Cars & Coffee - 3/10/12

Orange you glad you came to Cars & Coffee? Lots of orange cars today, highlighted by the Rosso Dino Enzo and Rosso Dino and Black Veyron of Gerald Barnes. So many other great cars, unfortunately the place was so busy it was hard to move around. Apparently somebody decided it would be fun to print C&C in the Register as a Thing To Do this weekend, complete with map. Douche. Anyway, enjoy the pics.

Cars & Coffee - 2/11/12

Link to gallery from C&C - 2/11/12

Who would have thought that such a rainy morning would have produced one of the best shows of the year so far? It certainly didn't hurt that it was Jaguar day, so the featured lot was packed to the gills with E-Types, XKs, XJs, S-Types, and the like. Nor did it hurt that the local Lamborghini dealer had planned a get-together that brought a dozen Gallardos, a Murci or two and a pair of Aventadors. Throw in a mini-reunion of RX-7s and the usual die-hards and the show lot was full before you knew it.

Particularly fun sightings included the black Carrera GT, the special CTS-V Wagon, the old Land Rover and Land Cruiser, the '51 Mercury, Vector, Audi R8 GT, VW Golf R, "Sea Shephard" Rossion, Vintage Morgan racer, Aston Martin Lagonda, Kellison recreation, another Bruce Meyers hot rod, Audi Sport Quattro, and that Sears catalog Allstate Motorcycle.

Of course, it wasn't all good. I guess I'm just too old to appreciate the whole VIP/hella flush Asian car phenomenon. The odd suspension geometry and stretched tires just make me cringe. Like donks, bouncing low-riders and street-bound Trophy trucks - they are more for show than go it seems, totally impractical for the street and an enormous misuse of valuable resources in my book. Like the Rich Evans Mustang and the accompanying spray-on-bed-liner-painted Range Rover, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, but as they say, variety is the spice of life and to each his own.

Cars & Coffee - 9/24/11

Gloomy skies and a schedule conflict with the Cruisin' for the Cure event at the OC Fairgrounds meant there wasn't a huge turnout this week, but the cars that showed up were a great mix of old and new - not just in terms of model year, but in terms of cars we've never seen here as well as old favorites. Follow the link and you'll see everything from a Lotus Elite (above) to a pristine "orange badge" 1973 Porsche 911S Targa. For Porsche lovers there was also a bent-window 356, as well as a Karmann 356 coupe, Zwart's East African Safari Rally car, a 550 Spyder replica, 993 Carrera RS, and a few dozen others.

Lots of Ferraris this week too with a 458, three Scuds, a TdF Stradale, 365GTC/4, 365GT 2+2, 308s, 348s, 360s, 430s and 355s. Besides the Elite there were Elans, Elise, Exige, Esprit and Evora models representing Lotus. Studebakers were relatively plentiful as were old Saabs. A huge turnout of BMWs were there too, with a limited edition Frozen Gray E92 M3 and Laguna Blue E46 highlighting the field. A couple of Fiat 500s battled with a few Minis for most bang per inch, while a VW GTI showed its family resemblance with a set of ginormous Bentley rims stuffed under its fenders. Check out the pics by clicking below.

Link to pics

2011 McCall's Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center

20th McCalls Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center Photos

Another year, another Jet Center Party, another mind-blowing good time. For people who have never attended this Wednesday night party that unofficially kicks off Classic Car Week in Monterey - run, don't walk, to get tickets for next year's event. Although all of the events held around the peninsula during this week are worth attending, the McCall's shindig is truly unique.

The combination of cars, military aircraft, the latest corporate and personal jets, the food, the wine...and the people, is like no other. The cars alone are like a highlight reel of what's to come during the rest of the week. Plucked from Quail, the auctions and the private debut parties to be held over the ensuing few days, the cars are the heart of the party, but removing them would still land you a memorable night. But this is a car blog after all, so let's take a look at what this, the 20th installment of the McCall's event here in Monterey, wowed us with this year.

Entering the outer courtyard of the venue we were greeted by a matte black Lamborghini LP700-4 Aventador - the Murcielago replacement that picks up where the Reventon left off, and manages to drop a few hundred pounds and gain a few HP in its transformation into a more modern, sharp-edged supercar. While the overall dimensions are similar to the outgoing Murci, the cuts and creases remind you more of the LP560-4 Gallardo - which isn't a bad thing at all. It is stunning in person and promises to elevate Lamborghini's presence in this upper echelon of the hypercar segment with performance that will rival anything it is pitted against.

If matte black isn't your thing, there was also a reddish orange one inside the main event area, as well as a bare tub that proudly displayed the car's innards for closer examination. The materials used look just as exotic as the bodywork missing from this display vehicle and the components look like they were made by watchmakers. The Aventador duo were staring down a very yellow Hennessey Venom GT - the first one sold in the U.S. Standing beside the car was the man whose name appears on the rump of this stretched and stuffed Lotus Exige - John Hennessey. This LS9-ish powered monster offers nearly double the horse-count of the donor ZR1 and would probably feel right home on the grid at Le Mans.

A few feet away from the Venom was a carbon fiber track-only sculpture that is based on one of the most extraordinary new supercars of the last 10 years - the Pagani Zonda R. Where the new Aventador looks like carbon fiber origami with its prickly angles, the Zonda has a bioengineered organic feel to its form that makes it look like it was birthed from a living thing. And just like the Hennessey Venom GT, the man whose name is on the car was there to see people's reactions to his progeny - both the Zonda R and his new, U.S.-intended Huayra.

