The 2014 Quail A Motorsports Gathering is a Monterey Car Week exclusive treat

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