Sunday, October 13, 2013

Why You Should Go To The Quail And Why You Never Will



Down in Monterey, CA during the ever-expanding deluge of car-related events that surround the Pebble Beach Concours, you'll feel like you've been transported to another dimension where gearheads rule the world. Everywhere you look there's a car you've never seen outside of a videogame—and this is no car museum, nearly all of the cars here are actually being driven! It's wonderful.
The 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Concept driving the Tour d'Elegance
preceeding the Concours itself
If you're able to get your hands on one of the $450 tickets that seem to sell out 9 months in advance, and you can find a vacant, overpriced hotel room for the week, you'll be in for a treat: gourmet all-you-can-eat buffets of every variety, wing-suited stuntmen jumping out of helicopters, and you might even bump into the likes of Jay Leno, Micheal Schumacher, or Valentino Balboni. 
Quite the entrance
Leno rolls into the Quail in a C7 after thrashing it about at nearby Laguna Seca
Eventually you'll notice that you've been too distracted to realize how badly you need to go to the bathroom, and—if you can find the place–not only can you relieve yourself, but they've got you covered for all manner of classy-person emergencies: free gum, shaving cream, razors, deodorant and combs for the taking. There's a MacGyver joke in there somewhere . . .

Even after spending 5 full days in the chaos, I left feeling a bit like I had missed out. I know, you're thinking, "ungrateful much?" But hear me out. I had seen so many cars, each one bearing engineering milestones, unique designs and their own fascinating history, I wished I could have learned more about each and every one. But for that I'll need a lot more time, Wikipedia, and attention span. Is the Matrix a thing yet? I'm looking at you, Google.

If you ever do get the chance though, you have to go. 

You think that's a lot? This Ferrari sold for less than one third of what the 275
NART Spider went for
Stumbled across a pair of glorious 787b race cars in a staging area
The 700-hp 4-rotor rocketed Mazda to the only Le Mans win for any Asian
manufacturer

I couldn't explain to you why, but I am completely in love with the styling
of this 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato
The all new BMW M4 
Rivets are hot. The hindquarters of the stunning '35 Bugatti Type 57
Truly an engineering masterpiece
Lamborghini Countach rolling onto the green—doors up—for all the crazy
folks who woke up 4am to get their free "Dawn Patrol" hat
Another blue Countach on display at The Quail
You damn well better appreciate the lengths this car's owner had to go to keep
that white interior this pristine
Lambo Mafia
1965 De Tomaso P70 Prototype 

Engine bay of the legendary F40
Of course your F40 comes with matching luggage

F50 GT1
A sculpture in carbon fiber: The '09 P 4/5 Competizione 
The Ferrari P 4/5 

This picture does absolutely no justice to how bad ass the rear end of the F50 is.
 The V12 and impossibly cool rear suspension on full display
Galpin's 1000+hp GTR1
The first and hopefully not the last Huayra I'll ever see—driving on a public road no less! 
Everything about the La Bestioni Beast is absurd, and I love it.


It's a stripped down customized old firetruck with a 6-cyclinder 14-liter
engine! The motor alone weighs 1500 lbs, and, believe it or not, can
 propel this car to 100 mph
 




This Maserati MC12 road car (1 of 36, and the only one in black) has only
 700 miles, and it's for sale!
Interior of the MC12
Needs no description.


1936 Morgan Super Sports Barrel Back
The original: 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen 
The massive crowd at Pebble Beach during the height of the show
Panorama shot of my view for the day at The Quail 
MB SLS AMG GT3
Spyker Venator—the silly scoops are finally gone!
Interior of the Venator resembles the engine of the Type 57
For when you're too cool for gated shifters—fantastic
Triumph TR250k 
Spotted this on an access road, I believe it to be an early prototype
 of the Tushek Renovatio—a more refined K1 Attack

Veneno—such a stunner





The new XFR-S seems like it should only be sold in Australia
XKR-S GT
918 now with the fastest production car lap time on the 'Ring
Coolest exhaust of the show
My view leaving The Quail in an SLS AMG GT
AR