Photo by Brett Berk
The Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance, the best vintage-car show on the planet, is now also one of the world?s most exclusive showrooms.
Aston Martin and Maserati each opened a pop-up in the Carmel Plaza pedestrian shopping area, around the corner from Tiffany and Bottega Veneta. McLaren took over the Bernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley, a 26-acre spa and organic winery. Bugatti hosted a Grand Tour drive from Santa Barbara to Monterey, with luxurious meals and accommodations en route and on site. And for the second year running, Ferrari transformed a former gas station on Route 1 into Casa Ferrari, a leather-lined terracotta-roofed site modeled on founder Enzo Ferrari?s house on the famed Fiorano Circuit.
In each location, the champagne was flowing, the cheese boards were groaning, and vintage cars from the marque were present to accentuate history. But, somewhere in a corner, if you were interested, a sales associate was available to take an order, and a specialist was on hand to help you begin the process of ?bespoking? your six- or seven-figure automobile. The Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance, and the program of preceding events that have come to make up Monterey Car Week held last month in its namesake California county, is the world?s premier collector car event, littering California?s Carmel Valley with priceless classics from the automobile?s first century. But there is also, increasingly, a strong presence from contemporary carmakers, looki...