The Quail, as it’s most commonly referred to, is the premier event (not to mention the most expensive ticket) of the annual Monterey Car Week. It's here in this exclusive seaside community of Northern California that enthusiasts from around the world gather to watch, drive or bid on some of the most amazing machinery ever produced in this world. Well over fifty thousand people come strolling through, but The Quail limits its attendance to only 3,000 people, all of whom pay a $600 admission fee to see the best of the best.
Luckily I didn’t have to fork out $600, as I was able to source a golden ticket through a great friend of mine, and being able to attend The Quail it truly is like winning a ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, a place where my wildest dreams came true.
The first car that really stopped me dead in my tracks was this 2004 Ferrari Enzo. This is not your “typical” Enzo; this one has a fully-exposed carbon fiber body that's built by Carrozzeria Zanasi, a homegrown Maranello atelier.
The Quail isn't only amazing one-off hypercars; take for example, this long line of vintage BMW racecars that lined one of the walkways between the two greens.
This one's my personal favorite: It's a newer BMW Z4 GT3 racecar powered by a 4.4L eight-cylinder engine that's derived from the BMW M3 GTS, and produces approximately 508hp, which is more than enough power to push the 2,600-lb chassis.
Along with the racecars, BMW also showed off its latest 2002 homage concept, which is a nod to the original 2002, Europe's first turbocharged car. Utilizing the current M2 body, it wears Jagermeister-style livery (Turbomeister) that was prevalent during '70s-era racing.
Okay, back to the unobtanium-type cars. On the main green, one of everyone’s heroes was the almighty 1997 McLaren F1 GTR “Long Tail”, the final F1 GTR ever produced. You're looking at an insane amount of race history and if you have deep pockets, it’s for sale. Think of seeing this car in person as the equivalent of both seeing and riding a unicorn…it just never happens, except at The Quail.
Lamborghini was on hand to unveil their latest limited offering: the Centenario Roadster, a 770hp monster with a limited run of 20 total pieces. This vehicle shows the future of the Aventador line, and all were sold out long before this debut.
Already an internet sensation, the ultra-exclusive Huayra BC was displayed alongside eight “regular” Huayras, making the Pagani booth a very popular attraction. First known as the “winged” Pagani, the BC takes the Huayra over the edge with even more performance and a lighter-weight chassis.
The Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG003) is a completely custom built supercar, brought to us by James Glickenhaus, famed owner of the P4/P5 bespoke builds from Ferrari (Enzo based). Surprisingly, the SCG003 is powered by a (wait for it)… 3.5L, twin-turbo V6 derived from a Honda Performance Development block. VTEC definitely kicked in on this one, yo!
This was only a small sample of the amazing (and very costly) machinery at The Quail. Want some perspective of how much actual money was parked in a single location? Here’s an easy $18 million worth of Bugattis in this picture alone…perhaps the $600 entry fee isn't so bad after all?
