Although I have experienced Monterey Car Week three times in 2016, 2017 and 2019, there were some things I hadn’t had a chance to do on previous trips. That changed in 2022 when I was selected by a lottery to attend The Quail Motorsports Gathering for the first time!
Everything about this trip was different from the usual way I plan my vacations. I prefer to fly with Southwest Airlines, but this time American Airlines had the better price. I usually rent my cars with Hertz, but this time went with Dollar Rent a Car. I also split my nights between a hotel and an AirBnb property, instead of relying on chain hotels for the trip. This was shaping up to be a very memorable trip!
DAY ONE
My trip began on Thursday, August 18, 2022. I woke up early and headed to the airport, where I parked and took the train to the main terminal. Near my gate there were several options for breakfast. I had a great breakfast sandwich and some tater tots from OHSO Brewery while I waited for boarding to begin.
At 10:00 am it was wheels up and we were on our way to San Jose. The flight was smooth and the weather was clear. We were on the ground about two hours later, and I wasted no time in getting my bag and heading to collect the rental car.
I chose Dollar Rent A Car because they had the best price. Having no idea what I would get, I was handed the keys to a Chevrolet Malibu, which was fine by me. The car has an interesting feature where the engine shuts off at stop lights to save fuel. This took some getting used to at first, but it did yield better mileage overall. This feature can be disabled with a button on the dashboard if desired.
Leaving the airport, I headed right to a local deli I had researched in advance. At around 1:30 pm, I visited The Sandwich Spot in San Jose where I ordered a BLT sandwich on Dutch Crunch bread, also called Tiger Bread due to its unique stripe-like pattern. The sandwich was great and I was delighted to have tried this regional specialty bread.
Badge Pickup
After lunch, I hopped in the car and drove about 75 miles to Monterey. This was a drive I have done many times before, and it was quite nice with the satellite radio in the rental car to keep me entertained.
I arrived at Pebble Beach around 3:30 pm and picked up my badge, which I would need for the Concours on Sunday. I had a little bit of time to look at some of the displays, including the Japanese Automotive Invitational. There was a very unique 1989 Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1 owned by Myron Vernis on display, which was cool to see. I had more to do, so I didn’t linger and headed back to the car.
RM Sotheby’s Auction
At 5:00 pm I parked my car in downtown Monterey and walked a few blocks over to Fishermans Wharf, which was busy in spite of the gray skies. Outside of the Monterey Convention Center, I spent some time admiring the cars of the RM Sotheby’s auction.
The RM Sotheby’s auction had an incredible offering of cars, everything from pre-war classics to modern supercars. The star of the show was the 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider that sold for an eye-watering $22 million.
Other highlights included a 2008 Lamborghini Reventon, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Body, the 2022 Porsche “Sally Special,” a 1936 Talbot-Lago Teardrop Coupe, a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, and a 1947 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet, just to name a few.
Outside of the auction, Sotheby’s has two separate sealed-bid auctions going: one for a 2019 Bugatti Chiron 110 Ans and the other for a 1-of-1 1989 Ferrari F40 in Nardo Gray that had been upgraded to Competizione spec.
Fishermans Wharf
Not wanting to pay admission to the auction preview this year, I saw as much as I could for free. I walked around the wharf for a bit and watched the sea lions playing in the harbor.
By this time, I was ready to find the hotel and get settled in for the night. I left Monterey around 7:00 pm and drove to the hotel, which was approximately a 1-hour drive away in Morgan Hill, CA.
After check in, I was ready for some dinner. There was a Super Taqueria nearby where I ordered a burrito and chips to go and took it back to the room. The restaurant was near the headquarters for Specialized bicycles, which was pretty cool.
DAY TWO
Friday, August 19th was a very special day. It was my first time ever attending the prestigious Quail Motorsports Gathering. I woke up early and had a quick bite to eat at the hotel. After getting dressed, I grabbed my camera bag and jumped in the car.
Mecum Auction
Before my day at The Quail, I wanted to dash over to the Mecum Auction at the Hyatt Regency. I got there first thing in the morning, as there were a few specific cars I wanted to see.
The grass was still wet as I arrived at the Mecum Auction at 8:30 am. I photographed the Ferrari prototype cars, the Avendador SVJ Roadster 63 edition, a McLaren Sabre and Elva, and a very special 1-of-3 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Legend Edition car. I was there less than 40 minutes, as I wanted to get my butt over to The Quail!
The exit for the Mecum Auction had me driving a full size car down a golf cart path for most of a golf course, before exiting into a random neighborhood. I quickly found the main road and began crawling along to get to the Quail Lodge in Carmel.
