Top debuts during Monterey Car Week at the Quail

Monterey Car Week has always been a spectacle of wealth, rarity and extravagance, and there’s no better example than the Quail, a Motorsports Gathering.

What started out as a smaller concours d’elegance showcasing significant classic cars ahead of the famous Pebble Beach event has ballooned into a lifestyle soiree dotted with gourmet food tents, champagne stands and new vehicle debuts from nearly every exotic and boutique manufacturer. While the Goodwood Festival of Speed is much bigger, the Quail remains intimate and exclusive, with an annual lottery for the chance to buy tickets starting at around US$1,000 each (and much more for VIP packages).

The context behind the glamour is important; these are the people who actually buy the world’s most expensive cars, not the usual throng of casual onlookers. As such, manufacturers — and their design teams — mark the Quail in their annual diaries to rub elbows with their best established and prospective clients while indulging in hospitality provided by Peninsula Hotels, which has managed the event for the past several years.

This year we saw a whopping 17 press conferences during the day, ranging from traditional OEMs to small startups. Here are some of our favourites.

Maserati MCExtrema

Head of Maserati design Klaus Busse talked with us in Monterey (more on that coming soon), and gave us a personal walkaround of the MCExtrema, the marque’s race version of its MC20 halo car. With 730 hp and a dry weight of about 1,300 kg (about 2,866 lbs.), the track-focused car is built around a carbon-fibre monocoque like its siblings but is not street-legal. A product of Maserati’s creative and engineering partnership, the MCXtrema draws inspiration from the Maserati MC12 and is a testament to the brand’s sporting DNA. According to Maserati CEO Davide Grasso, the MCXtrema sets a new paradigm for track cars, reflecting the brand’s commitment to exceptional manufacturing and uncompromising performance. Only 62 units of the vehicle will be produced.

Gordon Murray Automotive

The designer of the McLaren F1 and many winning race cars showed off two new models at the Quail. The T.50, billed as “the most driver-centric supercar ever built” features an interior design that puts the driver in the centre of the car. Murray says this not only offers unparalleled visibility, but also creates an intimate connection between the driver and the road. With a naturally aspirated Cosworth GMA V12 engine that revs up to 12,100 rpm, the T.50 produces a mighty 661 bhp. Weight reduction and aero are key, as the car weighs less than 900kg (1,985 pounds) and features a massive delta wing mounted to the rear of the car, which works with the rear-mounted fan, a new front splitter, underbody aerofoil and adjustable diffusers to generate up to 1,200kg of downforce. Limited to 100 units, the T.50 will be completely bespoke for each customer, with no two cars being alike, at a price of £3.1 million before taxes.

The T.33 Spider, meanwhile, is the marque’s first open-top road car (and the sibling of Murray’s T.33 coupe), powered by the 3.9-litre Cosworth GMA.2 V12 engine that makes 609 bhp. Constructed with a carbon monocoque and carbon fibre composite panels bonded to extruded aluminium tubing, the T.33 Spider has a svelte kerb weight of just 1,108 kg giving it an amazing power-to-weight ratio. Murray touts the usability of the design as well, noting that it provides 295 litres of total luggage space, taking in to account both front and rear. Murray says both the T.33 Spider and its coupe sibling will be available in both right- and left-hand drive.

RUF Automobile

The man known for putting his distinctive touch on Porsches like the CTR Yellow Bird showed a trio of new cars at the Quail. The RUF Tribute is powered by a brand-new 3.6-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo engine crafted by Alois Ruf himself. The 550-hp powerplant pays homage to Porsche’s air-cooled roots, but with modern touches like billet aluminum cylinder heads, variable valve timing and lift, and dry-sump lubrication. Built on RUF’s modular chassis system, also used on the marque’s CTR Anniversary and SCR models, the Tribute boasts a double-wishbone suspension and the iconic RUF Integrated Roll Cage.

The RUF CTR3 Evo builds upon the acclaimed CTR3 Clubsport with a 3.8-litre water-cooled engine, now turbocharged and intercooled to help it achieve a jaw-dropping 800 hp and 730 lb-ft of torque, with shifts courtesy of a seven-speed double-clutch gearbox. The body of the CTR3 Evo is done in carbon-composite, built on RUF’s rigid chassis and signature roll cage.

The RUF R Spyder, meanwhile, celebrates classic sports car aesthetics with a sleek, low profile and prominent duck tail spoiler. Inside, the carbon-fiber bar separates occupants in a uniquely innovative way, integrated with an air intake system. Screens on the dashboard display rearview camera feeds, enhancing visibility. It’s powered by a 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six good for 515 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.

Bugatti Chiron Super Sport “Golden Era”

Newly minted design director Frank Heyl was on hand in Pebble Beach to give us a private tour of the new one-off car, created for an anonymous customer through the brand’s “Sur Mesure” bespoke programme. The “Golden Era” is adorned with 45 hand-drawn sketches of Bugatti’s models past and present, reflecting the brand’s legacy. The meticulous creation journey took two years, with over 400 hours spent on sketching alone. The distinctive gold colour, named ‘Doré,’ and a gradient of ‘Nocturne Black’ add to its allure. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, one can’t argue the technical prowess of applying genuine pencil sketches to the body side of a street legal exotic car. Look for CDN to share a more in-depth look at this car soon.

Lotus Type 66

This ultra-exclusive track-only car revives a “lost Lotus” design from the brand’s motorsport history. Only ten units of this limited-edition, history-inspired vehicle will be produced, each priced at more than US$1.2m. The Type 66 honors Lotus’ 75th anniversary by blending iconic design elements with cutting-edge racing performance. This track car, envisioned in the past but never produced, is now a reality, boasting a period-representative V8 push-rod engine tuned to deliver over 830bhp. With a focus on optimising aerodynamics, the Type 66 reaches downforce levels exceeding 800kg at 150mph, rivaling modern GT3 race cars.

Meyers Manx Resorter

At first blush, the four-seat, doorless sibling of the famous dune buggy may seem the odd character out among a throng of supercars. But car collectors need a cool EV to tool around their gated neighbourhoods, and the Meyers Manx Resorter perfectly fits the bill.

Helmed by Ford, VW and Porsche designer Freeman Thomas and backed by venture capitalist Phillip Sarofim (whose enviable car collection includes, among many other things, Gandini’s Lancia Stratos Zero concept, Meyers Manx relaunched the brand founded by the late Bruce Meyers with a new EV powertrain and refined take on its rough-and-tumble, Southern California-bred image. The Resorter Neighbourhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) shares the Manx 2.0’s aluminium monocoque chassis and other key components and is powered by a twin-motor electric drivetrain, although the company has yet to release specifics. The Resorter starts at US$49,000 — more than the starting price of a BMW X3 — but promises a range of customised features and colour schemes.