We stopped by The Inn At Spanish Bay, within Pebble Beach, for a press event and found some tasty cars in the parking lot. This was the first one we noticed, a brand new Aston Martin Vanquish. Enjoy.
Continue reading Spotted! Aston Martin Vanquish, Pebble Beach, CA
Jay Leno was given the honor of being the first person outside McLaren to get behind the wheel of the new P1 hypercar. Incidentally, he has also placed an order for a yellow P1, so I’m sure that factored into McLaren’s decision.
This video shows some great insights into the car, and its technology. Including how the P1’s electric motor runs through the transmission. You can also visibly see the difference in the car’s ride between Normal and Race modes.
Enjoy.
-Nick
While at Monterey Car Week, we saw this incredible 1948 Tucker Torpedo numerous times. This was the first time that either Al or myself had seen a Tucker on public roads, so we made sure to get photos.
The first time we saw it was in Carmel, right as we were arriving for the Tour d’Elegance. We saw it cross the street a block down, realized it was a Tucker, and then I proceeded to sprint a block and a half to catch it. After that, Al was able to shoot it while we were in the car a few times, once in Monterey and once in Carmel.
Only 51 of these masterpieces were ever produced. They were way ahead of their time technologically, with a rear-mounted flat-6 engine (yes like a Porsche), and a center headlamp that turned with the steering wheel, among other things. They made a movie about Preston Tucker and his car, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in a great story. The Tucker is a legendary piece of American automotive history, and it was beyond thrilling to catch one out in the wild. Enjoy.
Back when Rolls Royce and Bentley sailed under the same flag, it was often said that a Bentley was a car to drive and a Rolls Royce was a car to be driven in. The two companies have now been split up for over a decade, with Bentley owned by Volkswagen and Rolls Royce under BMW. Since their separation both brands have had to branch out a bit, but for Rolls Royce, branching out has come to mean venturing into some unexplored territory.
Rolls Royces have traditionally been focused on the concerns of their rear occupants, aiming to preserve comfort at all costs, even if the chauffeur goes completely mad. The car you see here, Rolls Royce describes as being a “gentleman’s grand tourer”, and the most powerful car they’ve ever made. It is the new Rolls Royce Wraith, and no part of it has anything to do with being chauffeured. The Wraith is a driver’s Rolls Royce, and to many, that may seem a vast ideological conflict.
Continue reading Test Driven: 2014 Rolls Royce Wraith, Nick’s Take (9.5/10)
The high-pitched wail of an Italian V12 echoes off of the buildings in downtown Monterey, California, not an uncommon occurrence during Monterey Car Week. I look down the road, expecting to see a low, brightly-colored supercar, but instead I am greeted by a monstrous black Humvee-looking thing with massive tires… this is a Lamborghini LM002. He accelerates again and barrels past me with that Bizzarrini V12 howling.
It is difficult to place that sort of supercar-esque sound into the context of an off-road behemoth. Most such vehicles have huge thundering V8s or loud, clattering diesel engines, but the LM002 has a V12 that just screams. This was the first time I’d ever seen one in traffic, and heard its engine opened up. Despite being a different sort of Lamborghini, the LM002 definitely still has the same sort of shocking impact as a Countach or a Diablo. It is huge, it is menacing, and it will gladly feast on your children, so best move your Prius to the side.
We saw this hot rodded Cadillac Lasalle Scraper in Carmel during the Tour d’Elegance. Hoards of people came to see the Concours cars drive into Pebble Beach, and this gem was parked off on one of the side streets. Other than the owner dubbing it “Low Salle”, I don’t know any details on this Lasalle gone Bad (yes, with a capital B). I just love the quality of the workmanship though, and the whole idea of taking a well-mannered luxury car and turning it into a “Bad Mofo” is extremely appealing to me. Enjoy the pics.
Continue reading Spotted! Cadillac Lasalle Scraper Hot Rod, Carmel, CA
While touring the paddock of the 2013 Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, we came across race car after race car. Then we rounded a corner and found this unbelievable green 1948 Delahaye 135MS Chapron Cabriolet. It literally “stole the show” for me with its two-tone green paint job and immaculate details. Even surrounded by some of the greatest racing cars of all time, this French masterpiece was still just breathtaking.
As we poured over the car, capturing its beautiful details, the owner rolled up, fresh from a race heat, in a Bugatti Type 37. Its bare metal finish was striking, and its exposed rivets were, well, riveting. This lineup of pre-war french cars in the paddock really made my day, and they even had coordinated the color of their table cloth with the green of the Delahaye.
There were so many epic racing cars in the paddock that day, but this combo of the Bugatti for the track and the Delahaye for the street was by far my favorite single bay. Enjoy the photos of these magnificent cars.