The Quail Motorsports Gathering
The Quail is an exclusive luxury lifestyle event held every year during Monterey Car Week. I read an article about a gathering of ten Bugatti Veyrons at The Quail in 2011. I had no idea what The Quail was, but I decided that any car show with ten Veyrons was the type of event I would like to attend someday. My wish finally came true ten years later in 2022!
Demand for the event is greater than the capacity of the venue, so you must enter into a lottery drawing months in advance to have a chance at getting a ticket. I was incredibly fortunate to get drawn for 2022. I paid full price for my general admission ticket: $795.00 plus tax.
The ticket includes a parking pass, gourmet lunch and a souvenir program and poster. I arrived at the Quail Lodge around 10:00 am and followed signs to my parking area. From there it was a short walk to the main entrance gate.
Passing through the entrance, I was greeted with a table of complimentary champagne. The event had a V-shaped layout with the main show cars in the middle and exhibitor and vendor pavilions forming an outer border.
Every major supercar manufacturer was there, including Koenigsegg, Pagani, Bugatti, McLaren, Hennessey, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Bentley, to name a few. Other manufacturers included Gordon Murray Automotive, Audi, Polestar and Czinger.
Pagani Display
I wasn’t sure where to begin! I found my way to the Pagani booth, where I saw an incredible collection of 10 vehicles on display. I saw the new Huayra R, the Zonda R, a Zonda Revolucion, a Huayra BC Tempesta, and a Huayra Roadster BC. The standouts for me were the 1-of-5 Pagani Imola and a 1-of-3 Pagani Huayra Tricolore. These are incredibly rare and valuable cars that I never expected to see in person.
Food at The Quail Motorsports Gathering
The food at The Quail was absolutely unbelievable. The general admission ticket included a gourmet lunch, but I had no idea what to expect as this was my first time attending. I was completely blown away at the variety and quality of food available.
There were five food tents throughout the event, each one themed after a different city where Peninsula Hotels has a location. Each tent had completely different themed food options including a salad, main dish, side dish, dessert, a signature cocktail and a unique wine selection. Furthermore, each tent had a live music performance and decor themed to that city or region.
Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn, New York)
Wood Grilled Steak, Twice-Baked Potato, Wedge Salad, Marinated Asparagus, New York Cheesecake. Signature Cocktail: The Brooklyn (Bourbon, Cocchi Red Vermouth, Cynar, Old Fashioned Bitters)
Bosphorous Bridge (Istanbul, Turkey)
Lamb Kofta, Coban Salad, Summer Vegetable Saksuka, Dolmas, Grilled Garlic Pita, Sekerpare. Signature Cocktail: Bosphorous Refresher (Raki, Ginger Beer, Lemon Juice)
Bixby Bridge (Big Sur, California)
Spit-Roasted Porchetta Sandwich, Fingerling Potatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Baby Kale Salad, Stone Fruit Shortcake. Signature Cocktail: The Bixby (Gin, Elderflower Liqueur, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Soda Water)
Rama VIII Bridge (Bangkok, Thailand)
Banana Leaf Steamed Snapper, Lemongrass Chicken, Jasmine Rice, Green Papaya Salad, Stir-Fried Long Beans, Sangkaya Coconut. Signature Cocktails: Rum Rama (Coconut Rum, Lemongrass Syrup, Fresh Lime Juice, Sparkling Water) or Thai Caipirinha (Cachaca, Lemongrass Syrup, Fresh Lime Juice)
Tower Bridge (London, England)
Fish and Chips, Beef Short Rib and Potato British Pie, English Garden Salad, Brandied Cherry Trifle. Signature Cocktail: Quail Pimms Cup (Pimms, Vodka, Blood Orange Juice, Strawberry Lemonade)
The quality, variety and freshness of the food greatly exceeded my expectations. However, I did have to wait a few minutes at some of the stations for more food to be brought out.
The Quail Motorsports Gathering is a gourmet culinary experience paired with a world-class Concours car show.
One minor issue was that the event map for the show said there were three different locations to get ice cream. Walking around the event, I saw other people eating dishes of ice cream. I spent at least 30 minutes walking to two different locations but could not find the ice cream. Maybe they ran out or packed up early? That was a bummer.
Celebrity Sightings
There were a number of high profile guests in attendance at The Quail. The CEOs and executives of the major car manufacturers were on site for their big reveals.
I also saw some of my favorite YouTubers at the event. Tyler Hoover of Hoovie’s Garage was there along with Freddy “Tavarish” Hernandez, Ed Bolian from VinWiki, and John Ficarra from Ficarra Classics. I had previously met Ed at the Gold Rush Rally and Freddy at the SEMA Show, but I wanted a picture with Tyler and he kindly obliged. Thanks dude!
