If San Diego Comic-Con is the Mecca for pop culture fans, Monterey Car Week is its automotive equivalent—a week-long celebration of the past, present, and future of motorsports. Just as Comic-Con transforms San Diego, Car Week takes over Monterey with a palpable energy, though it comes with growing tension. Influencer culture has amplified the event, with larger crowds, unofficial gatherings, and a quest for social media virality. Yet, Monterey remains vast enough to offer a thousand different experiences, from free shows like Legends of the Autobahn to auctions where millions are spent. To see if the classic trio—The Quail on Friday, Laguna Seca on Saturday, and the Pebble Beach Concours on Sunday—retained its magic, I followed Rolex, one of its longtime sponsors. And I came away convinced: there is nowhere else like this paradise for car enthusiasts, despite the sometimes noisy buzz on the periphery.
Day 1: The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering
Rolex has sponsored The Quail for 20 years. Entering it is like discovering Disneyland for the first time, but with elegant outfits and parasols. Cars usually seen on Instagram were suddenly there, on perfect grass. It’s the red carpet event of the week. Gordon McCall, the director, guided me to tributes for the 60th anniversary of the Iso Grifo and the Shelby Mustang GT350, as well as to the future with concepts like Lexus’s. Highlights? 16 Ferrari F50s gathered together and a growing JDM presence, with a sublime Toyota 2000GT. Then, a relaxed conversation with Tom Kristensen, nine-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, who told me about his new passion for gravel and BBQs, far from competition. This unique access to legends is why tickets cost $1,500.
Day 2: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca
If The Quail was champagne, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion was an energy drink. The paddock was packed with race cars from every era. The highlight was the Pagani Huayra R Evo, whose sound was bone-chilling. Then came my turn: a hot lap in the new Mustang GTD. Strapped into the passenger seat, I tackled the famous Corkscrew turn, an 18-meter drop that takes your breath away. The supercharged V8 roared, gear changes snapped. Even at 70% of its capabilities, the feeling was unreal. The day ended atop the Corkscrew, watching racing history unfold just meters away.
Day 3: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
Sunday, up at 5 a.m. for the Dawn Patrol: watching the Concours cars drive onto the fairway in the early morning. A serene and magical experience, like a screensaver brought to life by rolling works of art. About 200 cars, selected with extreme rigor, competed for Best of Show. The winner was the gorgeous 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Tulipwood’ Torpedo, a masterpiece restored over 12,000 hours with a body made entirely of wood. My friend Tom Kristensen was even one of the judges.
Conclusion: Magic Intact
People will always complain about change, but the magic of Monterey Car Week remains intact. The Quail, Laguna Seca, Pebble Beach—each delivers that sophisticated, immersive essence that has made this week the epicenter of car culture for decades. The crowds are bigger, the influencers louder, but the charm endures. Car Week is what you make of it. If you’ve never been, start planning for next August. There’s nothing else like it.