Thursday, Aug. 14, 4:00PM

Moderated by Ken Gross, with Peter Larsen, Raffi Minasian and Kemal Curic

Virgil Exner was an innovative designer, an inspiring leader, and a talented fine artist. His bold concepts for Chrysler Corporation literally sent GM’s designers back to the drawing board. Exner was always his own man — a pioneer with fins and a visionary whose leadership produced timeless designs. Join us to learn more about this special class being presented at the 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Ken Gross

Ken Gross served as Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles from 1997 to 2000. His many critically acclaimed automobile exhibitions have appeared at major Fine Art Museums across the United States. This is Ken’s 33rd consecutive year as a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Chief Class Judge, and he is also a member of the Selection Committee. Ken is a founding member of ICJAG, (The International Chief Judges’ Advisory Group), Chief Judge for the Greenwich (Connecticut) Concours, and judges at many other North American and European Concours. The author of twenty-five books, and countless magazine articles, Ken has received The Automotive Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Citation, The International Motor Press Association Ken W. Purdy Award, The Motor Press Guild Dean Bachelor Award, and the Lee Iacocca award. He lives with his wife, Trish Serratore, in Hamilton, Virginia.

Peter Larsen

Peter Larsen, an Automotive Historian, has co-authored several books with Ben Erickson on French cars and coachbuilders, including works on Talbot-Lago, Jacques Saoutchik and Jacques Kellner as well as an ongoing project about Joseph Figoni. The next installment in that series, which is about Bugattis that received bodies by Figoni, was published in the 2nd quarter of 2025. He judges at a number of international concours, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where he also serves on the Selection Committee.

Raffi Minasian

Raffi Minasian is an Automobile Designer, professor of Industrial Design, and Automotive Journalist specializing in the convergence of Design and Culture. Raffi is a frequent speaker and panelist for automotive-themed conferences, a judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and a vintage sports car enthusiast. Raffi has authored numerous articles for Autoweek, Porsche Panorama, Bring-a-Trailer, Automobile, Car Styling, Vintage Roadcar Journal, and Sports Car Digest.

Kemal Curic

Kemal Curic is the Global Design Director, Performance Vehicles at Ford Motor Company. A native of Sarajevo, Kemal grew up in Germany and Croatia and has been fascinated by American Muscle Cars and vehicle design since he was a young child. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and a Master’s degree in Transportation Design, Kemal began his career at Ford in Europe in 2003. He designed cars focused on the European market like Fiesta, Mondeo, and Kuga, before transitioning to Dearborn to work on the 2015 Mustang. In 2013, Curic became Exterior Design Manager for Lincoln Continental, then served as Chief Designer for the all-new Aviator and Corsair.

Forum panelists subject to change.

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