Not just for Italians anymore.

Todays trip was to the 2007 Concourso Italiano at the Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course. We arrived in Monterey , actually Seaside, about an hour and a half early so we thought we'd try to find the golf course for the event... we drove right to it. Actually we had the assistance of the mid 50's Mercedes 300SL we had followed since Santa Cruz. Anyone driving a $400K car had to be going to this event. Gotta be honest, we were the only ones in a Ford Edge in the parking area. Even the spectators had their Rolls, Bentleys, Lotus and host of Italian hardware out for the day.

So, if you really know me, I am not head over heals for Italian cars... a little over-styled for my taste. You know, that feeling only comes from seeing them in magazines, books and the second rate Magnum P.I. wannabe's you see in Minneapolis. Once you see these cars in person, they have a real appeal to them. Even the dreaded Lamborghini is an exciting car. Wow, do I want an Italian car now? Well, after driving that Maserati last December I could have tol you yes. Now, YES PLEASE.

Take a look at the brief group of photos I made a little gallery for;

http://www.losingtime.com/monterey_2007/concourso_italiano.html

You'll notice that the gallery is not all Italian. I was surprised by the beautiful Maserati MC12, a Le Mans car for the street. I was even more surprised by all the Aston Martin's, Bentley's and the much anticipated Bugatti Veyron. You will see some great cars, only about 20% of all the photos I've taken, but like I said earlier, you can't appreciate the design of these cars from photos. The designers are true artists, not just the old cars... the new ones are incredibly beautiful. How does one make an over the top million dollar race car look like sculpture?

Let me just give you a brief rundown of the cost of a handful of cars of note I saw today.
Porsche 911 GT3RS - $125K
Bentley Continental GT - $180K
Bentley Continental GTC - $220K
Ferrari Scaglietti - $275K
Ferrari 575M Superamerica - $290K
Lamborghini Murcielago - $330K
Saleen S7 - $575K
Maserati MC12 - $800K
Ferrari Enzo - approx. $1M
Bugatti Veyron - $1.2

Now put these cars together on one golf course and we are looking over a Billion dollars in cars in one day. Now with the unmentionable cost of the classics we'll be seeing on Sunday, I can't imagine what we'll be looking at total. (Who would be so crass to count?)

Good Luck,
~Dana

BTW, we've just taken some photos of our much better accomodations today... I'll be posting soon.