Monterey Car Week
AUG 6-15
before the Great Cancellation of 2020, there were grumblings among certain automotive cognoscenti that Monterey Car Week had become too corporate, too diffuse, the once-stringent standards sunk too low. (Remember Hyundai? At Pebble Beach?)
But what a difference a lockdown year makes. With the world’s greatest car show back on the calendar, those complaints now sound like churlish griping during a tour of Mr. Wonka’s chocolate factory. The sheer wonderment on display, no matter where you look, is nothing short of magical: Concorso Italiano, the Tour d’Elegance, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the Quail, Dawn Patrol, the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach on concours day—the list goes on. But our favorite events amid this sheet-metal bacchanalia remain the auctions, where you can watch genuine automotive icons cross the block— and, should your checkbook pack enough punch, score one for yourself. Our pick this year: a pristine, ultra-low-mileage 1995 McLaren F1, chassis no. 029, offered by Gooding & Company during its auctions on August 13 and 14 and expected to go for over
$15 million. Save the dates.