The Huayra was in the back of the main hangar, drawing us into a space that housed a few dozen more gems - but we lingered near the new Pagani for more than an hour before moving on. Part of the reason for that was the fact that Horacio Pagani himself was standing next to it, answering any question thrown his way, and happily opening any of the car's various panels with a flurry of unbuckling of straps and released latches. The simple truth is that Horacio has once again managed to create one of the most strikingly designed supercars in the world.

The components rival those of the Aventador that we marveled at, but elevate them into works of art. Truly, each of these mechanical ingredients looks fit to display in a museum. Pagani is one step ahead of us in this thinking, as several pieces were actually displayed in glass cases atop carbon fiber stands near the car. Gorgeous stuff that actually works as good as it looks - what a concept.

Our favorite bit had to be the key though. When Sig. Pagani placed a small silver model of the Huayra before us, we at first thought it a nifty keepsake for someone's desktop. Then the car was pulled apart revealing a USB jack. Ah, this must be a very clever - and expensive - press kit. When the other half of the miniature vehicle was inserted into a slot in the center stack of the Huayra, we were dumbfounded. This was no novelty item, it is the ignition key.

Near the Pagani stand sat a pair of Lotus Evora sportscars. One was a rather electric blue and the other was one of the company's race cars, done up in white with bare carbon accents. First shown and rcaed last year, the car appeared to have been refined somewhat for its sophomore season. Closer inspection revealed this to actually be the new GTE concept - a streetgoing version of the racecar. Think Scuderia or Porsche RS and you'll get the idea. Extremely handsome car and we hope that the large Lotus staff on hand for the debut took our drooling pleas to build it seriously.

Another car that we may have left a puddle of saliva in front of was a red Aston Martin with some less-restrained than usual lumps and bulges in its form. This was the new Zagato racecar and it looked brutal - handsome but brutal. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The car evokes memories of the mid-sixties dual-purpose racers from Aston's illustrious past - and conveniently, we only had to glance over our shoulder to see a few examples of that heritage. What a party!

The Ferrari display next to Aston Martin had a California, a matte white Italia that looked suspiciously like a possible Scuderia concept, and a shooting brake that s called the FF. Readers of this blog may note that these initials match my own. Coincidence? I think not, but the guard wouldn't buy it and didn't release the car to my care as I requested. It is often said that automotive journalists all have the same favorite car - a high performance station wagon with a stick shift. While that is certainly true of many of us, it is especially true of yours truly. A certain Hennessey-tuned Cadillac CTS-V wagon comes awfully close to depleting my willpower reserves when it comes to grand theft auto. This Ferrari takes things a step further, however, by being a 2-door. Che bella.

There was so much more to see and do at the party this year, but I'll have to catch you up later. It is late and I have an early date with a polo field. The Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance is tomorrow. For now, check out the gallery to see what we saw last night at The Jet Center in Monterey.

Cars & Coffee – 5/21/11

 

For those who think the current crop of high-end auto tuners like Mansory, Novitec, Hamann and the rest are pushing the boundaries of sanity (not to mention good taste) by modifying exotic cars that already offer outrageous performance, you should know that there was a time when these cars would have looked tame in comparison. Back in the 1980s, companies like b+b, Strosek, Koenig and Gemballa were creating fantastical rides like the one you see here.

 

Even before the Testarossa and 348, Ferrari's cheese grater side strakes were popping up on the sides of Porsches that had been converted to slant nose, projector light, retractable hood spoiler, BBS mag'd, aero mirrored, scooped and spoilered dream machines. The fact that this one happens to be white with a white interior, with white BBS wheels and one of the most fanciful air scoop/whale tale combos ever crafted, makes it the poster child for this era. The fact that this didn't immediately put Gemballa out of business speaks volumes to the popularity of these conversions, but the fact that his is the only name that has stood the test of time also shows that he was smart to start focusing more on horsepower and less on hallucinogenics.

Alfa Romeo was the featured marque, by the way, and Lincoln was there too with a really elaborate auto show setup and a full range of new models ready to test drive. They also brought the stunning MKR concept that would go a long way towards reestablishing Lincoln's reputation as a major sport/luxury player.

The long list of unique pairings at the show today included our first Aston Martin Virage with a rat/hot rod show winner, a beautiful A-M DB6 with a Ferrari 599 GTB, a black and yellow Porsche GT2 with a 356, late-model turbo V8 Lotus Esprit and an early non-turbo predecessor, new hatchback Audi A7 and an R8, Maserati Merak and DeTomaso Pantera, white awd Gallardo and white awd GMC Typhoon, Citroen DS and BMW 3.0 CSi, Lotus Evora and Maserati GranTurismo, Renault 2CV and Chevy Malibu, jack-o-lantern fox-bodied Mustang and a GT3 RS, a Jag XJ6 and an LT1 small block...and so on.

Late-model Challengers were plentiful and so were random rare exotics. Any one of these could have been the star of the show, so it is amazing that today we also got to see a Ferrari 275 GTS/4, Lamborghini LM/A, Saab Quantum III (!), Mercedes F-Cell, Lotus Esprit Sport 350 and a Cobra FIA, all in the same place at the same time. The total number of all of these combined can probably be counted on your fingers and toes.

Direct link to pics