2014 Monterey Car Week in Pictures

[Michael Stoops]

Last week was the 2014 edition of what has become known as Monterey Car Week due to the number of events running through the week, culminating in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, generally considered to be the greatest car show in the world.

As always, Meguiar's either sponsors or is a vendor at many of the events taking place during the week. This year was no exception as we had a presence at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, Concorso Italiano at it's new venue (Black Horse Golf Course), RM Auctions at their usual setting at the Portola Hotel & Spa in the heart of Monterey, and of course the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Links.

The following four posts contain images from these events, along with a brief description of the vehicle (with a few exceptions). If you were at any of these events, please feel free to add pictures of your own along with comments on your experience.

Enjoy!

[Michael Stoops]

Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion

Our week kicked off with the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, which runs for multiple days. If you're into classic racing of any kind, this is a must see event. Name a type of auto race and it's represented here. Walking the pits and talking with car owners, or sitting on the top of the hill to watch - and listen to - the cars dropping off the top of the corkscrew, is simply not to be missed.

It was a bit foggy at 7:30AM as we were setting up, but the weather cleared quickly and the rest of the day was sunny and beautiful.


The 1914 Mercedes Grand Prix racer that won the 1914 French Grand Prix - the final Grand Prix before the outbreak of WWII. The car next to it won the 1915 Indy 500 with Ralph DePalma behind the wheel.


1934 Morgan 3 Wheeler.


Morgan Factory Trials car. This was the car Morgan used for development work as they began to move away from building just 3 wheelers. Gone is the V-twin engine sitting up front, replaced by a Ford inline 4 cylinder engine under the hood, behind the radiator. This is also the first Morgan built with a steel frame instead of wood. This weekend was the car's first time on a race track since 1936.


A little work being done on a Trans-Am era Chevy Camaro.


A row of Lotus sports-racers from the 1960s


Ex Sam Posey Dodge Challenger from the Trans-Am Series.


McLaren F1


Alfa Romeo TZ1. Built from 1963 to 1967, the TZ1 featured a tubular spaceframe chassis (the "T" in TZ) and a body designed by Zagato (the "Z" in TZ).


1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B (P3). This is the very car that Tazio Nuvolari drove to victory at the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, beating the much larger and more powerful Mercedes Benz and Auto Union teams funded by the German government.




1969 Ferrari 365 GTB Daytona




Jaguar D-Type. It was with the D-Type that Jaguar won LeMans in 1955, 1956 and 1957.




Porsche 917, the monster that won LeMans in 1970 and 1971.



The Chrysler Saratoga raced by John Fitch in the 1951 Carrera Panamericana.





Ferrari 250 GTO. One of these sold during the week at Bonhams for $38 million and this one was being thrashed around the track. Yep, it's easily worth as much as the one that sold at auction!


Maserati Tipo 61. Looking at all that small diameter tubing that makes up the chassis, it's easy to see why it was nicknamed "Birdcage".


1925 Bugatti Type 35C Grand Prix racer. The Type 35 is the winningest Grand Prix car in history, with over 1,000 race wins to it's credit. The car was hugely successful for Bugatti not only in terms of race wins, but sheer number of vehicles sold. It is estimated that during the height of the Type 35s racing era they averaged 14 race wins per week world wide! Type 35s won the Targa Florio five years in a row.


A trio of French racers from the 1930s: from front to back, a Talbot, Delahaye, and Delage.


Sports racers dropping into the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca.




That Ferrari 365 GTB Daytona again.


Ferrari 250 LM. One of these sold at RM Auctions later in the week for $11,550,000.


Big wings from the Can-Am series.

[Michael Stoops]

Concorso Italiano

A celebration of all things Italian, Concorso Italiano showcases the very best of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and cars from other countries that carry Italian designed coachwork.


Let's start at the top with the car that won "Best Finish", a 1965 Maserati Mistral Spyder that was prepped by a graduate of our NXT Institute training program!


1962 Maserati 3500GT with body by Frua


1947 Cisitalia


1985 Lamborghini Jalpa


Lamborghini Countach



A row of Ferrari Dinos


A rare factory bumper delete Ferrari Dino with a fuel injected engine instead of the usual triple carb set up.


1954 Plymouth Explorer concept with body by Ghia


A whole flock of DeTomaso Panteras


Lancia Beta Scorpion VX


Our booth. I did a couple of seminars on concours prep, and used that Ferrari 599 GTB as the demo car for the DA Microfiber Correction System.


