AUTOS
– The historic races at Laguna Seca—officially the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca—is, along with the Pebble Beach concours, a centerpiece of the weeklong vintage-car frenzy that overtakes the Monterey peninsula in mid-August. Not only are the historic races one of the longest-running events, they’re also the most immersive. Which means that no matter how many other cool car things are added to the calendar, the
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––—
-Not surprisingly, the second big day (of four) of auction sales on the Monterey Peninsula yielded another healthy group of high-dollar, spectacular cars. RM Sotheby’s didn’t sweep Hagerty’s compilation of top-ten priciest sellers as it did on Day 1, but it still landed half of the spots on the list, which we depict and describe below. On its single day of Monterey sales, Bonhams moved four cars that broke into
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––—
– The Acura NSX won’t be in customers’ hands until spring, but we’re getting a better look at the various permutations in which it will be offered. During Monterey Car Week, Acura showed the NSX in two previously unseen colors, Nouvelle Blue Pearl and Berlina Black, alongside the now-familiar Valencia Red Pearl. – – The new Acura NSX in Berlina Black, with the standard Y-spoke wheels. – In total, Acura
–––––––––––––––––—
– Given that the forthcoming S-class cabriolet will threaten to cannibalize exactly nothing in the Mercedes lineup, Benz is taking some unusual liberties with the car. The most obvious so far is “leaking” a detailed sketch that shows both the interior and the exterior styling. – Due on sale here next year, the S-class cabriolet will be the first S convertible since 1971, and it will be available with all the usual S-class
– The annual car show at the Quail—which takes place at the eponymous golf resort in Carmel, California, on the Friday of Pebble Beach week—bills itself, somewhat humbly, as “a motorsports gathering.” In truth, the Quail is more like a lifestyle gathering for those with CEO-level bank accounts and the many marketeers who would like to meet them. As such, the cars threaten to be subsumed by a wash of
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––—
– Like most premier vintage-car shows, The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering during the annual Monterey Car Week is an arrangement of precious cars on luscious lawns, museum cars sans museum. It’s also $600 per head to attend. But anyone who’s ever been to The Quail also knows that the show doesn’t wait to start until you walk through the gates—no, the spectacle begins as soon as you drive into the