Michelin brings rare autos to Monterey Car Week

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Aug. 10, 2015) — A bit of automotive history is on display this week as Michelin North America Inc. brings to California two iconic vehicles for the famed Monterey Car Week.

The event takes place Aug. 10-16 in Monterey, Calif., on the scenic California peninsula.

The L'éclair automobile, commissioned by brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin in 1895, “blazed a path in automotive history that didn't involve powerful engines or fancy sheet metal but quite simply air,” riding on four skinny, white rubber inflated tires that, according to Greenville-based Michelin, “proved once and for all that the future of the car would not be limited by the unforgiving rigidity of solid circles.”

As a presenting sponsor of three top events scheduled during Monterey Car Week, Michelin is bringing a replica of the L'Eclair from its company museum in France along with the scarcely seen high-performance Koenigsegg One:1 — which Michelin called the fastest production car ever to wear Michelin tires  — from Sweden.

In 1895, no auto manufacturer wanted to fit its vehicles with air-filled tires, according to Michelin, so, in cooperation with Peugeot, the Michelin brothers decided to produce their own automobile that could use their revolutionary tire technology.

The L'Eclair — its French name means “lightning bolt,” a reference to its erratic zig-zag motion — was entered in the 1,200-kilometer Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race with the brothers at the helm. It was the first car ever to be equipped with pneumatic tires and, although the L'Eclair arrived in Paris dead last, succeeded in doing so within the 100 hours allowed for the race — and proved that it is possible for a vehicle to ride on air, Michelin said.

Introduced at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Koenigsegg One:1's production was limited to seven, including one prototype. Michelin said the vehicle — which will be on display in North America for the first time — “has the distinction of being among the most exclusive production cars ever. Its hp-to-kg curb weight ratio is an astonishing 1:1 — an equation once thought impossible to accomplish with a fully road-legal sports car” — thus, it displays the accomplishment with its One:1 moniker.

Michelin called the One:1 the first homologated production car in the world to produce one megawatt of power (1,341 hp),  making it the world's first production series “megacar.”

Described as a “museum springing to life,” the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is the largest event held during Car Week, and is the only event in which the cars “do what they were originally intended to do: race,” the tire maker said. Approximately 550 race cars are invited to compete in the world's premier vintage motoring event, and are accepted based on their authenticity, race provenance and period correctness.

Michelin said that in addition to marking its 24th win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this past June, it is showcasing in the garages at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca more than 100 years of innovation that have led to numerous “firsts” for the automotive world.

Prior to Monterey Car Week, the company also participated in the Porsche Club of America's second annual Werks Reunion on at Rancho Canada Golf Club on Friday, Aug. 14, where attendees saw a display of more than 500 Porsches.

At the event, for the first time in one location, Michelin displayed all four models of Porsche's race-inspired GT family:

• 1996 Porsche 911 GT1, a rare street-legal homologation — The competition version, which won its debut appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, raced on Michelin Pilot competition tires.
• Porsche 911 GT2 — The 996-generation on display wore Michelin Pilot Sport tires as its standard original equipment fitment.
• Porsche 911 GT3 — Considered one of the world's most pure sports cars, the 997-generation car on display was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.
• Porsche Cayman GT4 — The newest member of Porsche's GT family rolls on OE fitment Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Michelin also participated in the “Legends of The Autobahn,” a relatively new event on the Monterey calendar that has continued to grow since its 2009 debut as a standalone BMW concours. Now in its sixth year, this event was held Aug. 14 at the Nicklaus Club. At it, Michelin said it celebrated its partnerships with Germany's top auto makers “to provide custom-tuned tires” that “help their sports cars achieve their full performance potential.”