The Quail Lodge, 16th of August 2012
Ten years ago a small but selected group of automotive
enthusiasts came together in Sir Michael Kadoories garage to
discuss a new event in the Monterey Classic Car Week.
Proposed by Gordon McCall, host of the annual McCall Jet
Center Party on Wednesday, the new event was intended to be a
less competitive element of the week between all the concours
and racing activities, more like a garden party with cars at the
driving range of the Quail Lodge Golf Club. Part of this idea was
some sort of exclusivity with limited ticket sales that was
restricted by the available space on one side but more important
by the fact that the guest should enjoy an exceptional hospitality.
In different lunch areas the visitors can enjoy the cuisine of
different countries including French, Italian, Asian but also the
local kitchen, taste the famous Californian wine or Champagne
from the sponsors.
Just in its first edition in 2003 the concept proved to be right as
the tickets of the Motorsport Gathering were sold out well in
advance and now in its 10th edition they are still the most sought
after of the entire week.
The Friday before the Pebble Beach Concours is one of the
busiest day of the week as with the Quail, the Concorso Italiano
and the new Legends of the Autobahn Concours no less than 3
events can be visited with several auction in the evening including
the nearby Bonhams sale.
We went to the Quail early in the morning to have a look at the
cars before the guests arrived at 10 am as these are still the main
attraction of the day. Several classes of cars including some
special themes every year are set up on the lawn with a focus on
sports car before and after the war.
This year's special themes included the 50th anniversary of Iso
Automobiles, a small but very interesting part of the automobile
history with just about 12 years of production. Renzo Rivolta
made his fortune with heaters and refrigerators before the war and
changed production to scooters and motorcycles soon after, his
most important mark in the automobile history was without doubt
the Isetta that was built in different countries under license
including BMW. Being an Italian gentlemen his interest was
certainly sports cars and he owned several Maserati before he
decided to built an own GT that was intended to be more reliable
than the filigree Italian technique. The idea was to built an Italian
designed GT car with an American drive train for both the
European and American market. The new 2+2 Iso Rivolta GT was
engineered by Giotto Bizzarrini, who left (or was left at) Ferrari
during the development of the 250 GTO and designed by
Giorgetto Giugaro at Bertone. It featured a Corvette engine and
was also available with a automatic transmission and was first
presented at the 1962 Turin Auto Show, the birthday of the new
automotive company. Although the press was very impressed by
the new GT that was comfortable but still stylish the stars of
every motor show were still the 2-seater sports coupé leading to
the second model wearing the Iso name, the Iso Grifo A3/L
debuting just a year later at the 1963 Turin Auto Show. On the
same shortened Rivolta chassis Bizzarrini developed a race car,
the Grifo A3/C. In the following years the model range was
extended to a Targa Version of the Grifo and engine size was
increased from the 327 ci to the big 7 litre engine (427 ci) with a
raised bonnet. After Renzos death in 1966 the company was led
by his son Piero and a sedan was introduced in 1967 with the S4,
later called the Fidia, again designed by Giugiaro, now at
Carrozzeria Ghia. Also a new 2+2 GT was introduced with the
Lele but the company did not sell enough cars so the production
was moved to smaller facility in Varedo. This was also the name
of the last mid-engined prototype built by Iso and after a short
encounter at the formula 1 with the Iso-Marlboro team the
company was taken over by an American investor and finally went
into bankruptcy in 1974.
The Motorsport Gathering featured more than two dozen Iso
ranging from the early Rivolta to the Varedo and showed a great
profile of the short but intense history of the Iso name, a golden
jubilee that is not celebrated at many events in the shadow of the
Cobra and GTO year.
A small class was dedicated to Bizzarrini. After Giotto Bizzarrini
left the Iso company he started to built road versions of the Grifo
A3/C (Competition) under his own name, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Five of these were lined-up rounding off the Iso display.
Another featured class this year was the pre-war history of Alfa
Romeo. With the 1921 Alfa Romeo G1 Sports Roadster it
featured the oldest surviving car wearing the Alfa Romeo badge, a
6.3 litre six-cylinder engined two-seater that came all the way
from Australia. The class featured four 6C 1750 with Zagato body,
a beautiful 8C 2300 Zagato Spyder with Monza cowl and one of
the stars of the gathering, the spectacular 8C 2900 B Long
Chassis Touring Spyder of Chip Connor. Being one of the key
figures in Sir Michael Kadoories garage back than this car won
first Best of Show in 2003 and came back for the celebration of
the 10th edition after doing the Quail rally earlier this week.
Another car in this class was wearing the same body style on a
short chassis but had a very different story to tell. Back in 1938,
when the 8C 2.9 was produced in very limited numbers Alfa
Romeo was developing a new V8 prototype engine that was
intended for a new product line that was never completed because
of the upcoming war in Europe. Presumable these engines were
tested in the short 6C 2300B chassis at the time and when one of
these prototype engines was discovered the owner intended to
built a car for this engine to demonstrate it running. After
acquiring a suitable original 6C 2300B chassis the decision was
made to put on a short Touring Spyder style body. The result is a
superb copy of an original example that was available for
inspection including a precise measurement with modern
technology. Although not the real thing it made a great
appearance aside its long chassis counterpart and the owner was
there all the day to answer question of the interested public. The
car did not just look good but it must have been fun to drive
according to the grin of Classic&Sports Car editor Mick Walsh
after a short test drive later that day.