Another person I follow is Manny Khoshbin, an entrepreneur and commercial real estate investor. Manny shares his passion for supercars on his YouTube channel, which I have followed for a few years. I saw Manny at the Bugatti booth and he graciously posed for a photo with me. He is a huge inspiration and I was grateful to meet him.
The most exciting thing was around 3:00 pm in the afternoon. The food was winding down and I was near the New York tent where I had a piece of steak and some cheesecake. I was sitting at a large table when Horacio Pagani and his associates came by and sat down at my table. One of them went off and returned with cans of soda – Coca Cola Classic and Sprite. They enjoyed their sodas and had a lively conversation in Italian.
A short distance away was a 25th Anniversary Edition Lamborghini Countach. While I do not speak Italian, I picked up on words like “machina” and “quattrovalvole.” Horacio got up to admire the car and returned a few minutes later. They finished their drinks and left a short time later. This was one of those amazing “Monterey Moments” where a member of automotive royalty sat at my table!
The Cars
There were a lot of new cars introduced at The Quail. It’s hard to say which one was my favorite, as they were all exciting.
McLaren introduced the Solus GT, an 829 horsepower single-seat, track-only, hypercar limited to 25 units.
Bugatti introduced the Mistral roadster, the last production car to use the W-16 engine, limited to 99 units.
Koenigsegg introduced the CC850, a homage to the company’s CC8S that was done for the 20th anniversary. The car is limited to 70 units.
Pagani held the US introduction of the Huayra R, which is limited to 100 units.
After The Quail
The event ended at 4:00 pm, and I left at 4:45 pm. This night I would be staying at an AirBnb property I booked for 2 nights. The route to get there took me along Laureles Grade, a scenic and pretty road that climbs a mountain pass.
I arrived at the house and checked in to my room. It was a large house with a separate entry to a room with a queen bed and private bathroom. I spent some time relaxing and resting for a few hours. It felt good to get off my feet after walking so much that day.
Cannery Row
Around 8:00 pm I headed to I headed over to Cannery Row to get my traditional cup of hot chocolate from the Ghirardelli cafe and store.
Cannery Row is a popular spot for cruising during Car Week, and Monterey PD was there to make sure no one was revving or showing off. They had a red C5 Corvette pulled over and were really giving it a thorough check, looking under the hood and inspecting the exhaust with flashlights. A crowd of spectators had gathered on both sides of the street and was shouting things like “let him go.” After some time, the vehicle was let go to cheers and applause. I left around 8:45 pm and went back to the room to get some rest for the night.
DAY THREE
The plan for Saturday, August 20 was to spend the day in Seaside, CA where I would attend two events back-to-back: the Concours d’Lemons and Exotics on Broadway.
A thick layer of fog greeted me when I stepped out of my rented room in Monterey that morning. The fog made everything look surreal and dream-like. The car windows were covered with moisture, which I wiped off. It was a short drive to Seaside, where I swung through McDonald’s drive thru and picked up a breakfast sandwich.
Concours d’Lemons
I parked across the street from Seaside City Hall at 8:15 am. There was another car show already gathered in the Chili’s parking lot, so I took a few moments to explore that. There were three Autozam AZ-1 vehicles lined up in front, which was a real treat to see!
The Concours d’Lemons is one of my favorite car shows as it celebrates the oddball, mundane and truly awful cars of the automotive world. The Monterey 2022 show had some really great vehicles!
Exotics on Broadway
I left the Concours d’Lemons around 10:15 am and walked a little less than a mile to the Exotics on Broadway car show, also in Seaside. Though I arrived before the show’s official start time of 12:00 pm, some of the cars were already set up.
Around 11:20 am, I stopped in to Erik’s Deli Cafe where I ordered a sandwich and chips for lunch. The food was great and I got there right before the line got long!
I stayed at the Exotics on Broadway show from about 11:45 am to 4:30 pm. I must have walked up and down the main road 2 or 3 times admiring the different cars and taking photos. At one point I did stop for a break and had some frozen yogurt.
The variety of supercars and hypercars on display did not disappoint! There was a DeTomaso P72 in green with gold accents, two Zenvo TSR-S vehicles on display, an orange and blue McLaren Sabre, a red and black Bugatti Chiron, a Koenigsegg Regera, green and black McLaren P1, multiple Koenigsegg vehicles including the Jesko and Jesko Absolut, the CC850, and multiple Ageras.
The VIP Paddock had a silver McLaren P1 HDK by Lanzante, an Apollo IE in all carbon fiber, a Bugatti Chiron, a Corvette C8, and other special cars.
