CAR GUY CHRONICLES’ JIM PALAM HITS THE LONG PEDAL AND RACES TO THE HIGH-OCTANE EVENTS DURING MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025.
Monterey Car Week is an unapologetic showoff. Heck, its ‘week’ lasts 10 days! Its calendar crams in over 35 official events. MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 attendees – and there were over 100,000 of them – travel from all over the world to the Monterey Peninsula for the privilege of getting stuck in traffic jams and paying three to five times the going rate for hotel and motel rooms – just so they can wear event lanyards and wrist bands, wave auction paddles, and hobnob with movers, shakers and superstars of the automotive and motorsports worlds.
Ahh, but the elixir that ultimately attracts and seduces these multitudes of Car Week fans, including myself, are magical machines – some over a century old and some still on the drawing board – that can not only transport us to destinations near and far, but also titillate our senses, break us free from mundane lives, help us embrace the concept of freedom, and ultimately move us into the immersive realm of possibility!
Nearly a year ago, with the best intentions, I began a process of foresightful preparation to overcome all obstacles that would prevent me from spending a full seven days as a freelance photojournalist covering MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025. Well, even with all my proactive and prudent planning, by August 1st, I had to accept the fact that ‘My Car Week’ would only last for four days. But I’m happy to report that I was able to cover these exciting events: Gooding Christie’s Auction (preview), Porsche Club of America Werks Reunion, Mecum Auction, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, and the unparalleled Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
So, gang, let’s get my special Car Guy Chronicles MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 report rolling!
One of my favorite events during was the 51st Annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, which ran from August 13th through the 16th. On Saturday morning, August 16th, I captured this shot, top, of Charles McKee wheel-hopping his ’66 Shelby GT350 down into the corkscrew at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He raced hard in the Group 4-Ken Miles GT Trophy-Race 1, finishing 15th in a competitive field of 26 cars.
An alarm clock miscalculation brought me to Laguna Seca an hour before the required 8 AM safety meeting, so I headed into the paddock to see who might be there early to prep for the day’s racing. A mechanic in the IROC (International Race of Champions) tent had just pulled a tire on this famous ‘05 Pontiac Firebird, which over the years has been driven by Mark Martin, Sam Hornish Jr., Max Papis, and Hélio Castroneves. This RWD racecar is powered by a 500-horsepower, 350 GM V8, mated to a Jerico 4-speed manual transmission.
Right after the National Anthem finished playing, I rushed to a trackside position behind the K-rail at Laguna Seca – just yards away from this charging field of iconic Formula 1 racecars as they were finishing their formation lap and heading towards the green flag. The reunion was celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Formula 1. In the excitement, I fumbled my earplugs and dropped them out of reach. These mid-1960s to mid-1980 cars are known for their ear-splitting, high-pitched engine screams that were unfiltered by today’s modern technology. Note to Self: Always-always-always carry a spare set of earplugs!
Racing buddies Charles Nearburg and Gunnar Jeannette entered two beautiful Lancia D50s in the Group 9-Juan Fangio Cup Rolex Race at the Annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. Charles finished the 9-lap race in first place in his ’54 D50A car No. 30, and Gunnar finished right behind him in P2 in his ’55 D50 car No. 50. I grabbed this shot of Charles skillfully twisting down the infamous Corkscrew.
During my early Saturday morning exploration of the still-wet paddock at Laguna Seca, I discovered a 1917 Hispano-Suiza Boattail Racer in the Ragtime Racers display area. It was the only car at this early hour that was uncovered. This historic racecar features a 1917 Panhard chassis, a water-cooled 1918 Hispano-Suiza 8 aero engine, a 1920s Lorraine-Dietrich 4-speed transmission, and a dual-chain drive. This gem was found hidden in a barn in France and brought to America by its present owner, Kip Cyprus.
