2016 Monterey Car Week Full Highlights
What a week. The 2016 Monterey Car Week is over and we’re exhausted.
The big event of course is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where the world’s collector cars meet and compete. Only the 200 best collector cars in the world roll onto the legendary 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links, and only a handful of those will receive official recognition for style, technical merit and historical accuracy.
But the Concours is only the final event in a packed week that celebrates classic automobiles through to modern hypercars. All over Monterey County, cars take to streets, golf courses, parks and the world-renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, surrounding visitors with automobiles from yesteryear.
There were auto shows and rallies throughout Monterey County offer car fans the chance to see historic and rare vehicles up close, with peeks both inside the car and under the hood.
While seeing classic cars on a golf course may be a treat, watching them compete on one of the world’s finest racetracks is a can’t-miss experience. Once again the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca did not let us down.
Their is lots of buying too. The Hyatt Regency Monterey hosted muscle cars, motorcycles and more during the Mecum Auction. “Sports and Muscle in Monterey” by Russo and Steele took over the waterfront of Old Fisherman’s Wharf. New auction houses had some nice sales while the big guns like Bonhams, RM Auctions and others sold some classic. Spectators saw and bid on rare automobiles, fine art and antique pieces throughout the week. The Pebble Beach Auction is one of the premier automotive auctions in the world and once again set some world records.
The 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance concluded with first-time entrant Richard Mattei lifting the top prize high overhead soon after his 1936 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet was named Best of Show at the prestigious competition.
The prelude to the main event, the Tour d’Elegance is an awe-inspiring drive that had to be re-routed this year. Nevertheless, we still got to see hundreds of vintage cars traverse the roads and show off their impeccable elegance. We never get sick of that.
For four action-packed days, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca hosted the finest collection of historic automobiles, gathered together for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. 15 classes of cars from every era of motor racing history participated.
And there was much much more. We couldn’t attend every event, party, show or auction but we do have our favorites. Below is our summary of the main events:
2016 Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival
Gordon McCall Motorworks Revival | 2016 Gordon McCall Motorworks Revival
2016 was the 25th annual McCall’s Motorworks Revival. The exclusive Wednesday night event drew several thousand guests who paid $395 to $550 to drink and enjoy the amazing collection of racing cars, vintage motorcycles and top airplanes and jets. Read more about the 2016 Gordon McCall Motorworks Revival.
2016 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering | 2016 The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
For fourteen years, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering has provided an unparalleled and exclusive experience for motorsports enthusiasts and collectors from around the world to enjoy rare collections of fine automobiles and motorcycles in a garden-party setting. As always, the exclusive event had an amazing collection of vintage sporting cars and today’s cream-of-the-crop luxury cars. Read more about the 2016 The Quail.
2016 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
About Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion | 2016 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion was held August 18 to 21, 2016, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The event gathered approximately 550 legendary pre and postwar race and sports cars that represent the pinnacle of their class. This year, 100 years of BMW was the featured marque. You name it, it was there. Every Porsche you can imagine. Plenty of BMW M1s. Formula One cars everywhere. I lost count of the Mustang GT350s and all the race-prepped Bentleys. Stuff even the most hardcore enthusiast has never heard of. Read more about the 2016 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
We also found some amazing videos of these historic cars on track. The guys at Racer.com outdid themselves this year with footage from the event. I encourage all car and racing fans to watch, it is utterly addictive to feel like you are in the drivers seat of these classic and historic race machines:
- Lotus 79 Formula 1 Video
- Porsche 908 Visor Cam with Gunnar Jeanette
- 1986 Porsche 962
- McLaren BMW F1 Visor Cam with Bill Auberlen
- Mazda RX-792P IMSA GTP Visor Cam
2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Previous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance | 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Originally a small social event paired with a road race through the pine and cypress forests of Pebble Beach, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has grown into the top-ranking collector car competition in the world.
The Pebble Beach Concours 2016 drew 228 cars from 16 countries and 30 states to the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Among the iconic marques and models featured at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance were Delahaye; Chapron Coachwork; 100 Years of BMW; Bizzarrini; Lamborghini Miura; Two-Man Indianapolis Race Cars 1930–1937 and BMW Motorcycles. The 50th Anniversary of the Ford GT40 Victory at Le Mans gathering occupied a place of honor this year.
Best of Show went to 1936 Lancia Asturia Pinin Farina Cabriolet, one of six similar cars built for a Lancia dealer in Biella, Italy. Read more about the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Notable 2016 Monterey Car Week Auction Results
2016 Pebble Beach Auction Results
Hagerty will have the final numbers soon but it appears this year was more of the same momentum with 724 of 1,273 lots being sold at a whopping $339.7 million in total. While that is down on last year it is hard to argue that this year wasn’t another screaming success for buyers and auction houses alike.
Hagerty said big-ticket sales were a huge chunk of the 2016 total, with record prices set for an American car (1962 Shelby Cobra 260, $13,750,000), a British car (1955 Jaguar D-Type roadster, $21,780,000) and a pre-war car (1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider, $19,800,000). Read more about the 2016 Pebble Beach Auction Results.
Announcements & New Cars
Singer Orange ‘Luxemburg’ Targa
Singer announced the debut of two new cars at this week’s Monterey Car Week. First up is the ‘Luxemburg’ Targa (every car coming out of Singer’s workshop is named after the place where the owner lives). The car is based on a donor 1990 Porsche 911 Targa, with a 390bhp four-litre flat-six engine providing power. Read more
Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6
This is the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 and Mercedes says it’s a throwback to the “glorious age of the aero coupes.” The massive 6-meter-long (18.5-foot) 2+2 concept car made its debut this weekend. Read more
BMW 2002 Hommage
BMW 2002 Hommage celebrates the birth of the turbocharged car. Design study pays tribute to legendary motor racing glories at the Concours d’Elegance in Pebble Beach. You may remember the BMW 2002 Hommage from our recent Best BMW Concept Cars. This week BMW traveled to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance during Monterey Car Week to introduce a new, heritage-laced concept called 2002 Hommage. Read more.
Bugatti Chiron at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering
Bugatti will be showing the world’s fastest, most powerful, most exclusive and most luxurious production super sports car at the renowned motoring event “The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering” in California. The Bugatti Chiron makes its official US premiere. So far, more than 200 of the 1,500 PS vehicles have been ordered. North America is one of Bugatti’s most important markets with about 30% of Chiron cars expected to make it to our shores. Read more.
Lamborghini Centenario Roadster
The Lamborghini Centenario Roadster has been unveiled at the Monterey Car Week today. Like the coupe that was announced earlier this year, the Roadster is limited to only 20 units and of course they are all already spoken for. I’ll have to take that $2.27 million and spend it on something else (and I’ll probably need to update our Top 50 Most Expensive Cars list too now that I think about it). Read more.
Vanquish Zagato Volante
Drop-top version of Zagato’s stunning Vanquish will be produced in a 99-model limited run. Aston Martin and Zagato used Pebble Beach to reveal the Vanquish Zagato Volante is the drop-top variant of the Vanquish Zagato revealed earlier this year at Villa d’Este.Aston Martin says it is being built due to ‘overwhelming customer interest’ in the coupe. Aston will manufacture a run of 99 cars. Read more.
