by Wallace Wyss –

What pray tell, is the meaning of that word that marketers invented: lifestyle? The organizers of The Quail A Motorsports Gathering are trying hard to put together an event that will show How to Live the Good Life.

It’s one thing to have made money but quite another to know how to spend it in a tasteful way. This explains the appeal of car events that reach beyond the cars themselves to embrace the whole life style certain cars introduce you to.

The Quail A Motorsports Gathering recently sent me a press release announcing their “Luxury Fashion and Lifestyle Partners” for their event in August, which they say will introduce luxury products and services to “the World’s Most Elite Automotive Hobbyists.”

Their event occurs just two days before the famous Pebble Beach Concours and is intended for some of the same audience except of course The Quail will have lots of new cars to show whereas Pebble confines new cars to outside the concours itself to what I call the “dream car lawn” in front of the Del Monte Lodge.

The Quail A Motorsports Gathering

The location is the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California. The date is Friday, August 18, 2017. Among the roster of new and returning sponsors, are Rolex Watch USA, Sentient Jet, Burgess Yachts, Louis Roederer, Walter Leather Company and Cultures by Toni P. Ltd., among others.

Of course you will see new cars from Porsche, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc… but this year they say they will have additional displays from fashion accessory, spirits and travel companies.

I don’t know if they will have an actual airplane on display but Sentient Jet, an elite private jet charter service will be represented.

Too bad The Quail is not on the ocean or they would be able to display another sponsor’s wares, those of Burgess Yachts.

Though Monterey isn’t far from California’s wine country, The Quail will have real French champagne from France, from the cellars of Louis Roederer.

In a previous year, we met Walter of Walter Leather Company, who can make one-of-a-kind leather jackets, and has been doing so for nearly 30 years.

In the fine jewelry department, there will be a firm called Toni P. Ltd., a fine jewelry line which says they represent Asian countries in their design inspiration.

NO CHARGE FOR DINING

One thing that makes The Quail unusual among events at Monterey during Car Week is that, once you have a ticket, you can choose to dine outdoors, choosing food from no less than four pavilions themed after Peninsula Properties worldwide (a firm that operates hotels in places like Beverly Hills, Carmel Valley, Paris and China). I said four, but this year they will offer a fifth culinary pavilion, an Italian dining tent sponsored by Pirelli, with a menu inspired by their limited-edition cookbook Miles and Meals.

NOT CROWDED

The Brits have a saying, maybe for events like Ascot (the first day of the thoroughbred racing season), to whit: “the right crowd and no crowding.”

The Quail fits that description, and resembles a garden party where everyone there is a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast. I have talked to the displayers of cars at previous Quail events and find them a learned lot.

(I doubt whether I could ask a historical question they couldn’t answer like asking a Porsche 356 displayer who really built the Abarth Zagato Porsche Carreras? Answer: Rocco Motto).

Another thing I like about The Quail is that there is a certain amount of curation in the cars that are shown. They aren’t showing just any car that applies, but picking just a precious few from among hundreds of applicants. Occasionally you see something you didn’t expect to see—one year I saw the hot rod writer Terry Cook showing his French streamline modern style hot rods (not replicas per se, but showing the styling of French cars before the war).

As one would expect with a premium operation, you are treated like a guest at a 5-star hotel, for instance, you can order specialty cocktails and there’s even an oyster and caviar bar. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there is no parking problem. It’s also a short stroll to a nearby auction (which also runs shuttles).

They also have a magnificent program, softbound, perfect bound (that means square on the binding edge) great articles, premium photography. And it’s free. I would say it’s on a par with the Pebble Beach program.

Admission prices for The Quail A Motorsports Gathering are legendary. I can’t even quote the price but suffice to say that it’s a tad above twice what Pebble Beach charges for spectators. The odd thing is that they say in their press release that “Tickets for The Quail were allocated through a lottery system in February and have since sold out”.

But hope springs eternal (and, after all, your company might be paying for you…). Still available tickets include the Charitable Patron Tickets for $2,500 — available for just 150 guests–and if you really like to make an appearance in style, consider if you will The Quail Helicopter Tickets, which run for $6,000 (but that includes two tickets). Information on these can be gained by contacting The Peninsula Signature Events at (831) 620-8879 and their website click here.

 

Let us know what you think about The Quail A Motorsports Gathering in the Comments.

 
 
THE AUTHOR: Artist/Author Wallace Wyss will be displaying his fine art at another venue on the Peninsula during Monterey Car Week but plans to be reporting on The Quail for those who can’t make it.