This also lead to another project that was on display in the
pre-war sports car class. In 1939 the Bugatti Type 57 became
dated and a successor was needed so Jean Bugatti designed the
Type 64 chassis. Unfortunately just one of these cars was
finished before Jean´s tragically death, the car displayed in the
Schlumpf Museum in Mulhouse. Another two chassis were
started but never finished, one of these belongs to French car
enthusiast Peter Mullin. With just sketches of future design
variation of the model the Mullin Museum had a design contest
running at the Pasadena´s art center and the winning design is
put into aluminum at the moment including gullwing doors as
intended by Bugatti for future models. The display featured the
working scale model and the body buck along the unfinished
bodywork.
The class of Great Ferraris was not a featured one like in the
previous year with the America/Superamerica display but still
showed some superb machinery. For some reason not in the
Ferrari class but in the post-war sports car class was the oldest
surviving Ferrari, a Typo 159S chassis 002C making its
post-restoration debut at the Quail. The car was brought back into
the configuration of its first race win at the Circuito di Valentino at
Torino in the hands of Raymond Sommer including its original
race number 78, owner Jim Glickenhaus was awarded with the
“Spirit of the Quail” trophy for that.
The Ferrari class itself started with a 166 MM Touring Barchetta,
maybe the most beautiful design ever built on a Ferrari chassis,
the car on display was first owned by Giannino Marzotto.
The oldest of the 250 series was the 250 GT Speciale (s/n
0465GT) with a 410 Superamerica body, the car was shown
earlier this year at the Cavallino Classics before being sold at the
RM Amelia Island auction in march. Also at Palm Beach was the
250 GT PF SII Cabriolet (s/n 2489GT), this time with a hardtop
that featured a sunroof. The next car was the 250 GT SWB that
was rebodied early in its life by Nembo with a very low profile
Spyder body and elements of the 275 NART Spyder. Certainly a
250 GTO can not be missed in the anniversary year, the car on
show was 4757GT that was parked tail to tail with its later
equivalent, the 288 GTO.
Stars of the Ferrari Class were a duo of 1960s race Ferraris from
the same stable, the 268 SP (0802) and the 250 P (0812). The
250 P both won the 1000 km at the NĂĽrburgring in 1963 and the
12 hours of Sebring in 1964, today it is restored to the Sebring
livery and won its class at the Quail.
But The Quail is not just about classic cars, all the major
premium manufacturers, especially of sports cars realized the
amount of potential clients at the lawn and their displays feature
the latest supercars. Lamborghini for example had the Aventador,
the Sesto Elemento and the Urus SUV on display, Ferrari showed
the California, the FF and the Italia. Even more exotic are the
Pagani Huayra and the Koenigsegg, Bugatti displayed the latest
edition of their Veyron Grand Sport, the light-blue-white Vitesse
along a T35 in the same color scheme. Light blue might be the
color of the season as the Aston Martin Vanquish was painted
baby blue as well, far away from British understatement.
McLaren have chosen this event to unveil the X-1, a one-off
special design for a wealthy client, later that evening the
MP4-12C Spider made its America debut at the Gooding tent in
Pebble.
At the end of the day the Best of Show was announced and
displayed in the Circle of Champions along the class winners.
Unlike at other events not a jury picks out the winners but the
entrants themselves vote for the awards so this might be even
worth more.
The master of the ceremony, Richard Charlesworth, known to be
the head of the Bentley heritage collection had the pleasure to
hand over the trophy to the sensational 1930 Bentley 4 ½ Litre
Supercharged from the Robert M.Lee collection. The car, very
similar to the Blower Bentley for sale the day later at Gooding
was originally owned by Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato himself and
had a very attractive all metal 2/3 seater torpedo body by Gurney
Nutting. Finished in grey with red interior the car looked
sensational in every aspect making this a deserved winner of the
10th edition.
Next year will celebrate 10 years of the Quail and one can be
curious what cars will be seen then, again elegant women will
defile between the cars with a cocktail or a glass of champagne
enjoying a day at the best garden party of the Monterey Classic
Car week. If you want to join them you have to look for the tickets
well in advance as they will sell out very quick again. Hopefully
the weather will be like this year as this was one of the few days
on the peninsula without clouds and fog during the entire day.
Text & images ... Peter Singhof ...