I think my favorite spot of the whole show was Houston Crosta’s Koenigsegg Agera S HH, a one-of-one car in a beautiful Monterey Blue color. The car wasn’t actually part of the show and only made a brief appearance before leaving. What a rare treat to see that car in person!
Dinner in Carmel
After the show, I drove back to the AirBnb room, where I arrived around 5:00 pm. I charged my camera and took it easy as I wanted to be ready for Pebble Beach the following day. The evening fog had started rolling in as I was thinking about dinner.
It was a short drive from my room to Carmel, where I found a barbeque restaurant called The Crossroads BBQ. I ordered a food and waited for quite a while for it to arrive. The food was delicious and I ate outside on the patio, despite the chilly weather. I drove back to the room under cloud-covered skies and went to bed.
DAY FOUR
The next day was Sunday, August 21st, which was also Concours Sunday. I was excited to be attending the 71st Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
In previous years, I had stayed in hotels far away from the event, due to the high cost during Car Week. This year, I really did it right. I was only a 20 minute drive from the Pebble Beach Resort, instead of being two hours away. This meant I could spend more time at the show instead of time on the road.
I was up early and dressed by 7:00 am. Parking during Pebble Beach is chaotic, with cars dispersed among different lots along 17 Mile Drive and a shuttle bus to bring people to the event. I arrived so early that I parked in Lot A, the closest one to the event! It was a short bus ride to the main entrance at the top of Peter Hay Hill.
I skipped past the manufacturer displays for Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz and Fisker and headed down the hill to the main show field.
Concept Car Lawn
I arrived at the Concept Car Lawn at 8:00 am, which I wanted to hit first before it got busy. I spent about 45 minutes admiring and photographing the Concept Cars, which are listed below:
- Acura Precision EV Concept
- Audi Grandsphere Concept
- Bentley Mulliner Batur
- Czinger 21C
- Czinger 21C V Max
- Delage D12 Hypercar
- DeLorean Alpha5
- Deus Vayanne
- Faraday Future FF91 Futurist
- Genesis X Speedium Coupe Concept
- Glickhaus SCG Boot
- Gunther Works 993 Turbo Remastered
- Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster
- Ken Okuyama Kode57 Berlinetta
- Koenigsegg CC850
- Lamborghini Urus Performante
- Lincoln Model L100 Concept
- Lincoln Star Concept SUV
- Lucid Air Sapphire
- Maserati MC20 Cielo
- Polestar O2 Roadster
- Sean Wotherspoon’s Taycan 4S Cross Turismo
Concorso Ferrari
At 8:45 am I made my way over to Concoro Ferrari, which was set up on the First Fairway of Pebble Beach. Ferrari was celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Prancing Horse with a special collection of 75 exceptional Ferrari Classiche automobiles and special editions from every year of production from 1948 to the present.
A brilliant red Ferrari Daytona SP3 was off to the side on a special platform. I really enjoyed the chance to see so many rare Ferraris, including a 1962 250 GTO, an FXX-K Evo, and one of the five Sergio models. My favorite was the 1973 365 GTC/4.
Off to the side was a row of Ferrari race cars, which were covered under plastic sheeting.
Bugatti Pavilion
Around 10:30 am I made my way to the Bugatti manufacturer display. They had an excellent display of automobiles with the new Mistral roadster taking center stage on a rotating platform. Other vehicles on display included a trio of Chirons: the base model, Pur Sport model and SuperSport model.
Lexus Pavilion
After finishing up with Bugatti, I took a free golf cart ride over to the Lexus booth. I saw the new Lexus Electrified Sport concept vehicle and took some photos. As I was leaving, a 1-of-50 Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition in Sunset Orange pulled up to the Lexus pavilion and parked out front. They said he couldn’t park there and the driver left after a few minutes, though I was fortunate to be there at that exact time to get some photos of the car!
Mercedes-Benz Pavilion
Around 11:00 am, I started the long walk back up the hill towards the media center where I would grab lunch. On the way, I stopped at the Mercedes-Benz pavilion. They had some very unusual cars including a rotary-powered 1970 C 111-II concept car, a Mercedes-Maybach Haute Voiture Concept, and the 2021 Project MAYBACH off-road concept car by Virgil Abloh.
Lunch at the Media Center was a boxed lunch with a turkey sandwich, chips and a cookie. The food was fine and I took the opportunity to charge up the camera battery a little.
Main Show Field
By 12:40 pm, I was back down the hill and ready to explore the main show field. The best of show would be announced around 4:30 pm, so I had a couple of hours to enjoy the show – the most time I have ever had at the Pebble Beach Concours. This year I did not try to photograph every car, as I did once before. My goal this time was to just enjoy the show and photograph what I liked or found interesting.
