Monterey Car Week: What to expect
Here are the highlights from California’s must-see motoring events
Each year for a week in August in one of the most exclusive areas of California, thousands of the world’s finest and most expensive cars descend.
Culminating various events, including the well-known Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and The Quail, it’s now regarded as Monterey Car Week, due to the sheer array for motoring fans to look at.
Due to the fact it attracts the well-heeled from across the USA, and further afield, it’s also become the place various manufacturers choose to show off their new cars. Here’s what to expect at the upcoming Monterey Car Week, starting today, August 11, and running until August 20.
Aston Martin’s new mystery model
Aston Martin is being tight-lipped about what it will be showing at Pebble Beach as it marks its 110th anniversary, though the British firm has said there will be a ‘world-first new model reveal’ taking place on August 18.
It’s rumoured that the firm will show off its DB12 Volante – the drop-top version of its new sporting model, though we will have to wait to see it for certain. What we do know is that Aston Martin will show off its exclusive Valour for the first time.
New BAC supercar
BAC might be based in Liverpool, but it will be trekking across the Atlantic to show off its new supercar. Standing for Briggs Automotive Company, BAC develops single-seat road cars, called the ‘Mono’.
This new model ‘will ait alongside the Mono R in the brand’s expanding supercar line-up’, the firm has said and will add a ‘new dimension’ to its line-up. Few other details are known at this stage, but it’s quite a big deal for BAC to have an official presence at Monterey Car Week. It will have its own ‘ranch’ near Carmel, where The Quail event is held, with the supercar being revealed on August 17.
Bugatti’s hand-painted Chiron Super Sport
When picking your new car from a dealer, you might have a special ‘reveal’ or ‘handover’ process. But for the lucky owner of this new Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, it will be a far more high-profile affair as they will be presented with their new hypercar at Monterey Car Week.
Called the ‘Golden Era’, Bugatti says it’s the ‘most challenging bespoke project’ it’s ever undertaken, and took two years to create. It’s strictly a one-off, with a specific gold fade colour created, along with hand-painted sketches of Bugatti’s most famous past models.
The ‘Ultimate Barn Find’ of Ferraris
Monterey Car Week isn’t just about exclusive motoring events, but it’s also about auctions. One of the most significant at this year’s Pebble Beach is the ‘Lost and Found’ collection of Ferraris. Including 20 significant vintage models from the firm, they have all been unearthed from a warehouse in Indianapolis.
The Ferraris are far from pristine, however, as they were largely damaged in 2004 in Hurricane Charley, which caused widespread damage to the Florida barn the cars were hiding in. They are all being sold without reserve on August 17.
Lamborghini’s electric concept car
Lamborghini is renowned for its V10 and V12 supercars and transferring that expertise into the electric age is going to be tricky. The Italian marque will use Monterey Car Week to show off a new concept car that previews its first EV.
Lamborghini has been very thin on detail surrounding the concept, either than the firm saying it will show the ‘first prototype of its “fourth model”’. The EV is due on sale in 2028, with a range of hybrid models due on sale before then.
Mercedes-AMG GT
One of the most exciting new reveals expected at Monterey Car Week is of the Mercedes-AMG GT. Developed exclusively by the firm’s AMG performance division, Set to be one of the sportiest models ever from Mercedes, it rivals models like the Porsche 911.
The new AMG GT will debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 17, where it will also be joined by a special-edition version of the brand’s SL convertible, showcasing its extensive customisation operations.
