s built with proportions Bugatti has yet to use to stir emotion. Destrier is the third car to come out of Bugatti’s “Programme Solitaire,” following the Brouillard and the F.K.P. Hommage. The curriculum is dedicated to one-off, bespoke super grand tourers that lean into Bugatti’s history while pushing the limits of personalization and craftsmanship. That thread of coachbuilding runs back over a century at Bugatti, from Rembrandt Bugatti’s sculptures to Jean Bugatti’s early designs, and the Destrier is the latest attempt to push it further. The name comes from a knight’s warhorse, and the car draws its shape from the Bugatti Bolide, the brand’s track-only model. It shares a platform with the Type 57 Tank and the Type 57 SC Atlantic, two vehicles with contrasting personalities despite the common underpinnings.
Cadillac V-ONE Concept
The Cadillac V-ONE Concept is a specialized racecar that builds on the DNA of the V-Series.R and carries over the same naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8. Cadillac Racing engineers retuned the hybrid system, though, to make the endurance racer easier to live with. All told, the V-ONE makes around 830 horsepower. Inside, the V-ONE blends motorsports capability with the craftsmanship Cadillac is known for.
“It’s about as close to the race car as you can get,” says Sean O’Shea, Cadillac LMDh Propulsion Manager and one of the minds behind the V-ONE concept. “The idea behind the car is simple: give drivers a way to tap into the competition-proven performance of the V-Series.R on track.”
Spyker C8 Preliator XXV
Are gold rims and trim making a comeback in automotive customizing? Spyker thinks so. Stemming from the Latin word for warrior, the Spyker C8 Preliator XXV is a hand-built hypercar, and each one, numbered I through XXV, is commissioned around its owner rather than pulled from a spec sheet. The chassis and bodywork are built from premium aluminum. Power emanates from a mid-mounted twin-turbocharged V8 descended from the engine that powers nearly every Spyker built, now producing 800 bhp. Yet, there is no hybrid system or electric assist of any kind. Spyker is keeping this one mechanical.
Building one takes 800 hours, 40 of them on the interior alone. Eleven hides from a single tannery cover the cabin. One craftsman stitches the steering wheel by hand with two needles at once, a process that takes four hours. Even the screwheads are aligned by hand to face the same direction, a detail no owner will likely ever notice. Founder Victor R. Muller stamps each chassis number into the aluminum spaceframe himself, so no two stampings look exactly alike.
Spyker has been building cars and carriages by hand near Amsterdam since 1880, carrying the brand’s motto: Nulla Tenaci Invia Est Via. For the tenacious, no road is impassable!
Ken Okuyama Cars Kode89
The Kode89 is a lightweight, mid-engine concept built around an aluminum space frame and carbon-fiber body, paired with a naturally aspirated V12 and a manual transmission. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance was the world premiere for Kode89, the newest one-off two-seater from Japan’s Ken Okuyama Cars. The design dates back to the Miami Vice days, when Italian and Japanese sports cars were hitting their stride, but built for both the racetrack and daily driving, whether that’s a professional behind the wheel or a gentleman driver out for the weekend.
Ken Okuyama has designed supercars for Ferrari and Maserati over the years, and Kode89 is his own long-held project, built at his own factory around his design principles: modern, simple, and timeless.
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupé
The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 4-Door Coupé arrives with maximum performance, high continuous output, and precise driving dynamics AMG built its name on. It rides on the AMG.EA platform, Affalterbach’s high-performance EV architecture, and brings several firsts. Central to the GT 63 4-Door Coupé is a newly developed drive system built for extreme driving and handling, appearing for the first time in a series-production EV. The e-AMG uses axial flux motors, a newer, more efficient electric motor technology, paired with a high-performance battery. The result is a drive unit that doesn’t just hit peak power once, but calls for it repeatedly and continuously, which AMG says resets the bar.
Hennessey Special Vehicles BLACKBIRD
The Next Chapter of American Hypercar art and technology can be found in the Texas-built Hennessey BLACKBIRD, which is limited to 71 examples globally for roughly $2.5 million. However, company executives said each has been sold after a successful showing at Monterey Car Week. For more than 35 years, Hennessey has pushed the limits of performance. Taking cues from the aerospace industry, the active wings open up at 71 degrees and at 71 mph. And if you are wondering, #71 harkens back to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
At its core, the carbon-fiber BLACKBIRD is defined by a completely bespoke, naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8, built to deliver distinguishing dynamics through a 6-speed gated manual and RWD configuration. Hennessey is aiming for 850 horsepower with acceleration meant to feel immediate and unfiltered; closer to what older hypercars delivered before software started taking precedence. The goal with BLACKBIRD wasn’t to out-engineer the current crop of hypercars. It was to build something unique and nostalgic.
Pebble Beach Automotive Week
The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is the flagship event of Pebble Beach Automotive Week. Founded in 1950, it’s widely regarded as the world’s premier celebration of the automobile and a can’t-miss event for any car enthusiast. Each year the finest collector cars gather on the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links to compete for Best of Show, the ultimate award in the sport. Judges evaluate elegance, technical merit, and history, while crowds arrive from every corner of the globe to cheer on their favorites.
See you in 2027 for the 76th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance!
