Monterey Car Week is an event of extremes. It’s ultra-wealthy collectors converging on a breathtaking stretch of California coast, showing off some of the most beautiful cars ever built. It’s also a place where those same ultra-wealthy people can exhibit spectacularly bad behavior. Case in point: a video uploaded to Reddit where an alleged drunk guy clipped a Rolls-Royce with his Kia. The ensuing scuffle didn’t exactly paint anyone in a positive light.
But look past the idiots fighting in parking lots and beyond the champagne-and-caviar-studded parties, and you’ll find some of the most ingeniously engineered cars and exquisitely crafted objects on the planet. Here are the finest-looking items—automotive or otherwise—I saw at the show.
A Record Setting Ferrari (For a Good Cause!)
At RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale, a two-year-old Ferrari Daytona SP3 “Tailor Made” was sold for a whiplash-inducing $26 million. Before you grab your pitchforks and “eat the rich” placards (you knew they’d come in handy someday), take a beat: all of the proceeds went straight to charity.
So why would a modern Ferrari—with barely any miles—command that kind of number? A few reasons. First, Ferrari only ever built 599 examples of the Daytona SP3, a hyper-limited nod to the brand’s 1960s endurance racing legends. Second, this one wasn’t just any SP3: it was a product of Ferrari’s Tailor Made program, which lets owners spec cars with custom paint jobs and interior features. This one-of-a-kind model featured a striking split-tone livery in jet black and Giallo Modena yellow and was also accented inside with bespoke details. That final price—seven times higher than its pre-sale estimate—wasn’t just a record for the model; it was proof that the right combo of extreme scarcity and unique design (along with a Ferrari badge) can whip bidders into a frenzy.
A Paint Job From Jaguar That Tickled My Brain
Jaguar’s Type 00 concept has received, erm, divisive reviews from critics. Top Gear said it “isn’t really a car, it’s a symbol” while Wallpaper magazine argued it “risks being remembered more as a fantasy object than a vision of a future Jaguar.” To me, it feels more like a rendering brought to life, and I’m not sure how practical it would ever be for day-to-day driving.
But one thing you can’t argue with is its colors, particularly the French Ultramarine variant. It is one of the most stunning colors I’ve ever seen—not just on a car, but on anything in the physical world. That deep-sea blue seizes your attention and holds it, like a piece of artwork that reaches into the depths of your soul. I’ve been saying for years that automakers need to return to offering cars in more vibrant hues, and hopefully Jaguar’s example nudges the industry forward. No more boring black, white, and grey rides. We need more British racing green, we need more vermillion, we need more aquamarines. We need more joy.
The Best In Show Rolex That Should Receive its Own Trophy
The winners of the top prize at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance receive a special edition Rolex Perpetual 1908 with an engraved caseback marking the achievement. Seeing the watch in person is magnificent. The thin 39 mm gold case shimmers with a domed-and-fluted bezel, a sharp dial, and small seconds at six o’clock. It’s a dress watch to be sure, but one that’s subtle—you can dress it up with a tux or dress it down with a really nice shorts and t-shirt.
Seriously, I dare you to find an outfit where it would look out of place. Even the deep brown alligator strap is quietly beautiful and, unlike so many other alligator leather items, doesn’t seem to shout. On the back, the engraving features the Concours crest alongside “Best of Show 2025.” But, damn, it’s so pretty. I’m going to start a petition next year for this watch to have its own Best in Show category.
Serious Speakers Approved By Travis Scott
An hour before I arrived at the Lamborghini Villa to hear the Sonus faber Il Cremonese Ex3me – Automobili Lamborghini Edition speakers, Travis Scott was there listening to some cuts off a Björk album. The speakers themselves are angular and muscular; they sprout out of the floor in an almost organic way yet are so beautiful they look like they were sculpted by Michelangelo. Limited to just fifty pairs, each weighs 185 pounds and houses diamond-coated beryllium tweeters, natural-fiber midranges, carbon-sandwich woofers, and infra-woofers that dip down to 25 Hz.
The result is a serious low-end punch and startling separation of sounds—especially with layered, complex music like Daft Punk … or Björk. It’s really no wonder Lamborghini partnered with Sonus faber: these are the audio equivalent of a high-performance supercar.
A Concept Car That Should Not Remain A Concept
So many concept cars debut at Monterey but never come anywhere close to a production line. Here's a humble request: Chevrolet should seriously consider mass producing the Corvette’s CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo. The CX is a long, low-slung all electric ‘Vette with a roof that’s more like the canopy of an F-22 and a quad motor setup that produces—wait, what!?—some 2,000 horsepower.
Not enough for you? Okay, let’s get nuts. The CX.R unleashes even more unhinged insanity with a 2.0-liter V8 revving to 15,000 rpm paired with three electric motors for the same 2,000-hp output. Chevrolet will say these are more proof-of-concept vehicles that show off the company’s commitment to electric engineering and to its racing DNA. I say, give us the 2,000-horsepower mini fighter jets, you cowards!
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