Not much can be said about The Quail automotive event that hasn’t been already. Held on Friday, August 14th at The Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel-By-The Sea. It was the must-attend event on that day. When one stays at a “car show” from 8:30am to 4pm as an attendee, you know it is something very special. I was barely able to wrap my head around its awesomeness, I finally set out to experience a variety of cuisines and they were amazing. This year the show expanded across the street at the expense of very close parking to include additional displays, vendors and food tents.

Ferrari was prominently on display this year, whether it was the spectacular custom coachbuilt Ferraris that seemed underappreciated, a gaggle of F50s which is almost unheard of in the US or a couple of LaFerraris with stunning paintwork.

Other categories were the Long Tail Cars of Le Mans, Iconic Pre-1965 Porsches, Pre-War Sports & Racing, Post-War Sports, Supercars, and Sports & Racing Motorcycles. The manufacturer displays were amazing as always. BMW in the center with their colorful 3.0 CSL Hommage R, Bentley had their stunning 1/1 EXP 10 Speed 6, Lamborghini President Stephan Winkelmann presented the world debut of the Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadster, Pagani had a large display with a bunch of cars cleverly spread out for lots of photo opportunities. Porsche had the 911 GT3 RS and the previous generation RS 4.0. Also, Acura, Audi, Cadillac, Koenigsegg, Lincoln, Maserati, Rolls Royce (that Wraith!) and others all had the latest or amazing on their stages. The stunning Speedback GT, a rebodied, reimagined Jaguar XKR by David Brown Automotive harkened back to the days of custom coachwork sports cars.

Speaking of custom, the Coachbuilt Ferraris were extra special. Based on the blazing fast F12 grand tourer, the elegance of the Touring Superleggera Berlinetta Luso matched the name beautifully. Another highlight was the visit by the Ford GT350s who were racing and hotlapping at nearby Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. And several of those GT350s were brand new if you catch my drift…

The food pavilions featuring the cuisines from Bangkok, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Hong Kong, New York and Paris were absolutely delicious, representing locations of the Peninsula Hotels. Spending the entire day from media preview to close meant sampling nearly everything. Unfortunately, this meant missing the nearby Bonhams Auction although the walk there was like attending an exotic car show in itself. In the other direction, the Porsche Zentrum building featured the Porsche Cayman GT4.

Always entertaining, the Fireside Chat with German Formula One Champion Jochen Mass delighted the crowd with accounts of his 114 Formula One World Championship Grand Prix races while interviewed by Alain de Cadenet. British Sports Car Racing Champion DerekBell and his son, Justin Bell, British race car driver and renowned U.S.-based media personality traded stories from their combined decades-long careers on the main stage .

In the morning, The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, joined by William E. Connor and Christian Philippsen opened the day by detailing plans for a new international automotive award, The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best. Starting in 2016, the new award will bring together the best of show winners from six of the top concourse events from around the globe to The Quail stage, to compete for the title of the most exceptional car in the world. Truly a destination event in itself.

This year, the Best of Show went to the 1968 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale seen in the slideshow. Exclusive, and expensive, The Quail is a unique and splendid experience that every enthusiast should include on their bucket list.

Album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.695515513886496.1073741863.378354382269279&type=1&l=741e8d23f3

The 12th The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering held at The Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel on Friday, August 15th was another epic gathering of the finest automobiles in the world. Entering through the entrance hall, a perfect sized venue awaits where one should prepare to have your senses reeling.

The exclusive event admission is $550 per adult, $100 for children under 12 for those registered and in the computerized lottery. The event supports Rancho Cielo, the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation and the CHP 11-99 Foundation charities. Admission goes far beyond the finest performance oriented automobiles. There were six gourmet food pavilions that had amazing cuisines from around the world. Parking is excellent, and quite honestly, a car show in itself. There was live entertainment and free admission to the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction a walk or shuttle rife to the west side of the property. Also included were signature wines, champagne and cocktails, an event poster and magazine.

One ultra-cool part of the event was the fireside chat with Wayne Carini, Nick Mason, the drummer from Pink Floyd who is an avid collector and racer; Neal Schon, car enthusiast and guitarist from Journey and Santana; and Sir Jackie Stewart, three time Formula 1 world champion.

The first display noticed is the Bugatti Veyron collection. An amazing gathering of rolling sculpture and art, each with over twelve hundred horsepower tucked behind the passenger compartment. These were special editions, “Les Légendes de Bugatti”, honoring some of the more significant people and vehicles in the company’s history with special finishes and designs. Each of the six models is based on the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, all together for the first time.

The Supercars thankfully had a Porsche 918 parked next to an exposed carbon fiber McLaren P1. Outrageously curvy, it was possibly done a disservice due to the unpainted, high tech surface. However there was a green P1 in the parking lot. Conspicuously absent again this year was the LaFerrari.

Special displays were 100th Anniversary of Maserati, Competition Mustangs, a Tribute to India and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Traditional Classes featured included: Pre-War Sports and Racing, Post-War Sports, Post-War Racing and Super Cars, The Great Ferraris and Sports and Racing Motorcycles. Multiple manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Audi, Cadillac, Lincoln and Porsche also had their latest cars on
display.

Test drives were occurring from Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover, Infiniti, and Cadillac. Lamborghini was also present with their global unveiling of the Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo race car. Jaguar had the F-TYPE Project 7 and the prototype of the new Lightweight EType. A Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Waterspeed was displayed. With Rolls-Royce was Burgess, the superyacht leader
unveiling their exciting new Waterspeed Collection. The big Bentley display featured the big, bad Continental GT3-R.

After making a quick initial tour of the event before lunch and the crowds, I grabbed a margarita from Sammy Hagar’s Beach Bar Rum station. While taking in the moment with a cool breeze, a delicious citrus drink with a sweet kick, Paganis on my left, classic and modern Ferraris in front and on my right with mountains in the background, a kind of nirvana set in. I knew in that moment there was no better place in the world for a car enthusiast. It was an alcohol fuel injected heavenly wonderland for foodies of horsepower and automotive history.

The Quail 2014 photo album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.540483342723048.1073741839.378354382269279&type=1&l=02d20682a7