All photos courtesy of Jack Vhay.
Each August, the world’s greatest automobiles flood the streets and golf courses of Pebble Beach. Known simply as Monterey Car Week, the coastal event is every auto enthusiast’s dream: car shows, racing, auctions, and peacocking for endless phones and cameras. It all leads up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, one of the world’s most exclusive car shows. This year, our art director and resident gearhead Jack Vhay joined Jaguar Land Rover to experience his first foray in the very wealthy world of luxury vehicles. With a Land Rover on loan, he quickly learned that when it comes to a smooth ride, size counts, after all.
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Thursday, August 14th
1:00 PM
I’m standing curbside in the Arrivals terminal at SFO with Norma, a greeter provided by Jaguar, at my side. Up until this point, I still don’t know which Range Rover vehicle I’ll be given to get down to Monterey. In the crowd of cars I spy the distinctly round LED headlights of a Defender. As it slinks up to us I realize they are giving me the keys to the big daddy of the Defender range, the 130 V8; matte black (a shade they call Carpathien Grey) over a black interior, with a 5.0L supercharged V8-engine. I was anticipating a walk around of the vehicle to explain the various features, but instead the driver just hands me the keys and tells me I’m all set. Off I go. The car is a boat, but immediately I get the sense of it being a “brute in a suit.” (An overused descriptor in the car world, I realize, for muscly British cars such as the Defender, but it’s true). The V8 snarls as I give it a quick push up the ramps exiting the terminal. I am grinning like an idiot.
2:15 PM
It’s time for lunch. As it’s my first time in California, I set the sat nav to guide me to In-N-Out. The drive-thru would be the quicker thing to do (I need to be at the hotel by 5), but why rush one’s first experience of the ultimate west coast institution? I order a double-double, and, predictably, it’s everything I needed.
5:00 PM
I arrive at the InterContinental Clement Monterey. I hand the Defender off to the valet, dump my bags in the room, and make my way to an early dinner arranged by JLR. The sky is overcast and it’s slightly chilly on the hotel balcony overlooking Monterey Bay. Prepared for us are various salads, steak, fish, veggies, all lovely. I sip a Campari and soda and make small talk with my fellow junket-goers.
6:30 PM
We are shuttled over to Range Rover House Pebble Beach, the brand’s home base for the week. The venue is basically someone’s mansion overlooking one of the many golf courses in the area staged with exclusive models from the Range Rover portfolio. Within feet of exiting the shuttle, champagne appears. We tour the cars and the home, munch on delicate hors d’oeuvres, sip whiskey flights, and talk cars.
8:15 PM
The big moment of the evening is the reveal of a one-of-one Range Rover project: SV Asilomar. It’s a tribute to “the natural beauty found at Asilomar Cove within Monterey Bay,” rumored to sell in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Someone in the small sea of people gathered on the back terrace will likely buy the vehicle by the end of the weekend.
Friday, August 15th
9:00 PM
It’s a misty morning and we’re headed to the Quail Motorsports gathering at The Quail Lodge & Golf Club. Imagine stands from the most high-end car brands, showing off what’s new this year and attracting new clientele. Tickets cost in the thousands, cars cost in the hundreds of thousands and millions. I’ve got my walking shoes (penny loafers) on.
10:00 PM
Before going to explore the grounds, our group gets a tour around the Jaguar Type 00 concept from the managing director of Jaguar, Rawdon Glover. I’d seen photos of the vehicle before, but they don’t do it justice. In the flesh, it’s stunning. Super long and edgy. It’s painted in a shade called “French Ultramarine,” inspired by International Klein Blue. Perfection.
10:45 PM
Time to explore. First stop, Veuve Cliquot booth. The sun is now out in full force, and I want to shed the jacket I’m wearing but it does complete the look, so I keep it on. I circle the event three times at least, looking at the people as much as I’m looking at the cars. It’s an interesting mix of personalities from the car journalism world, executives, and billionaires. I eavesdrop on conversations between wealthy men discussing recent allocations they got. At lunch (sliders, seasoned fries, green salads, ice cream sundaes), three women who appear to be straight from the cast of The Real Housewives of Monterey ask to join me. They’re locals, here to support their friend who is on the board of the Quail. The conversation revolves around traffic, vacationing, and, “What exactly is Interview magazine?” Back to walking and cars. I pick up some free caviar at the Road and Track booth.