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
Cars seen at The Quail list sorted by Production Year
1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
1921 Alfa Romeo G1 Sports Roadster
1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750
1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato
1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
1930 Bentley 4 ½ Litre Supercharged Gurney Nutting Two Seat
Roadster s/n SM3909
1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Short Chassis Zagato Spyder
1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport
1935 Bugatti T57 S Electron Torpedo Competition Model s/n
57222
1937 Jaguar SS100
1937 Lagonda LG45R
1937 Rolls-Royce 25/30S
1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Spyder
1938 Alfa Romeo S 11 Corto Spyder Speciale s/n 813265
1938 Morgan Super Sports Barrel Back (Three Wheeler)
1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Coupe
1939 Bugatti Type 64
1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Touring Cabriolet
1947 Ferrari 159S s/n 002C
1949 Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta s/n 0022M
1949 Kurtis Sport Car
1951 Pegaso Z-102
1952 Allard J2X
1953 Allard K3
1953 MG TD MKII
1954 Arnolt Bristol Bolide
1955 Austin Healey 100 S
1955 Moretti 1200 Grand Sport Berlinetta
1955 OSCA MT-4 2 AD
1955 Porsche 356 Continental
1955 Siata 208 S Spyder
1956 Ferrari 250 GT Speciale s/n 0465GT
1956 Fiat Eden Roc
1956 Maserati A6G 2000 Allemano Coupe
1956 Porsche 356 A Cabriolet
1957 AC Ace Bristol
1957 BMW 503 Cabriolet
1958 Fiat 750 Viotti Sport
1958 Fiat Abarth 750 GT
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster
1958 Porsche 356 A GT 1500 Carrera Speedster
1958 Porsche Carrera GT Speedster
1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster
1959 Porsche 356 A Sunroof Coupé
1959 Porsche 356A Sunroof Coupé
1960 Aston Martin DB4 Saloon s/n DB4/304/R
1960 Jaguar XK150 FHC
1960 Matchless G50
1960 Porsche 356B Roadster
1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato s/n DB4GT/0187/L
1961 Ferrari 250 GT PF Series II Cabriolet s/n 2489GT
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Nembo Spyder s/n 3771GT
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO s/n 4757GT
1962 Ferrari 268 SP s/n 0802
1962 Jaguar E-Type
1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster
1962 Morgan Plus 4 Four Passenger Roadster
1962 Porsche 356 B Super 90
1962 Porsche 356 B T6 Roadster
1963 Ferrari 250 P s/n 0812
1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupé Aerodynamico PF S2 s/n
4279SA
1963 Iso Grifo A3/L
1963 Shelby Cobra 289
1963 Shelby Daytona Coupe Continuation s/n CSX7063
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso s/n 4521GT
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso s/n 5291GT
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Convertible
1964 Iso Rivolta GT
1964 Porsche 904 Coupe
1964 Shelby Cobra 289
1965 Abarth 2Mila
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale
1965 Aston Martin DB5
1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast s/n 6049SF
1965 Ford GT40
1965 Iso Grifo A3C
1965 Iso Grifo GL Prototype
1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster
1965 Matra Bonnet Djet VS
1965 Norton Dunstall Dominator
1965 Porsche 356 C Coupe
1965 Shelby GT-350
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C
1966 Ferrari 275 GTS
1966 Iso Daytona Targa s/n 420587
1966 Iso Rivolta Coupe
1966 Iso Rivolta IR 300
1966 Lancia Fulvia Sport
1966 Porsche 906
1966 Shelby American GT350H
1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Narrow-Hip Body
1967 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada
1967 Bizzarrini 5300 Strada
1967 Bizzarrini GT America Corsa
1967 Chevrolet Corvette
1967 Ferrari 330 GTC s/n 10517
1967 Iso Grifo 7 Litri
1968 Bizzarrini 5300 GT America
1968 Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada
1968 Fiat 2300S Coupe
1968 Honda S 800 Cabriolet
1968 Iso Grifo 7 Litri
1968 Iso Rivolta Grifo
1968 Iso Rivolta GT
1968 Iso Rivolta IR 300
1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2
1969 Ford GT40 MKI
1969 Iso Grifo 7 Litri
1969 Iso Grifo Targa Series II
1969 Iso Rivolta Fidia
1970 Iso Grifo Targa
1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona
1971 Iso Grifo
1971 Porsche 911 STR
1972 DeTomaso Pantera
1972 Iso Rivolta Varedo
1972 Porsche 911 ST
1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS
1973 Iso Grifo Series 2
1973 Iso Lele
1973 Iso Malboro Formula 1
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Coupe
1974 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona s/n 16939
1974 Iso Grifo
1977 Maserati Bora
1980 Ferrari 512 BB
1982 Ferrari 512 BB
1985 Ferrari 288 GTO
1985 Lamborghini Coutach LP 5000S Quattrovalvole
1990 Ferrari Testarossa s/n 87274
1990 Lamborghini LM 002 A
2009 Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85
2011 Morgan Aero Super Sport
2012 Aston Martin Vanquish
2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse
2012 Ferrari S.A.Aperta
2012 Lamborghini Aventador
2012 Lamborghini Urus
2012 McLaren X-1
2012 Pegani Huayra
Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged VdP s/n SM3917
Bizzarini
Bugatti 16.4 Veyron
Lamborghini Sesto Elemento
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