1974 Alfa Romeo GTV


1965 Sunbeam Venezia with coachwork by Touring of Milan


1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 1600


1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciali


1954 Alfa Romeo 1900CSS


Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider


1957 Abarth Zagato 750 GT Corsa


1967 Fiat Dino (powered by the same engine as found in the Ferrari Dino)


Fiat X1/9


1966 Bizzarrini GT5300 Strada

[Michael Stoops]

RM Auctions

One of the largest auction houses specializing in the collector car market, RM Auctions has built a reputation on offering some of the finest and most exclusive automobiles on earth. This year in Monterey was no exception.

1961 Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster with Rudge knockoff wheels. Sold at $1,375,000


1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe by Pinin Farina. Sold at $2,750,000


1971 Lamborghini Miura SV. Sold at $2,090,000


Inside the main salon of RM Auctions.


1966 Ferrari 275 GTS by Pininfarina. Sold at $1,760,000


1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale by Scaglietti. Sold at $26,400,000 (no, that is not a typo)


1965 Aston Martin DB5. Sold at $1,650,000 Mr. Bond, your car is ready.


1967 Toyota 2000GT. Sold at $1,045,000


1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Coupe Cabriolet. Not sold at $3,325,000. This photo does not even begin to describe how enormous this car is!!


1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype. Sold at $6,930,000


1961 Aston Martin DB4. Not sold at $290,000. Call this a barn find if you will, but looking at the engine bay it's obvious that the mice "found" this car a long, long time ago.


1948 Tucker 48. Sold at $1,567,500


1954 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint Coupe by Ghia. Sold at $330,000


1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale. Sold at $660,000


1956 Arnolt-Bristol Deluxe Roadster. Sold at $550,000


1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti. Sold at $11,550,000


1963 Maserati 5000 GT by Frua. Not sold at $1,800,000


1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta. Sold at $775,500


1961 Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider. Sold at $1,017,500


1934 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Tourer with coachwork by Mayfair. Sold at $825,000


1967 Sunbeam Tiger Mk II. Sold at $231,000


1961 Maserati 3500 GT Coupe Speciale. Sold at $660,000

[Michael Stoops]

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Generally considered the greatest car show in the world, Pebble Beach brings in cars from all over the world and covers everything from classics to sports cars, race cars to concepts. This year featured marques included the 100th anniversary of Maserati, the Ferrari Testa Rossa, early steam powered cars, Fernandez et Darrin Coachwork, Tatra, and others.

The day starts before sunrise with what is known as "Dawn Patrol". This is when all the cars are brought onto the show field, and the rules state that they must drive in under their own power. It's a great chance to see and hear all these amazing cars before they're surrounded by the crowd of people that seems to grow throughout the day. And, since Meguiar's is a major sponsor of the event, we hand out some very nice goodie bags to all the entrants.

One of the first cars in line was this gorgeous 1958 BMW 503 Series II Cabriolet.


A great way to wake up in the morning.... a whole line of Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas with those incredible V12 engines.


The first of the Czechoslovakian Tatras, with our own Nick Winn handing out the goodie bag!


This 1908 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost was absolutely stunning.


1937 Chrysler Imperial C-15 LeBaron Town Car.


From the Preservation Class, a 1936 Horch 853 Cabriolet. Horch, along with Wanderer, DKW and Audi, is one of the four rings represented in the Auto Union logo. After WWII Auto Union ceased to exist and Audi rose from the ashes, keeping the familiar four interlinked rings as their logo.


1947 Tatra T87 Aerodynamic Saloon


A matched pair of Hispano-Suiza automobiles with coachwork by Fernandez et Darrin: on the left, a 1934 K6 Coupe Chauffeur, on the right a 1934 Coupe de Ville


1967 Ferrari 206 Dino Competizione Pininfarina Coupe


1948 Riley 2-1/2 Litre Walter Kong Transformable Saloon


1939 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Pourtout Coupe


The team from Distinct Detail in Phoenix, AZ giving final prep to the 1956 Maserati 150S Fantuzzi Monoposto they detailed for the event. That's Scott Nichols in the white shirt and Meguiar's apron standing behind the car, his partner Lisa working on the front fender, and MOL regular Christopher Brown at the rear tire. Christopher offered to assist with the prep on this car in the week leading up to Pebble Beach. Pictures on Facebook showed the car to be pretty well disassembled just days before the event! Paint polishing was mostly M100/M105 and M205 to achieve this amazing finish.


