So, as most of you know, the world of cars is getting less and less exciting... I used to binge-watch events like Geneva Motor Show and Goodwood Festival of Speed, getting more and more interested each time a new supercar would come out. But these days, it is getting more and more tiring seeing the push towards EV's and huge SUV's as we move to a world that really isn't about driving, and more about brand hierarchy. So when this year's Monterey Car Week rolled around, I was half expecting to be totally disappointed by what was going to be unveiled. And to be completely honest, a huge chunk of it turned out to be absolute trash.
The Trash in Question
To kick things off from the absolute WORST of the unveils to the absolute PEAK, we have to start with the Singer X Louis Vuitton 911 collaboration pair. I still have no idea who this tailors to, as you have to be literally BLIND to appreciate the cars.
One of them is this gaudy cream and wooden 911 that looked like LV's tacky logo on wheels and a very strange roof; and the other one (arguably worse) in orange with BLUE??? details and tires, making it look like a toddler's creation made out of Play-Doh... It also comes with a matching LV-plastered surfboard that'll never get used. I've always known SupercarBlondie was a brand Kiss-Asser, but never did I think Magnus Walker, the OG Porsche Outlaw fanatic would be praising this sort of car. What sell-outs.
From there, it only gets more offensive with the Eccentrica V12 Roadster, Everrati 993 Founders Edition and Airion Automotive 911, both of which absolutely butcher *EXISTING* Lamborghini Diablo and Porsche 993 chassis for these creations. With classic cars slowly rotting away, I would usually be fine with companies restoring them to their former glory, but these are usually done to customer's pristine cars, as they're coachbuilding companies, not manufacturers; and so it would be way more profitable to make money of the ones paying you for the car, rather than trying to fix an already broken piece of vintage equipment destined for the junkyard.
Now, the Diablo restomod and AIRION 911 is arguably the better 2 of the 3 here, as they both still retains that proper Italian V12 and German 4.3L air-cooled Flat-6, but the Everrati turned the best looking 911 generation into an EV and dared to call it the "purist's dream". What an insult.
Before we move on, I'll have to make a special mention to some more useless EV's shown off. For starters, Monterey is all about 'affluence' and 'elegance', with a slight lean towards 'opulence' and 'money'; so picture me unimpressed when Lucid drops the Gravity GT-S. Sure it might sound like some sort of sports coupe, but unfortunately its closer to a people mover...
Jaguar clearly did not heed its previous criticisms towards its Type 00 fridge on wheels and delivered the Type 01 looking exactly the same as its previous look, but this time showing off Jaguar's new interior design language which looks exactly as bland as its exterior. Horrible.
Moving on, we have Acura's new Nexera Vision Concept, which looks like a mix between a Fisker product and the budget Lotus Theory 1 with Citroen e-C4 headlights and taillights...
And to add injury to insult, Ferrari released the one-off, bespoke commission built on the SF90 platform called the CZ26, which resembles a Luce Coupe...
Things get slightly better, but not by much is the new Lamborghini Revuelto Super Veloce, which for just over $741,000 USD you get 49 extra horsepower over the standard Revuelto's 1,001 hp. Now at 1,050 hp, the human body is incapable of feeling the extra 49 hp, so you are basically paying an extra $141,000 USD for some extra carbon splitters and the front and side, plus a bigger wing.
The looks aren't even as exciting as the jump from the Aventador to the Aventador SV; at least with its predecessor, the SV looked different from ever angle, featuring completely different body panels with different materials and was debuted in a vivid yellow colour, making it an icon ever since it was revealed back in 2015 at the Geneva Motor Show; the Revuelto SV on the other hand uses the exact same bumpers and only adds on extended aero; plus its debut spec makes it look exactly the same as the Lexus RZ450e electrified-SUV with some red lines along the roof, much like the Aventador Pirelli Aventador, and the front fascia of the previous generation Huracan STO.
I was also expecting Porsche to bring out some cool stuff like it has been in the past, but unfortunately all we got was the new Flachbau, a crappier, 911-based, 935-copy, but worse; and the Carrera S MT Package, which is just saying "oh, we got it in manual now too". I'm pretty sure they could have released the Carrera S with a manual from the start... Now normally I would be all for another new manual car in this day and age of swindling driver-focused cars, but at Monterey? Where companies are showing off their best (and worst i guess)? This felt like the most 'mid' car of the whole week...
Adding to the fatigue, RUF debuted the EHRA, which looks exactly the same as the previous 15 RUF classic bodies that have come out, but THIS time with a widebody..... so what I'm saying is... its the same thing again. Stop milking the same 'nostalgia bait'. Not interested.
Speaking of nostalgia baiting and milking car designs, Gordon Murray unveiled the GMA S1, which would usually be pretty cool, if not for the fact that big man Mr. Murray has been milking this shape ever since the F1 came out in the 90's. Though, this time the design draws heavily from the McLaren's F1 pre-production car, with fog lights in the front fascia, as well as the A-pillar mounted wing mirrors.
And worse yet, Gordon wasn't even the actual sculptor behind the F1's iconic shape. That was Peter Stevens. Gordon was only the engineer. So I guess that's why he can only use the classic F1 design?? Because what happened the last time he tried to make his own car? Behold, the T.25 micro city-car...
The disappointment didn't stop there. A week before Car Week, Aston Martin's social media teased at something special, and stupid me thought it was going to be another cool car like the Valkyrie or Victor, but unfortunately, the British carmaker brought out some horrible DB12 S's with coloured grilles called the 'Tribute Collection'... so lazy;
And the new muscly-looking Aston Martin Valen, which looks suspiciously like a worse version of the new Mustang Dark Horse with iridescent paint that makes it look like every FIFA-Youtuber's Tesla Model Y.
