The Quail: Just Because
The picturesque Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California, served as the backdrop for arguably the most exclusive Monterey Car Week event, The Quail a Motorsport Gathering. Simply known amongst automotive enthusiasts and industry participants as The Quail. Known for its sophisticated blend of classic and contemporary automotive marvels, the event draws motoring journalists, bloggers, influencers, automotive icons and a variety of plus ones and third wheels.
The Quail showcases an impressive array of vehicles, from vintage classics to cutting-edge concept cars including reveals of the latest and greatest from the top names in the automotive world. It continues to grow in popularity as a key event in North America for unveilings of the latest automotive offerings from names such as Porsche, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, and Maserati all the way to the bespoke builders such as Singer, Czinger, and Gunther Werks. In the months and weeks leading up to this year’s Quail, the internet, the socials and numerous automotive podcasts exchanged rumors and guesses as to what the Friday in mid August would bring for the latest pinnacle of automotive technology.
Case in point was the social media swarm surrounding photos of a car being unloaded at LAX a week before the event spawning rumors of something new from Porsche or a new one-off creation from any of several custom performance car builders.
It would turn out to be the Tuthill GT One, a tribute to the Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion (that’s street version, auf Deutsch) the homologation special for the 911 GT1 race car that ran in the 90’s BPR GT Series. Living up to what’s expected in the rarefied air of The Quail, only 22 customer examples will be made. The body is all carbon fiber and power comes from a mid-mounted flat 6 delivering 500 hp as standard, or up to 600hp with option turbo power. Prices are not yet available, but Tuthill claims the build time for each car is 3,500.
The Tuthill GT One is representative of the hype that leads up to The Quail and the delivered reality once it occurs. It is this pursuit of stunning the crowd and making the automotive elite have major FOMO that got us thinking why? For some manufacturers, it is clearly a chance to connect with customers and fans that maintain and enhance a particular brand connection. Yet, often we wonder how much further the limits of automotive design and power can be pushed when it seems that technology and the tools to develop technology are at such a hyper pace. The answer often seems to be, just because. However, in fairness, this is one of the events, and distinctly unlike a traditional car show, where manufacturers can take orders for their latest creations on the spot and be sold out of a limited run of not-yet-built cars by lunchtime.
Another “just because” unveiling was the RUF Rodeo. RUF is known throughout the world for “enhancing” the Porsche 911 and rising to fame in 1987 when its Porsche CTR “Yellow Bird” reached 211 mph, beating the 201 mph mark previously set by the Ferrari F40. RUF has had a strong presence at the Quail over recent years and has now joined the offroad sports car performance party with the Rodeo, with 610 horsepower, dual limited slip differential, all-terrain tires, a 9.5 inch ride height, and a price of $1,250,000.
But it’s not just about the cars. The Quail’s lush, green manicured grounds are transformed into an automotive haven in what becomes a large automotive cocktail party. It offers more than manufacturer unveilings and bespoke projects. Scattered and grouped throughout the grounds are various classes of modern and classic pinnacles of automotive history. The featured classes this year were, 100 years of MG, the 50th Anniversary of the Porsche 930 Turbo, the 30th Anniversary of Koenigsegg Automotive, and a Tribute to World Rally Cars.
The event also offered an array of choice food and beverage options, complementing the garden party-like atmosphere. Guests enjoyed gourmet foods from renowned local chefs and lots of free beverages of all varieties (though mostly adult). Those attendees that don’t pace themselves become very obvious around mid-day….pure entertainment if you can take your eyes off of the cars for a little while.
Did we mention the parking lot? Or should we say the golf course greens and manicured grounds around the main event. The designated parking for guests may, on its own, be one of the better car shows on the planet. Frankly, for years before being on the other side of the velvet ropes we stalked the parking areas often finding cars that on their own could be the centerpiece at even the most prestigious weekend cars and coffee.
The Quail A Motorsport Gathering has for a number of years locked itself into the must have FOMO event of Monterey Car Week, a destination for those who celebrate the beauty, performance, and history of automobiles, and this year’s event further cemented its status as a cornerstone of the motoring calendar. Similar to our experience last year, and maybe even more so, we don’t think there’s any realistic way to show you everything we saw.
As you can see from the schedule above, the unveilings / press conferences were mindboggling, numerous, and rapid fire. Taken together with all of the other tonnage of “just because” stuff of the Quail, it would take superhuman physical and cognitive abilities to capture its entirety. Like with most of our event reports, we do what we can with our questionable prose, but encourage you chew on our pictures of the most amazing machines in the world. Over the coming days, weeks, and months we will continue to publish content from the Quail and our other Car Week 2024 adventures, but for now we encourage you to take a look through our mega gallery below.
-The Loud Pedal
Our Full Gallery