The rightfully very proud team - the car looked absolutely stunning!!


Scott, Lisa and Christopher prepped another car for the same owner, but this time it was done as more of a preservation style detail. Scott used a lot of M205 by hand so as not to remove too much of the patina, and hence history, of the car. How much history? Well, this 1955 Maserati 250F Monoposto was raced in period by Carroll Shelby and Sir Stirling Moss. Yes, that is indeed Sir Stirling Moss talking to yours truly about his exploits in this very car. Talk about an absolute thrill for me!!


1957 Ferrari 625 TRC Scaglietti Spyder


1946 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 S Pinin Farina Cabriolet Special.


Yes, that's a bottle of Ultimate Quik Detailer that Dale is using to give this car some final pop. Dale prepped this car with M105 and M205.


The car, by the way, is a 1954 SIATA 200CS. SIATA only built 18 coupes, and this is the first of 11 bodied by Balbo. Power for this small car comes from a Fiat 8 cylinder engine.


A very unique Jaguar XK120 OTS. With major revisions to the body work, and a bubble top for the driver, this car was used for speed trials by Jaguar, setting a World Land Speed Record of just over 172 miles per hour in 1953. The car was driven by Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis on that day, and on this day at Pebble Beach Mr Dewis again drove the car, this time up on the ramp to collect an award.


1953 Pegaso Z-102 Touring Spyder


1949 Talbot-Lago T26 GS Franay Coupe


A whole collection of Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas



1908 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Everything you see that looks like chrome on this car is, in fact, polished silver plate.


1929 Rolls Royce Phantom I Brewster Riviera Town Car


1937 BMW 328 Wendler Cabriolet


1933 Auburn 12-165 Salon Speedster


1932 Jordan G Playboy Roadster. This car was prepped for the event by Richard Lin of Show Car Detailing (better known on MOL as OctaneGuy). Again, M100 and M205 were used to achieve this finish. We've seen pictures of the car when it arrived at Richard's shop and it was in a pretty sorry state - lots of swirls everywhere! Obviously that is no longer the case as the car looked immaculate on the lawn at Pebble.


1936 Delage D6-70 Figoni & Falaschi Milord Cabriolet


1892 Philion Road Carriage. One of the Steamer Class cars on display. Can you imagine this being your mode of transport?


1952 Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupe


1937 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet A


1938 Talbot-Lago T23 Figoni & Falaschi Faux Cabriolet


Another Preservation Class car, a 1954 Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ Zagato Coupe


Barry Meguiar handing out a Preservation Class award to that 1936 Horch 853 Cabriolet


One of the Steamer Class cars in motion, a 1902 Toledo Model A Stanhope Runabout


Remember that 1914 French Grand Prix winning Mercedes Benz from the Monterey Historic Races post above? Well, it was a case of "race on Saturday, show off at Pebble Beach on Sunday" for this car.



We close with the car that won Best of Show, a 1954 Ferrari 375MM Scaglietti Coupe. Bodied by Scaglietti specially for film director Roberto Rossellini, it sits on a repurposed 375MM race car chassis. This year's selection for Best of Show marks the first time since 1968 that a car built after WWII received the award, and the first time ever that the award was given to a Ferrari.






Rolling up on the ramp as the confetti canons fire off, the Best of Show winning Ferrari claims it's award to close the day.

[Eldorado2k]

Wow that's alot of great pics, Mike! Great write up, wish I could've been there._. Looks like the cream of the crop indeed. I'm jealous of Nick..

[Tim909]

Wowww!! Aren't Mike's write ups Awesome!!! Thanks for taking so many pics and then taking the time to go through them and upload the best shots.

[BillE]

Re: 2014 Monterey Car Week in Pictures

WOW!

Kinda beyond words to describe it all. Sterling Moss? I AM impressed, that was a driver/man who always impressed me. Thought he had passed some years back, happy to see I was wrong.

Thanx for the pics Mike...

Bill

[juliom2]

Re: 2014 Monterey Car Week in Pictures

Simply Beautiful!!!!
The essence of every automobile on display was capture on every shot.
And documentation second to none.
Love this thread.
Top notch shots Maestro!!

[Selectchoice]

Re: 2014 Monterey Car Week in Pictures

Thanks for posting the pics and putting together another awesome write up Mike!

Jealous, jealous, jealous.....