Now I understand that the original V8 Vantage also looked like a muscly-boy, and its probably harking back to that era of design, but even back then, I feel like Aston copied the 69' Stang with its '77 Vantage; not to mention, Aston Martin was once owned by Ford too...
Next, the Americans brought its own cars out to play. With Hennessey bringing out its new car, the Blackbird. Now aside from its vertical stabilizers, its American heritage and the fact that only 71 are made, its got literally nothing to do with the Lockheed plane of the same name. Literally another nostalgia bait, but with patriotic USA-ness.
Rezvani Motors also brought out a Corvette C8-based supercar called the 'Beast-X' with 1,560 hp and some very American optional extras, like bulletproof glass, run-flat tires and even pepper spray dispensers. The looks of the car are super generic though, almost as if it was designed specifically for the GTA universe, but with a pinch of a blend of the F22 Raptor/Lamborghini Reventon and a dash of the Christopher Nolan Batmobile.
Equally as bizarre was when LeBron James debuted his Mercedes-Maybach S680, in which the outside looks like it was painted with Chinese hot-pot sesame sauce and the inside which looks like a blueberry bomb went off.
Another Merc-based car is the Brabus Bodo Cabriolet which is basically an 1,000 horsepower S-Class Convertible. I guess its pretty cool, but it's ruined by its RTR Mustang/BMW-looking front slatted grille (which looks horrible in White) and its really weird looking rear diffuser...
Even stepping away from individual reveals, the Concept Car Lawn showed of some concept cars we saw make the rounds a few weeks before the event, which didn't do much to change my mind.
Firstly, the Audi Nuvolari is a badge-engineered Lamborghini Temerario, an utterly forgetful Huracan replacement, and has the looks of a Gillette shaver mixed with a computer mouse and an Italian name.
Secondly, the Vision BMW ALPINA is the first product from the now BMW-owned coachbuilder, diminishing Alpina's original intent of being a driver-oriented car company to a block of electrified cheese. Give me a Bovensiepen instead, please! BMW also showed off the M Concept Neue Klasse which looks like an angry owl with acne-ready-to-burst fog lights at the front and back.
Thirdly, Cadillac brought out all their flagship models, and though they look spectacular, like the Celestiq Night Test Edition and the new V-One Concept Race Car, they are unfortunately all EV's...
And finally, the worst of the bunch, Ferrari brought out the Luce.... which sold for $40 MILLION USD???? I could go on and on about how trash this car is, but I'm sure you all are in the same boat as me, so let's move swiftly onwards.
Better Stuff
Let's change things up a bit and talk about some off-roaders! The Land Rover Defender Dakar and the Marc Philipp Gemballa Marsien GT are both cars based on the task of rally-raid design and harsh terrain navigation. Now... will these rally-based cars ever see the sand and mud in real life? No. But I guess we can dream!
Changing focus, let's talk about Mansory. This bodykit company has been under fire by enthusiasts as the wealthy, rich versions of gaudy, tacky 2000's body kits that went on CR-X del Sol's had during the hot-boy era. This year they showed off the W16 Mistral-based Vincero and the Chiron-based Vivere and both debuted in such good specs of Newmarket Tan over British Racing Green and Cream and Walnut over Chocolate Brown.
Now... RANT OVER. Here comes some nice stuff!
1. Bugatti Destrier
This car is basically a road-going version of the beautiful track-based Bugatti Bolide and follows the stunning shape of the new-era W16 Mistral and La Voiture Noire!
2. Aston Martin Valhalla
I kind of lied before during my Aston rant, but Aston did bring the production-ready mid-engined hybrid supercar, which I think actually looks better than the Valkyrie, though definitely not sounding as nice!
3. Czinger 21C Spyder
I always love to see new manufacturers doing something different, and the 21C Spyder is the embodiment of that; with fully 3D-printed panels, huge up-swinging doors, a tandem seating structure and a properly unique design!
4. McLaren MCL-6GT
As a New Zealander, I am extremely proud of McLaren for envisioning a new version of Bruce McLaren's M6GT Road Car vision! What makes it better is that it’s a proper mid-mounted twin-turbo V8 with no hybrid assistance and a pure rear wheel drive layout! On top of this great news with it’s power plant and drivetrain, it also has old-school hydraulic steering for true road connective-ness and an authentic 6-speed manual transmission with 3 pedals and no compromise! It also features a brand new design language unlike McLaren Automotive's previous models for the last decade, way more like the original 1960's concept!
5. Koenigsegg CCGT1
When Koenigsegg unveiled this car, I felt like a kid again scrolling the latest car news channels in 2007 when the original CCGT was revealed at that year's Geneva Motor Show! On top of that, the CC850 that was produced in 2022 is by far my favorite modern Koenigsegg of the 2020's, as it really tickles my fancy in terms of looking just as good as my favorite early Koenigsegg cars like the CCX and Trevita!
And last, but certainly not least - the Spyker C8 Preliator XXV Coupe
When Spyker announced their long-awaited comeback, I intently followed their posts for all 25 days of their teasers just to get an idea for what the production car would look like. Safe to say, THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Usually, concept cars are tweaked to match regulations, but not this Dutch brand. The car looks as good as it did back in 2016 when it was proposed to use a prototype Koenigsegg V8, but the new XXV Coupe now runs the 4.2L Audi Twin-turbocharged V8!
At the end of the day, those rare bright spots remind me why I fell in love with car culture in the first place. So there are my points for EVERY vehicle unveiled at last week's Monterey Car Week. We can only hope to see if 2027's Car Week will be as good as this year's; or ideally, cut out the fluff and give us real driver's cars again!
As much as I'd like to keep going on about these cars, if you'd like me to touch on more about the history of some of these niche brands, leave a comment down below and I might just get it written!
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