7:30 PM
Time for a special dinner at the Range Rover House. On one side of the living room, tables set up for Range Rover’s top clients. On the other side, at a sort-of “kids table” hidden behind a dividing fireplace, our group. The chef, either currently at or formerly at French Laundry, introduces each course. Lots and lots of very good wine.
Saturday, August 16th
10:00 PM
We head to Jaguar Open Studio, located not far from the hotel. Outside we’re greeted by three older Jags, an E-Type coupe, XJS convertible and an XJ220. Inside, the Type 00 appears once again. I’m introduced to Axel and Vit from the design team. We talk about materials, colors, history, and what inspires them.
1:15 PM
Lunch back near the hotel before heading over once more to Open Studio for a series of talks.
5:00 PM
Dinner at Cella. More wine and cocktails, with courses of organic greens, the best shrimp cocktail I’ve ever had, prime rib, Alaskan halibut, roasted veggies, and desserts that people, I’m told, “wait in a line down the block” to buy. The chocolate cake was quite good, not too sweet.
7:00 PM
Back to Open Studio, this time for a big party. Questlove DJ’s. Brooks Nadar glides around the Type 00 seductively, rivaling the car to be the center of attention. Really strong cocktails are poured in abundance, and I’m beginning to wish I had had more prime rib and bread at dinner. A tall guy with glasses knocks over and smashes one of the chic little glass side tables and walks away while pointing to his female companion saying, “She did it.” Before leaving I get introduced to Luke Evans, and we chat about classic Land Rovers, Guinness, travel plans.
Sunday, August 17th
5:30 PM
I only manage a few hours of sleep before my alarm tells me it’s time to prepare myself for the Pebble Beach Concours, the premiere car show of Car Week. I’m getting up earlier than I need to so I can partake in the tradition known as “Dawn Patrol,” where you line up to watch the entrants drive onto the event lawn as the sun rises. Last night, I was informed that I will have the honor of riding along with one of the classic Land Rovers. This is one of the few things that could get me to put on a shirt and tie before sunrise.
7:00 PM
In a parking lot not far from the show field, I’m surrounded by the best classic cars I’ve ever seen, including two Ferrari 250 LMs and 8 or so grand-expedition-surviving Land Rovers, all causally idling as they wait to head to the event grounds. I learn I’ll be hopping in the “Darién Gap,” a 1971 Range Rover Suffix A British Trans American Expedition vehicle. In the very early 70s it was one of two Range Rovers to drive the 18,000 miles from Alaska to Cape Horn over 99 days. Driving 10 minutes from a parking lot to a golf course in Pebble Beach should be easy.
8:00 PM
The Land Rovers park up on the show field. I learn that if you get up early enough for Dawn Patrol, you have the chance to be awarded one of a few Hagerty-branded Dawn Patrol baseball caps, and a donut. It gets very intense. Earlier, I’m told, a fistfight broke out between two men (almost definitely men) over one of these caps. In years past, someone saw a pregnant woman get shoved in the heat of the moment. I walk around in the sun for the remainder of the morning, looking at the most jaw-dropping grouping of cars I’ve ever seen. The Ferrari Lawn alone easily values in the hundreds of millions of dollars. I weave in and out of the growing crowd while making sure I don’t drop my point-and-shoot onto any body panels worth more than my existence. At events of this caliber, it can become challenging to fully take everything in. Supercars that I would be thrilled to see in the wild anywhere else start to feel like seeing a Toyota Corolla. That said, it’s the greatest display of automotive design and craftsmanship I think I’ll ever see in one place. It’s a dream.
12:30 PM
Sunburned and running on fumes, I head back to the hotel to try and sleep for an hour before my drive back to SFO. Unable to sleep because cars are constantly revving on the street outside my hotel room as they slowly parade around downtown.
3:00 PM
I make the two-hour drive north to SFO in the Defender. I turn on a playlist of music mentioned in Bret Easton Ellis’ The Shards. I hate that I have to part ways with my temporary ride; if they told me I had to drive it back to NY, I would.
