Monterey Car Week 2026: Broken Records, Unforgettable Times and Tamer

McLaren W1 First Drive: Ferocious Hypercar Transcends the Track

You know things are getting serious when McLaren rolls-out the ‘1’ suffix. The origin story is, of course, the very first road car McLaren ever built, the F1. Designed by visionary Formula 1 aerodynamicist and engineer Gordon Murray, it arrived in 1992 and rendered all other supercars obsolete. The tiny, lightweight F1 embraced carbon-fibre material technology, adopted a radical centre seat driving position with two passengers set back and either side and was powered by a 6.1-litre V12 engine from BMW that might as well have been passed down directly from the Gods. Game-changer? That doesn’t even come close to describing its impact, even if at the time sales didn’t come easy… The P1 was very different. Rather than a unique side project from the Formula 1 team, it was instead a statement piece for McLaren Automotive, a new road car division still in its infancy. It arrived in 2013 and was a wild-eyed showstopper. It traded the long-legged gait and supple suspension of the F1 for a weaponized hybrid system capable of delivering 903bhp and huge blue flames from its drainpipe exhaust. In Race mode, it lowered by 2-inches and its massive concave rear wing extended into the sky. The P1 was all about aerodynamic downforce, crazed acceleration and a snorting, angry soundtrack that mixed venomous twin-turbocharged V8 with the manic whirr of electric motors. Not so much a car as a force of nature. And now there’s this: The W1. It’s a true successor to the P1 with a similar brief and, on the face of it, it evolves rather than radically reinvents McLaren’s vision for the ultimate hypercar. This is not a criticism. How could it be when the result is this dramatic and has such staggering, other-worldly potential? The W1 has 1258bhp delivered to the rear wheels. It’s capable of 0-124 mph in 5.8-seconds, the quarter mile in 9.6-seconds at 167 mph and produces 2205lbs of downforce at 174 mph. The active aerodynamics – particularly a rear wing that extends way out beyond the rear of the car – are pure performance art and deliver massive aerodynamic efficiency. The result, aside from looking extremely cool, is that the W1 is McLaren’s fastest road car around a racetrack. Ever. Their benchmark circuit is the breath-taking Handling Track at the Nardo proving ground in southern Italy, where the W1 beats their previous benchmark, the flyweight McLaren Senna, by three seconds per lap. Or “a lifetime” as they call it in racing. Maybe two lifetimes! Core to the W1’s performance is the new ‘Aerocell’ carbon fibre tub. With integrated seats and a raised footwell to allow for inboard pushrod-operated front suspension – which in turn gives air a clean path to the huge underbody diffuser – it’s light, stiff, space efficient and has been instrumental in McLaren realising a full ground-effect concept. Just like last year’s F1 cars, which were the fastest ever made. There is also an active front wing and the aforementioned complex rear wing dubbed ‘Active Long Tail’. All of which is very admirable. But the ‘anhedral’ or gullwing doors and the fantastically shirnked-wrapped feel to the minimalist, highly-focussed interior are a pretty good side effect. The W1 feels special. Those fixed seats are perhaps a shade more upright than expected, and the driving position is less obviously racecar than, for example, the Aston Martin Valhalla or Ferrari F80. However, once you’ve adjusted the pedals (they move on a slider) and the delicate, slim-rimmed and alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, there’s an overwhelming sense of purpose. The cabin is so tightly tailored and imparts a sense of lightness and agility before you so much as start the all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which makes 916bhp all on its own and revs to 9200rpm. Reach up to a roof-mounted control panel to find the starter button. Maybe this fighter plane trope is a little corny, but somehow you feel thrilled rather than manipulated. The W1 has a sense of humour as well as all that motorsport-derived sophistication. There’s a short delay, but when the engine does fire it’s instant – as the high-powered hybrid system negates the need for an old-school starter motor. A sharp flare of revs tells you that this engine is hyper-responsive and angry. On some deep level your brain and body have been sent all the signals required to prepare for something new and intense. Ahead of us, an empty Mugello racetrack, so press and hold the blue button next to the red starter to select Race mode. The centre display graphic shows the W1’s transformation in real time as it lowers by 37mm at the front and 17mm at the rear whilst simultaneously undocking all that active aero goodness. Race mode is not road legal and is geo-locked. You can show your friends and neighbours the aero dance, but it won’t allow you to select a gear to actually drive unless you’re at a circuit. Incidentally, the rocker switches either side of the display binnacle allow further options now: Toggle up the Handling control on the left for Race+ (for F1-spec super smooth tracks) or stick to Race for gnarlier ones. On the right toggle select ‘GP’ for sustained performance over a stint or ‘Sprint’ to unleash all 1258bhp for a time attack. There’s also a DRS and Boost function on the steering wheel. But I guarantee you won’t have the mental capacity to use them… Exit the pitlane, pin the throttle and W1 takes maybe a millisecond or two to gather its might (the gearing stretches to around 60mph in first, nearly 100mph in second, primarily to aid traction), but then lunges at the first turn with incredible ferocity. It instantly feels light, almost like inertia is no longer a thing. McLaren really does prize lightweight engineering, and at 3084lbs (dry) the W1 has a 278lbs advantage over the Ferrari F80. Plus, Ferrari uses figures for cars fitted with every single carbon fibre option. In reality, the gap is probably wider still. The impression of agility and stunning control continues as the track is unravelled at startling pace. The electric motor mounted to the side of the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is good for 342bhp and 324lb ft and it boosts any low rev lethargy the new flat-plane crank V8 might have (spoiler alert: It doesn’t appear to have any), so the W1 just feels massively, almost impossibly powerful at any revs. Even so, there’s real reward for wringing it out to 9200rpm and the power curve feels superheated but organic, too. In Race mode the steering – still hydraulically powered – has less assistance and it is noticeably heavier than other McLarens. However, that resistance is welcome as it gives you something to push against and imparts so much information about the front grip level. New Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres with a bigger front footprint than P1 or Senna really help. The front-end feels incredibly secure and the rear-axle follows with perfectly-aligned precision. The whole car feels super-stiff, completely locked into the surface and inspires confidence, but there’s an inherent agility and adjustability that means you’re quickly confident to push at its limits and really impose yourself on the chassis. It’s such a complex car but the driving experience is intuitive, and the driver feels a key contributor rather than just amazed (or terrified) observer, holding on for dear life. Every dynamic ingredient really is shockingly effective and yet has a subtlety and lightness of touch. From that delicious steering to the incredible brakes, the W1 just feels so mission-focussed, so hooked-up. Only the new 8-speed gearbox is a slightly disappointment. It’s fast and punchy, but after the scintillating energy of the Ferrari F80 ’box it feels competent rather than inspired. Other quibbles – it’s okay to quibble when the starting price is $2.1-million before tax and destination charge. Well, that new twin-turbocharged V8 sounds tightly wound and aggressive but if you have a P1 tucked in the garage you’ll miss the snorting, Darth Vader-style soundscape and all the drama that goes with it. Ferrari does this better, too. The F80 sounds deathly dull from the outside but is a riot of turbochargers, electric motors and all sorts of mechanical fury within the cockpit. Even so, the W1 is wildly entertaining on track, and the rear-drive configuration makes it more of a challenge and more satisfying than the F80 when chasing lap times or just sliding around for fun. In the Ferrari, you must second-guess what the front e-axle might do, whereas in the W1 it’s all on you. There are plenty of tools to help, including the ingenious Variable Drift Control, but somehow the W1 is more heroic. Or at least fools you into feeling more heroic – which is surely the point! On the road? Nimble, loaded with feel and sublime response. The ride is noticeably tougher than, say, a 750S but the control is ramped-up too, and with a bit more speed the whole car finds a delicious rhythm. Sport mode for the drivetrain brings some nice turbo whooshes and chirps, but the noise remains high-quality rather than extreme excitement. It is perhaps the one area the W1 feels just a little too tame. Of course, there’s nothing tame about the raw performance… which is genuinely shocking and literally hurts your neck muscles after a few hours. How McLaren has given the W1 such immense traction through just two driven wheels is beyond me. So, is it worthy of that ‘1’? I think so. Perhaps we won’t be talking about $25-million auction results for the W1 in 30 years from now, as we are for the F1. Perhaps it doesn’t quite have the amazing presence and jaw-dropping star quality of the simply gorgeous P1. But it is such an intense experience and the way it marries stunning track performance with delicate poise and entertainment on normal roads is something akin to magic. Maybe not ‘the one’ but definitely a searing, outrageous addition to McLaren’s fiercest family line. Just 399 W1’s will be built and they’re all sold. I’m not surprised at all. View All McLarens For Sale Images: McLaren Automotive

