Letter From The Editor: Sneak Peek at Monterey Car Week
August 1, 2007
Every August for the past 57
years, the car-crazed cognoscenti descend on California’s Monterey Peninsula
like a flock of wayward flamingoes. Displaying a pastiche of plumage—chartreuse
cravats, salmon-colored seersuckers and pastel parasols—the people who come to
Pebble Beach could easily pass for extras in an Impressionist painting of
overdressed beachgoers. Except here, the cars are the stars, as shiny sheet
metal makes everything else fade into the fog. And that just describes
Sunday—the lead-up Monterey Car Week includes numerous races, collector car
auctions and concours events. Read on for a few of the more notable
highlights.
August 14: This year, the festivities kick off with the
inaugural Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue (www.motorclubevents.com).
The gathering takes place on Ocean Avenue in downtown Carmel, from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m., and promises to showcase underserved marques, focusing on vehicles
built from 1946 through 1971.
August 14–15: Original vintage posters, hood ornaments and other
memorabilia can be found at Automobilia Monterey (www.automobiliamonterey.com), which takes over the Embassy Suites in Seaside from
noon to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
August 16: Be sure to stop by Christie’s Exceptional Motor
Cars auction (www.christies.com) at the Monterey Jet Center. The crown jewel of
this year’s event, which begins at 7:00 p.m., is Steve McQueen’s 1963 Ferrari
250 GT Lusso (The Greatest
Shape)—the stunning Marrone brown
car featured on the cover of this issue.
August 17: The largest-ever display of Ferrari 250 GT
Series 1 cabriolets assemble at the Quail Lodge (www.quaillodge.com) on Friday
morning beginning at 10:00 a.m., followed by a picnic luncheon and a tribute to
Briggs Cunningham, which will feature several (if not all) of his cars. The
Bonhams & Butterfields auction begins at 3:30 p.m.
August 17: Like the Vatican, Concorso Italiano
(www.concorso.com) is something everyone should see at least once. Brightly
colored Alfas, Ferraris and Lamborghinis decorate the Bayonet Black Horse Golf
Course from 9:30 a.m to 5:00 p.m.
August 17-18: The Monterey Sports and Classic Car auction
(www.rmauctions.com) puts over 200 classic sports cars on the block at the
Portola Plaza Hotel and Monterey Conference Center. Go for the cars. Stay for
the drinks.
August 17–19: With 40,000 visitors annually in attendance,
the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races (www.montereyhistoric.com)—which
feature more than 375 historic race and sports cars—are the largest events held
during the classic car weekend. As Laguna Seca celebrates its 50th anniversary,
the longest running event on the schedule celebrates the history of automobile
racing, and this year honors Indy Roadsters.
August 18–19: In the largest single automotive donation in
history, Gooding & Company (www.goodingco.com) will auction a collection of
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts (see The Spirit of Giving) with proceeds
benefiting the Arthur G. James Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute
at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
August 19: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
(www.pebblebeachconcours.net). The 18th fairway of the world-renowned public
golf links, which borders the Pacific Ocean, becomes a sea of immaculately
restored machinery, as well as an art exhibit (see Posterized). This year, Aston Martin is the featured marque, so James Bond’s Persol
sunglasses will be out in force. Bring your best salmon-colored pants or jacket,
and blend right in.
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