If you’re an automotive enthusiast, there are a number of bucket list items you simply must tick off in your lifetime. Things like driving a Porsche 911, completing a lap of the Nürburgring and attending a F1 racefor example. For me, though, Monterey Car Week has always been number one. 

For seven days every August, this sleepy pocket of coastal California becomes the centre of the automotive universe, where priceless classics casually share the road with the latest hypercars and something extraordinary hides around every corner. I’m extremely lucky to be able to say that 2026 was not my first Car Week, but this year’s was bigger and more ridiculous than I could’ve ever imagined.

For me, Monterey Car Week of 2026 starts at a Mercedes-Benz dealership on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I’m travelling with my mate Steven Ewing and Mercedes-Benz USA, which gets some toys from its Classic Center in Long Beach to drive up the coast every year. This time I’m in a 2008 CLK 63 Black Series, and the procession also includes a 300 SL Roadster and 190E Evolution II, as well as a number of new Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Maybach products. 

Front view of a Mercedes-Benz dealership with multiple luxury cars parked outside and the Mercedes sign.
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The energy starts buzzing on the media’s drive from the dealership up the coast towards Monterey on the 101 freeway. It goes up a notch whenever we spot various exotica along the way, like various Corvette models, several Lamborghinis and even a Mercedes-AMG G 63 6×6. The sense that anything from priceless hypercars to something unique like a rally-spec Peugeot 205 could come out of nowhere is what makes Car Week so special, and you feel it constantly – even when you’re six hours away. 

The next day my group with Mercedes-Benz travels down California’s iconic Highway 1 towards Big Sur. The same cars that journeyed to Monterey from Los Angeles are with us, plus a new AMG GT 4-Door Coupe, a prototype of the new SUV version of that car, an AMG G 63 and even a 1938 320 Streamlined Saloon. We don’t quite get to Big Sur because fires have closed the road, but we still head over the Bixby Bridge and get to take the group shot of all the Mercedes products at the legendary lookout. 

One of the headline acts at Monterey Car Week is The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, which is essentially the motor show part of the week. The death of many global auto shows has left enthusiasts heartbroken, but the Quail still gives us a chance to see the new metal get unveiled. It’s not your average motor show; instead of Ford and Toyota, think Bugatti and Koenigsegg. Each manufacturer reportedly pays a minimum of $1 million just to have a presence.

Outdoor car show on a grassy field with colorful sports cars and a crowd under a blue sky with clouds.
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The Quail takes place at the Quail Lodge and Golf Club, which is inland from Monterey and gets quite hot, as my insane sunburn from 2022’s Car Week proved. If you’re a car person, it’s a definite must-see as it’s not just new metal, but older models as well. For example, there were 14 of the world’s Ferrari F40s on the lawn with their owners sitting among them enjoying a champagne (or three). 

Global debuts featured at this year’s Quail included the Aston Martin Valen, Gordon Murray Special Vehicles S1, Lamborghini Revuelto SV, Bugatti Destrier and Spyker C8 Preliator XXV. That sentence alone refers to about $30 million worth of car. It was great to see the Toyota GR GT and Audi Nuvolari in person, too. If you ever attend, always remember: check the car park! This year were a number of Paganis, Koenigseggs, Bugattis, limited-edition Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces… you get the picture. 

The Sunday of every car week features the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which had its 75th year in 2026. The Quail is full of new metal, but Pebble Beach is all about the classics, and they’re in seemingly endless supply. Hundreds of literally priceless works of automotive art line the Pebble Beach Links’ lawns and there was a huge variety this year, from 1990s Japanese race cars like the Mazda 787B to 1900s American speedsters. 

Classic cars are hardly my specialty, but it’s incredible to see the craftsmanship on offer, especially on models approaching or over 100 years old. The Best in Show Winner was a stunning 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, which is one of two ever built, and the show itself surpassed US$50 million in lifetime donations to charitable non-profit organisations in Monterey.

Vintage car driving through a shower of yellow and white confetti as spectators cheer along a parade route.
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When Monterey Car Week finishes the following morning, you can feel a big collective sigh. The priceless hypercars are leaving, as are the broccoli-haired influencers who have littered the streets for the past week. It’s also our turn to get outta there as we’ve got a road trip to Portland Oregon in a Maybach S 680 V12 to get on with (more on that soon). 

It’s difficult to sum up my experience at Monterey Car Week as anything but unforgettable. Yep, it’s intense and there are many events to attend – is it possible to have too much champagne? – but it’s an utterly wonderful experience. There’s plenty to like but the absolute best thing about it is the level of automotive passion from everybody around you. 

No matter what it is or where it comes from or how fast it can travel, we all love the car, and Monterey is an amazing celebration of that. If you ever get the opportunity to attend, I beg you to do so. After all, with the way the global car industry is heading, who knows how much longer you’ll be able to? 

Thank you to Steven Ewing and Mercedes-Benz USA for having me along for the trip!