: Classic Motorsports

Monterey Week 2010: Be There With Classic Motorsports.

The Classic Motorsports staff has returned from action in Monterey. We come bearing photos and experiences from this incredible week of historic racing, auctions, concours events, and vintage car revelry. Be sure to catch all of our Monterey coverage in an upcoming issue of Classic Motorsports.

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Concourso Italiano

This year’s Concorso was one of the best ever. It featured everything from Lancias, Lamborghinis and Alfas to a Ferrari F40 reunion and a display from Fiat featuring the new 500. Add in the usual amazing food and great vendor area, and this show was a hit with just about everyone.

Concorso Italiano Monterey 2010

Baja Cantina

The Classic Motorsports Baja Cantina kickoff party was held Thursday, August 12. Located next to the Quail Lodge on Carmel Valley Road, the Cantina is our favorite local restaurant and watering hole. Hundreds of car enthusiasts enjoyed great BBQ, live music and a wonderfully eclectic mix of cars. Make sure to join us next year.

Baja Cantina Monterey 2010

Pebble Beach

The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance celebrated 100 years of Alfa Romeo and showcased some of the most important cars in the company’s history. The event also featured a new Indy car class as well as a reunion of Jaguar XKSS cars, the rarest of all Jaguar production cars built for street use.

Pebble Beach Monterey 2010

##The Quail Motorsports Gathering As usual, The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering was not only one of our favorite happenings in Monterey, but also one of our favorite car events of all time. If you like cars, this is a must-attend event. Vehicles of all makes and sizes were on hand--Tim Suddard found a Jaguar D-type that was within his budget, while Andy Reid liked the new offering from Morgan a bit more.

Quail Monterey 2010

Automobilia Monterey

Automobilia Monterey featured its usual great mix of new and used car books, advertising posters and car parts. There were some terrific deals to be found there, including an Alfa Montreal distributor cap for only $25 and a first-edition copy of “Aston Martin: The Story of a Sports Car” for only $75. We especially enjoyed watching some automotive art being created on site.

automobilia Monterey 2010

Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue

While this Concours on the Avenue was much smaller than in previous years, it had some terrific cars in attendance, including the nicest Swallow Doretti we had ever seen, a beautiful black Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso, and even a station wagon that Tim Suddard loved.

Concours on the Avenue Monterey 2010

Concours d'LeMons

The second annual Concours d'LeMons was again a hit, and this year the car selection was a bit broader. We served as judges for both the Soulless Japanese Appliance class and the Unmitigated Gall class. We were quite qualified to judge the French cars in that second class, as one of our editors is actually a member of the Citroen Club. This event is a lot of fun and brings all sorts of cars out of the woodwork.

Concours d'LeMons Monterey 2010

Bonhams & Butterfields

The Bonhams Motor Cars & Automobilia auction at Quail Lodge was one of many great sales in Monterey this week. This one offered some amazing cars, including an F40 for less than $400,000. A number of historic racing Porsches--including a 917--also crossed the block. More affordable offerings were a pair of Fiats and a Renault R5 Turbo.

Bonhams Butterfields Monterey 2010

##Gooding and Company David Gooding and his team at this year’s Gooding and Company Pebble Beach auction offered the usual mix of breathtaking racing and road cars, including a beautiful Big Healey, a Citroen SM, and an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster.

Gooding and Company Monterey 2010

##Mecum Auction The Mecum auction in Monterey offered a terrific selection of cars--everything from historic sports and racing cars to hotrods and muscle cars. Our favorite vehicle of the sale was the Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 TdF.

Mecum Monterey 2010

##RM Auctions Sports & Classics of Monterey This year’s RM Monterey auction was the biggest in the company’s history. The sale was bursting with so many million-dollar cars that some of them were actually parked outside during the week. If you think the Krispy Creme Gogglemobile truck looks cute, consider that you could buy a nice Maserati Ghibli for less money. That’s right, the truck sold for an astounding $88,000, making it possibly the most ridiculous buy we have ever seen at any auction anywhere.

RM auction Monterey 2010

##Russo and Steele Monterey Sports & Muscle Russo and Steele showed its resiliency in Monterey after weather wreaked havoc at their Arizona sale this past January. Many small, affordable sports cars crossed the block, including Alfas and Triumphs. This was also the auction where we sold our 1968 Fiat 124 Spider.