"They're everywhere. Everyone wants to be Shmee." As we pull into the Inn at Spanish Bay after dinner, our media group couldn't help but notice the massive influx of young, phone-in-hand content creators and car enthusiasts hovering around the Koenigsegg Gemera parked outside, with its Dihedral synchro-helix doors firmly propped up. Most of us scoffed and sighed but eventually we realized that this shift in demo is actually a good thing.
During our week at Monterey for the annual Monterey Car Week, we consistently saw this connection between the youth and the week's events and couldn't help but draw parallels to the car culture that we experience regularly. What is your run-of-the-mill cars & coffee at your local Starbucks parking lot has now evolved – for all intents and purposes – into The Quail. A track day at Buttonwillow draws track-prepped racers, not dissimilar to the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. Heck, you could even see similarities of the digital platform Bring A Trailer – with its commentary and community knowledge – personified during the RM Sotheby's auctions and even Concours d'Elegance.
It became apparent that Monterey Car Week – what was once the pinnacle automotive event of exclusivity, luxury, heritage and history – remains prestigious, but has expanded and broadened into a more youthful, inclusive and dare-we-say casual affair for car enthusiasts.
The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering – See the New New
With the demise of auto shows and a new strategy of "showrooms" that sell cars directly to consumers, there's been a significant shift in the traditional means for exploring new cars and concepts. The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering could very well be the new gold standard when it comes to this.
We attended The Quail back in 2021 and since then, we noticed a plethora of differences with the attendees. Of course the crowd has grown in size – 2021 was the first year returning after COVID-19 – but with this year, the guests' age range was drastically wider. A common theme we saw at all of the new car reveals involved the "social media influencer" and content creators desperate to capture the start up of an engine, the pulling of sheets off a new concept, roll ins and roll outs of vehicles, etc. While they were everywhere and in large crowds, at the end of the day most were respectful and did not impede too much on the Quail festivities.
Enthusiasts will forever be divisive... but the future is inevitably more eco-conscious and it seems the younger crowd is starting to understand and embrace this future.
That being said, it was enriching to encounter a younger demographic getting more and more interested in new vehicles. Lamborghini's latest announcement – the Temerario – garnered a mix reaction from those fortunate to see the reveal. We certainly heard our fair share of "that's a no for me dawg" and "too bad it's not a V12", but were balanced with remarks along the lines of "who cares (if its electrified), 1,000 hp is 1,000 hp" and "they just keep getting faster and faster." Similar sentiments were expressed at Rimac's Nevera R unveil. Enthusiasts will forever be divisive when it comes to the argument of hybrid, electric and ICE powertrains, but the future is inevitably more eco-conscious and it seems the younger crowd is starting to understand and embrace this future.
Alongside the more youthful attendees emerging, The Quail has become the hottest ticket of the year for car brands to announce their "new new." Heritage brands like Porsche, Lamborghini, Acura and Rolls-Royce, indie companies like Rimac and Marc Philipp Gemballa, and a swarm of restomod brands like Tuthill, Gunther Werks and Kalmar Automotive – all took the opportunity to announce or reveal their latest offerings. The energy felt very familiar to that of Auto Shows in the early 2000s and while The Quail may be more exclusive – $1295 USD for general admission, plus the cost of the highly pricey hotel rooms – OEMs are now taking full advantage of the prestige of the week to amplify the images of their products. Not to mention, their own digital marketing and social media of the younger attendees who scour the streets and parking lots "car spotting" for content is all the advertising they'll ever need, all thanks to one day in Monterey.
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion – Connecting Drivers Past and Present
Car culture naturally transcends simply walking around and "meet"ing them – cars are meant to be driven. Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion serves that purpose as an exhibition of race cars and racers, belting around Laguna Seca as they were meant to be.
Beyond its presence in almost every single racing game since the dawn of Gran Turismo, Laguna Seca is hollowed ground for any car enthusiast, and the energy felt is nothing short of magical. As we traversed the paddock area we were again surprised at the influx of a younger generation, who were shockingly getting up close and personal meeting racers, asking questions about their builds and collecting autographs. Fans flocked the grand stands and watched as both legacy racers like 1930s Alfas and Jaguars took on the corkscrew, just as much as more modern Porsches and BMWs took to the track. And the younger crowd seemed to take a liking to the entire range, rather than simply siding with their generations.
While one single event may not carve out one's entire future, it's believable that a major event like the Rolex Reunion could spark the racer in a budding car enthusiast. The goal therefore would be to ultimately transform them from a casual "cars & coffee" goer into an HPDE (High Performance Driving Experience) attendee or even competitive track day driver. Car culture embraces all levels of enthusiasm, so it's enlightening to have the Rolex Reunion nestled between two highly exclusive "meets" and expand the horizons for those who crave more than seeing hypercars they may or may not ever own, or static trillion-dollar Rolls-Royces.
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance – (Future) Classics
Perhaps the most intimidating event of the week – Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance – has gotten more youthful and "casual" while still maintaining the ultra-high society feel. But this is less about the audience, more about the curation and categories.
Historically, Concours d'Elegance has featured this century's greatest collection of rare, highly coveted, often vital–to-the-development-of-auto cars the planet has ever seen – think Ford Model T, 1920s Bentleys, pre-war Rolls-Royces and more. Recently however, the event has begun opening categories closer to the 21st century, with inclusions this year of as late as 1990s GT race cars. The vast audience were mind blown at the stunning McLaren F1 GTR Le Mans not only for its appearance and excellent condition, but because its Prototype street version was parked right next to it. The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR was another stunner, with not two but three examples in close proximity.
Sure the LM and GT racing vehicles belonged there for their historic importance and value, but the masses also flocked towards the crowd-pleasing Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars and Prototypes class, which featured the quirky triangular design language vehicles as modern as 2023. This allowed for more engagement from the guests who are a bit more familiar with these designs made popular by the Lancia Stratos and Lotus Esprit, while also piquing interest from the casual attendee. This year's show-stoppers in the category included the Honda HP-X by Pininfarina, the aforementioned Stratos HF Zero Bertone and – as seemingly misplaced in Concours d'Elegance as you can get – the "Lo-Res" black slab polygon car, constructed by United Nude and featured in Kendrick Lamar's "New Freezer" video.
With categories broadening to the 80s/90s and concept cars dating back to just last year, the selection appealed to a more diverse, youthful crowd that will serve to perpetuate Concours d'Elegance and Monterey Car Week as a whole for future generations to come.
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