Skip to main content

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering was a visual and digestive feast

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering held on Friday, August 18th once again proved itself to be the finest gathering imaginable for cars, food and drink. Held at The Quail Lodge Golf Club in Carmel Valley, this year it expanded once again and featured another world class gathering of greats.

Pictures can barely capture what is seen in person. The Bugatti Chiron, Bentley’s entire display, Pagani with multiple cars, Singer Porsche, the 50th Anniversary of the Lamborghini Miura lined up like a bunch of sexy skittles, 100th anniversary of BMW with a couple of F1s (street and GTR long tail race car) a bunch of Z8s off in the corner, great Ferraris, super cars and much more.

Lamborghini introduced the Centario Roadster and also a present was a Miura Homage Aventador and Huracan Spyder. Porsche had a very clean display with the revered 911R as the centerpiece. Ken Okuyama design introduced a stunning one off V12 front engine roadster called Kode57. This is a judged car show, the winner being a 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Spyder. The only black Maserati MC12 produced made women and men weak in the knees.

Now in the inaugural year, the The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award was awarded to the stunning 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS, Chassis No. 90106 Coupé aérodynamique ‘Goutte d’Eau’, Figoni & Falaschi. It was chosen among six of the world’s finest automobiles from top concours events internationally, to compete for the title of the most exceptional car in the world. Of the contenders, the most recent model year was 1968. The judging panel was twenty-four of among the most renowned designers, collectors and enthusiasts. Unfortunately it was in one of the food tents rather on a turntable on prominent display. If you’re a foodie, plan on eating multiple gourmet meals with menus from Beverly Hills, Chicago, New York and Paris.

Among various vendors, the achingly gorgeous stone automobile sculptures from Kellen Silverthorn http://kellensilverthornsculptures.com/ captured the essence of the rolling sculpture at the event. Using a high tech process with careful staging, locations, props, photoshop and expert photography, Unique & Limited s.r.o. from the Czech Republic doesn’t capture magic, they create it with incredible scenes of cars and even aircraft. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen and a must if you collect automotive art. http://www.unique-limited.com/

Outside the show, Porsche has a destination display in itself and on the opposite side, the Bonhams auction took place. The program and poster themselves are collector quality. Of course a car enthusiast would just go crazy here, it’s so good, so overwhelming, when it’s over you don’t even want to leave. You secretly hope a car is left over on the field and you’re asked to drive it away. Instead, you reluctantly leave, the greatness gently tugging at your soul, with memories and photos to hold you over until next year.

Album here:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.869913093113403.1073741876.378354382269279&type=1&l=46b1b92b1f

Scott Campbell Photography







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sixth generation Camaro V6 review

Chevrolet updated the chassis of the Camaro for 2016 with the new Alpha platform and by all accounts the approximately 250 to 300lb weight reduction was a huge improvement. Despite having a brilliant chassis and three powerful engine choices, the interior and outward visibility hardly improved at all. I wanted to like this car, I really did. It has some really good aspects but overall it’s only good for going in a straight line, not reverse or backing up out of any parking space, on public roads or modified into a track-only car.  You decide if the interior justifies a $29,000 MSRP. The 2017 model is essentially the same. The 335hp V-6 is a great engine, responsive, sounds good and with the quick shifting 8 speed automatic, the car is capable of mid-high 13 second quarter mile ETs. It feels every bit as quick as the numbers suggest. It has no appreciable dead spots and has an excellent pull. The 8 speed auto is finicky on the highway though, downshifting at the slightest provocatio...

Nissan GT-R Review and Test Drive: Part 1 of 2

Click here for Part 2 of 2: Driving the Beast There were quite a few surprises driving the awesome and controversial Nissan GT-R. Having the opportunity to drive one on a twisty mountain road favored by motorcyclists was a thrill. It’s very “mechanical”, quite large and my impression more of a competitor to the Audi R8 than the Porsche 911 Twin Turbo. Background: This 2010 model has about 2000 miles on it. The MSRP was over $80,000. It features a 6-speed dual clutch paddle-shift rear transaxle. The 3.8 liter twin-turbo V-6 produces 485 hp at 6400rpm and 434 ft. lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. Known for consistent deep 3-second 0-60mph blasts and high 11-second quarter mile times, the biggest controversy was the factory reported Nurburgring time of 7:29, beating far lighter, 600 hp plus cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Pagani Zonda F. The owner has had some notable cars in the past and is no stranger to track days. Cars like a track prepped Acura NSX, two E46 BMW M3s, and an ’04 Porsche ...

The San Francisco Auto Show is rolling at the Moscone Center

The 59 th annual San Francisco Auto show returned this past Saturday, November 19 th through November 27 th at the Moscone Center in downtown San Francisco. Always a bargain to view over 800 vehicles at $10 for adults and children under 12 free. This year expanded further the emphasis on electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. Test drives are offered with thirty vehicles by six different manufacturers including Mercedes and Fiat. Multiple special guests are scheduled throughout the week such as local sports mascots, the Raiderettes, radio and television personality Gary Radnich and more. The Auto Salon which featured modified cars, trendsetters in an eclectic collection. It is in the south hall on the upper level. The signage needs to be increased, but it’s worth a visit. Yes, there were the broken-axle appearing stanced cars and plenty of lowered sedans, but there are some gems as well. Photography is a bit of a challenge due to the cars being too close together, but it’s a...