Carbon Fiber is King from Cars to Trumpets at Pebble Beach Concours D' Elegance

One noticeable thing about this year's Concours d' Elegance, Pebble Beach, CA is the fact that not only do these 2014 prototype, hybrid luxury cars have beauty, horsepower and speed, but many of the concept cars are made out of carbon fiber material to make them lighter and go faster.

On the concept lawn, Porsche 918 Spyder Owner and Project Head Frank Walliser talked about his new car, which was featured for the first time at the world renowned auto show .

"The 2014 Porsche has two electric motors and can go from zero to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds," he said. "What you see here is prototype number 25, already tested all over the world. The body is made out of carbon fiber, too, which makes it a lighter car on the road," explained Walliser.

Music instruments like the new, daCarbo Trumpets, are Swiss-made of carbon fiber material, too. Jazz Musicians Arturo Sandoval, Skip Martin (former leader singer, Kool and the Gang) and Jon Barnes all have the trumpet, which is lighter than the standard trumpets. Barnes, who was standing next to the Porsche 918, blew some high notes on his carbon-fiber trumpet.

From behind, the Porsche 918 Spyder looks more like a Batmobile than a Porsche with its cool, sleek, custom aerodynamic, curvy design. The top speed is 199 mph and comes with two electric motors, each 218 hp. Installed on the rear and front axles, the electric motors act independently giving the vehicle variable all-wheel drive. Also, noticeable were the catalytic converters and exhaust pipes, which are normally found under the car, were mounted on the back of the car. It comes with a pretty hefty price tag, too at $845,000.

"At night the catalytic converters glow red hot, too," said Ken Gould, eMobility technical systems engineer, Porsche Cars N. America, Inc, Atlanta, Georgia. "The new Porsche 918 goes into production in September. The exhaust pipes come out off the top just like a race car. It has a 4.6 liter, V-8 engine, 781 hp. and the back panel is made out of stainless steel, because of the heat generated," he said. Gould, who got his Ph.D. in Germany, has worked for Porsche for 12 years.

There were other 2014 rare concept cars, also made out of lightweight design, carbon fiber, such as the Lamborghini Veneno and 2014 Laraki Epitome, by Laraki Motors, Irvine, CA, which sells for $2 million each and only nine of them will be made.

Concours d' Elegance, Pebble Beach (60th Anniversary)

Once each year, on the third Sunday in August, about 200 of the most prized collector cars and motorcycles in the world roll onto what is often called the best finishing hole in golf - the famed eighteenth fairway at Pebble Beach. Tire meets turf and transformation occurs: the stage is set for one of the most competitive events in the automotive world. Published reports show five firms sold 726 rare autos that went for a combined $301.9 million. Also on the concept lawn was another show stopper, 2014 Rolls-Royce. The Monterey Auto Week tradition has just ended six decades of auto shows.