Recently my family and I went up to Minnesota and visited my Great Uncle Bill. It was my first time at Uncle Bill’s house, a beautiful log cabin that he built with his own hands. Uncle Bill is a bonafide car guy, who still owns the Ford Model T that he bought when he was in the 8th grade. He also has another Model T, a Model A, and the silver Mercedes 560 SL you see here. After showing me around the garage, he asked if I wanted to take a drive in the Mercedes. Me being me, wanting to drive anything and everything, I jumped at the opportunity. Nice day, beautiful car, and some solid quality time with my uncle Bill, the situation was pretty ideal.
Continue reading A Quick Drive In My Uncle Bill’s Mercedes 560 SL
The Quail is probably the most exclusive show during Monterey Car Week. The best cars are always in attendance, many of which don’t even show up at Pebble Beach — despite Pebble Beach being the far more prestigious event. There is some political BS surrounding the event that I could address, but frankly, I only care about the cars.
Put simply, the Quail is absolutely the show to go to on the Friday of Monterey Car Week, provided you can get in. Every event on the Monterey Peninsula is worth checking out, but the comparative quality of the automotive crop at this event is staggering, even with the high standards of the other events. We got there a bit late because of prior engagements that day, but I we still managed to see most of the event. I’m going to just let the pictures do the talking from here. Enjoy.
We have just had a mighty few days in the midst of the automotive Valhalla that is Monterey Car week, but the capstone event is surely the most grand of all, and that is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
This is an event where champions compete against champions. At any other event, every participant in the Pebble Beach Concours would likely win best of show. The field of automobiles is just plain unbelievable — the second you think you’ve seen everything, something incredible catches your eye. This is a place where a Lamborghini Miura may go overlooked, a place where everywhere you look, there is something astonishing to take in. This is la creme de la creme de la creme of automobiles.
Pebble Beach was once again kind enough to grant us media passes for this event, for which we are extremely grateful. I definitely feel like we put it all to good use this year, capturing tons of material to be used over the coming months. This is a highlight gallery of the event that aims to wet your appetite for what’s to come. Enjoy the photo gallery, and check back for much more from the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Continue reading Highlights from the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The last few days have been pretty unbelievable. We have had a fantastic time at the Monterey Car Week, and are now in the process of returning, and recovering, from the festivities. We have amassed many months of material after seeing scores of incredible automobiles at the many events, as well as on the street as you see here.
This is the first Pagani Huayra I have laid eyes on in person, and what a magnificent sight it was. This is the first US-spec Huayra, and its exposed carbon fiber finish over red leather interior is nothing short of immaculate. This is just a short gallery from when we spotted the car on the streets of Monterey, CA on Thursday. We saw the car again the next day at the Quail, and I got a much better set of photos.
The story of this spot is kind of a funny one. Al and I had both seen the car separately earlier in the day, but it was while we were behind the wheel of Jaguar F-Types, so we couldn’t really get pictures. So now, out on the streets, the hunt for the Huayra was on!
We did some spotting in Carmel, CA for much of the evening. We saw some unbelievable cars there, but no Pagani Huayra. With the light fading we decided to take a swoop through Monterey’s Cannery Row to see what cars we could find there. As we turned past the Plaza Hotel, I started saying “Come on Huayra. Come on Huayra!” Then, right up the road, I recognized a certain shape, a wide car sticking out between normal cars. It was unmistakable, it was the Huayra!
Then, low and behold, as we slow down and approach the car, the door pops up and out steps none other than Horacio Pagani himself. We pull up along side, yelling in excitement, and Mr. Pagani happily thanked his adoring fans. We then found a parking spot and went back to grab these photos, some in front of the restaurant, and some at the Plaza Hotel. This was the cherry on top of our first day, and there was much more to come. Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for much more!
The M6 has been extremely controversial for me, and I have often been quite negative about it in the past. My central issue is the sort of idealistic clash between what the M-badge stands for, and the fact that this new M6 weighs in at a behemoth 4600lbs. As the flagship high performance car for a company who claims to make “The Ultimate Driving Machine” this raises, for me, not only the question of validity, but also the question of integrity.
BMW’s M Division has made some of the greatest driver’s cars of all time, but now I have to question if their name holds the same distinction as it used to. Judging things on paper is always just half the story, though. I really needed to drive a car for myself before I could pass full judgement on it. Luckily, I was recently afforded the opportunity to get behind the wheel of this M6 Convertible. So, it’s time to drop the gavel.
Continue reading Test Driven: 2014 BMW M6 Convertible (9.5/10)
Mind Over Motor 