Back in 1998, the marketing gurus at Victoria’s Secret customized a white Lamborghini Diablo SV and featured it in a sexy two-page catalog spread. One of the clever things they did was invert the Diablo’s distinctive “SV” logo and splash large chrome VS decals along the sides of the car. The Diablo disappeared until Cannonball Runner and YouTuber Ed Bolian assembled a team to find the car and restore it back to its sexy glory. Not only was Ed’s VS Diablo one of the featured cars at the 2025 Concorso Italiano, it was also parked in my hotel’s parking lot!
So many of the MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 events are praiseworthy, but there’s still one that rouses dedicated fans out of their warm beds before sunrise. Dawn Patrollers line up along the entry road to the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links so they can be the first car enthusiasts to ogle and praise the show cars as they motor in to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. I captured this shot of Urban Outlaw Magnus Walker, his partner Hannah Elliot, and a business associate as they marched from the asphalt road to the manicured grass very early on Sunday morning, August 17th.
The sunrise provided perfect lighting for William “Chip” Connor’s impeccable ‘32 Invicta 4.5 Litre S Type Carbodies Tourer sitting in front of a wondrous Spanish Bay backdrop. This rare, low-slung, four-seat British tourer features coachwork by Carbodies, a powerful 4.5-liter Meadows straight-six engine, Rotax headlights, and a center spotlight. The S-Type was Invicta’s most famous model, competing at Brooklands, winning the 1931 Monte Carlo Rally, and capable of hitting speeds well over 100 mph. This car won Pebble’s Gran Tourismo Trophy.
Size matters. With my 24-70 mm lens on my Canon, I could not step back far enough on the already crowded show field at Pebble Beach to fit the entire 18-foot length of this stunning 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo in the frame – and also include the two judges on the right. This impressive-in-every-way Best of Show winner was commissioned by aperitif heir, military pilot, and gentleman racer, André Dubonnet. The H6C is powered by an 8-liter overhead-cam engine and features stunning coachwork of riveted lightweight mahogany.
Racecar liveries have come a long way since a big number was painted on the side of a car using removable, water-based paint or even shoe polish. BMW brought its Le Mans M Hybrid V8 Art Car No. 20 to Pebble Beach, and it got more buzz about its Julie Mehretu artwork livery than it did about the car’s state-of-the-art racecar technology. Mehretu’s design features digitally altered photographs, which are superimposed in several layers of dot grids, neon-colored veils, and black markings. This car and its BMW hybrid running mate experienced technical issues back in June during the last two hours at Le Mans and did not finish.
Heading back to my car after a long day at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, I veered over to Concorso Ferrari, which is a central venue on the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the Concours. Here you could drool over a billion dollars’ worth of rare, collector, and new release Ferraris. This ‘24 Ferrari Daytona SP3 in blue quickly caught my eye – as it did with other Ferrari fans at the Concours. 599 SP3s were built, and those were only offered to Ferrari’s best customers – at a starting price of $2.2 million.
Close your eyes and imagine you’re Venezuelan racecar driver, Mauricio Marcotuli. It’s March 15th, 1959, and you’re sitting in your custom-ordered, white, 12-cylinder 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rosa. You’re at the starting line at the La Trinidad Street Circuit outside of Caracas, Venezuela. When the race is over, you will be standing on the winner’s podium with a wreath hung around your neck. Now open your eyes. It’s August 14th, 2025. You’ve parked your TR in front of Goodings at Concours Village in Pebble Beach. You’ve just completed the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. You haven’t aged a bit. Life is good!
There were lots of fabulous cars at Gooding Christie’s 2025 Pebble Beach Auctions. I had a chance to preview the cars a day ahead of the auction, and I’m excited to present some of my picks in this report. Having joined the Porsche ranks in 2020 with the purchase of a humble 914, I may have been a tad distracted by this eye-popping Porsche 911 RSR-17, which was sitting across the hall from the Big-Ticket Ferrari. It’s the first mid-engine 911 RSR Landmark Model representing the pinnacle of modern GT Racing. Specs: 503 horsepower DOHC Flat 6 engine, 6-speed transaxle, Heritage “Coca-Cola” livery. Sold for $2,260,000 – significantly under its $3.5 M estimate.