2022 Special Classes
In addition to the standard Restoration and Preservation classes, there are also a number of Special Classes that change each year. For 2022, the Special Classes included:
- Lincoln Centennial
- Talbot-Lago Grand Sport
- 24 Hours of Le Mans Centennial
- Alfa Romeo 8C 2300
- Graber Coachwork
- McFarlan Cars
- Otto Vu
- Unorthodox Propulsion
- 1932 Ford Historic Hot Rods
Unorthodox Propulsion
I particularly enjoyed the category of Unorthodox Propulsion cars. I saw a 1922 Megola motorcycle, which has a 5-cylinder radial engine mounted within the front wheel. There was also a radial powered Jarvis automobile, an Owen Magnetic electric car, and a Citroen that had been converted to run on coal gas. And of course, the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Ghia Coupe was a fan favorite, and even won a class award.
Best of Show
Late in the afternoon, I made my way over to the main awards ramp to watch the presentation for Best of Show. The three finalists were: a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS coupe, a 1932 Duesenberg cabriolet, and a 1951 Talbot-Lago T26 cabriolet. After the votes were counted, the Best of Show award was ceremoniously presented to the 1932 Duesenberg Sports Torpedo with coachwork by J Figoni and shown by Lee R. Anderson Sr.
With that, another successful Concours d’Elegance was in the books. I was eager to beat the crowds so I hustled back to the shuttle stop. It took a while to load the bus, but I was soon back at the rental car. I left the Monterey peninsula and headed to my accommodations for the night in Salinas.
I checked in and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my room was HUGE! It had a seating area with a gas fireplace, a kitchenette area, and an outdoor balcony. As it turns out, that was the nicest room at the entire property!
For dinner, I went to MOD Pizza in Salinas and had a delicious wood fired pizza to finish out my day. I watched a little TV and enjoyed the spacious hotel suite to myself.
DAY FIVE
The plan for Monday, August 22nd was pretty simple: get myself home. I slept great at the Best Western and packed my bags that morning. I enjoyed the complimentary hotel breakfast before hopping in the Malibu for the drive back to San Jose.
Rental Car Return
It was about an hour’s drive from the hotel to the airport, and traffic wasn’t too bad. Along the way, I drove next to a DeLorean DMC-12 with no license plate that was lowered and modified, which was pretty cool. Made a quick stop to refuel the car before dropping it off at the airport. I rode the shuttle bus to the terminal where I had plenty of time to spare until my flight home.
Trader Vic’s
I had planned to have lunch at Trader Vic’s restaurant inside the airport. Founded in Oakland, CA in 1934, Trader Vic’s is one of two restaurants that claims to have invented the famous Mai Tai cocktail, the other being Don the Beachcomber.
“Trader Vic” Bergeron claimed to invent the drink at his restaurant in 1944. Bergeron brought the drink to Hawaii in 1953 and it quickly became a favorite among tourists. Trader Vic’s eventually grew to more than 40 locations worldwide. The restaurants served exotic cuisine and unique cocktails in themed dining rooms featuring wooden Maori carvings and island-themed art.
As tiki culture fell out of favor in the 1970s and 80s, many of Trader Vic’s locations closed. While they still have numerous international locations, there are only three left in the U.S. as of 2022. There is one in Emeryville, one in Atlanta, and one at the San Jose Airport.
Coming home from Monterey Car Week, I couldn’t pass up the chance to try an original Mai Tai from the place that invented it. I paid an outrageous $19 for a single drink, which I would normally never do. But I’ve got to say, it was really good!
After lunch I boarded my flight which departed at 12:40 PM and arrived on the ground in Phoenix about two hours later. With that, my Monterey Car Week adventure had come to an end.
Summary
Staying two nights at the AirBnb property was expensive, but it was well worth it considering the time I saved on driving. Waking up in the morning, it was only a 15 minute drive to Pebble Beach compared to the 1.5 hours I had done in previous years. This meant I was able to spend more time at the car shows, which I enjoyed.
I had a fantastic day at The Quail and it was the highlight of the trip for me. Crossing that one off my bucket list was a goal of mine for many years. I feel like I finally did Monterey Car Week properly.
Monterey Car Week Trip Report
Photos: 3,101 (19.8 GB)
Miles Driven: 409
Miles Walked: 15-18 (est.)
Events Attended: 7 (RM Sothebys, Mecum, Quail, Seaside Cars and Coffee, Concours d’Lemons, Exotics on Broadway, Pebble Beach)
YouTubers Met: 4