From August 15th to the 16th, Gooding Christie’s realized $128,783,810 in sales, with an 85% sell-through rate. Their top seller was LOT 26, a sublime ‘61 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione that sold for $23.3M. This was the highest non-charity sale for all of the MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 auctions! It was also the top sale in Gooding’s two-decade-long car auction history. The lightweight aluminum-bodied Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione is a rare, race-oriented version of the California Spider.
This is what classic automotive style looks like, Comin’at-ya’. The 1930s were known as the Art Deco and Streamlining Era. Boxy functional design was shifting to more elegant and aerodynamic forms. Compared to today’s technology-driven minimalist forms, the front of this ‘37 Lagonda LG45 Rapide is a masterpiece of stunning symmetry. Only 25 LG45 Rapides were built. Power is from a 4.5 Liter OHV Inline-6 engine mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox. The Gooding pre-auction estimated sale price was $700,000 – $900,000.
Back in the 1960s, there was a very vocal and often demonstrative competition between Ford and Chevy. As a showman, racecar driver, and car builder, Carroll Shelby’s star grew brighter and brighter, and the Chevy boys at Bill Thomas Race Cars in Anaheim, CA, decided enough was enough. In 1963, they introduced the Cheetah GT Coupe, a lightweight, fiberglass-bodied, Chevy-powered sports car. Only two dozen “Cobra Killers” were built between 1963 and 1966. This documented, four-owner ’66 was lot 168 at the Gooding Pebble Beach Auction. It is powered by a Rochester Ramjet Fuel Injected 327 Chevy V8.
My first MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 destination on Friday, August 15th, was over to the Monterey Pines Golf Course, where Porsche Club of America had set up their sprawling PCA Werks Reunion 2025 across four manicured fairways. Over 12,000 enthusiasts attended to get up close to more than 700 original, restored, and customized Porsches. It was impossible to pick just one for this report, but Jorge Fuente’s ‘Harlekin’ 993 Tribute Car was impossible to ignore. Porsche built and painted the original for the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show. Jorge’s 911 GT tribute car was built by AP Car Design in Germany and vinyl-wrapped by 405 Motoring in Inglewood, CA.
Mecum Auctions Monterey 2025 was located on the Del Monte Golf Course, a mile or so from the Werks Reunion. So, Part Two of my Friday was spent exploring the staging areas at Mecum. As soon as I spotted the low-slung Monza Red ’93 Jaguar XJ220, I knew this unique supercar would be in my report. At the time of its introduction, the aerodynamic XJ220 was powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine producing 542 horsepower, which helped make it the fastest production car in the world. Questionable changes in engine specs soon dethroned the XJ220. Designed by Keith Helfet, the XJ220 is approximately 5 meters long by 2+ meters wide.
Not many of us like a tease, but this rare car tease was more than acceptable. The hard-working team at Mecum Auctions has been at it since 1988, and they know that dangling a tasty collector car carrot in front of a captive enthusiast audience – like MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025 attendees – will get them some bites. So, this very rare ‘62 ‘Bianco Speciale’ Ferrari 250 GTO was unveiled this August at their Monterey 2025 Auction. Chassis No. 3729GT was the only 250 GTO to leave the Ferrari factory in white. It will be the featured car at Mecum’s Kissimmee Auction in January 2026.
Covering Monterey Car Week is an honor, but it can be demanding both physically and mentally. As my assignment was wrapping up, I made a final stop, this time at Arkadia-Life’s exhibit in Concours Village. I was hoping the folks there would let me chill out in their high-tech sofa chair that looks like the front end of a vintage Porsche. Some of its impressive features are seven E-Storage zones that are activated by a knock of your knuckle, a 13-speaker audio system, and adaptive ambient lighting. Everything is brought together using luxury-grade automotive craftsmanship with Swiss-watch-caliber assembly precision. By the way, you’ll need at least $20,000 to get started to get seated. Ahhh…
Story & Photos © Jim Palam, https://www.jimpalamphotos.com/
For more information about MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2025, please visit https://www.seemonterey.com/events/sporting/concours/