Monterey Car Week 2026: Broken Records, Unforgettable Times and Tamer Streets

A look at this year's Monterey Car Week.

by Edward Jones – September 01, 2026

Last year I showed up to Monterey Car Week with no idea what I was walking into. I'd spent more than a decade hearing stories from coworkers about the cars, the weather, and the parties, and I finally went to see whether any of it held up. It did. So this year I came back, and the interesting thing about a second trip is that you stop being amazed by the fact that a Koenigsegg is parked at a gas station and start paying attention to everything happening around it. Alright, it actually is really awesome seeing a Koenigsegg posted up at a gas station and always will be.

I flew in Wednesday and landed in the afternoon. Stepping out of the airport into that cool Monterey air after a Florida August is a feeling I'd been looking forward to for months, and it did not disappoint. I unpacked, got some work done, and went to dinner at Il Vecchio, a wonderful Italian spot where the pasta is made fresh in front of you all night long. If you want a low-key first night before the week takes over your life, that is the move.

Thursday is when it started in earnest. The team and I headed up into the mountains to a winery for Gordon Murray Automotive's private unveiling of the new S1, with Gordon Murray and Dario Franchitti on hand to do the honors. I want to thank GMA for the invite and for being such lovely people. I've enjoyed watching how far this company has come over the past few years, and I'm genuinely excited to see what they do next.

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From the mountains, it was back down and over to Zenvo's house for introductions to the Aurora Agil and the Aurora Tur. Two hypercars built off the same idea with very different purposes, and Chief Designer Christian Brandt was there to walk through the design language behind each one. There is nothing better than going over a car with the person who drew it, because you get the reasoning behind every surface and every curve rather than a spec sheet. I especially appreciated learning that Danish furniture design was part of the inspiration behind the Tur. Also, shout out to the pizza served at the house, which was phenomenal.

Next came the Concours Village to pick up credentials, then over to see what Gooding Christie's had on display. Front and center sat the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe that would go on to sell for $42.9 million, which is the kind of thing you walk past and have to remind yourself is real.

I made a lap of the lots and then headed to Lincoln's private event at the Pebble Beach Club, where the brand had its latest models lined up, including the new 2027 Navigator and Nautilus. We ran through the Lincoln Rejuvenate mode, a five- to ten-minute session that combines massage, audio, visuals, and even scent when the available Lincoln Digital Scent is installed. After the day I'd already had, I needed it more than I expected to.

Once that wrapped, I made my way to the House of M event by BMW, where the BMW M Concept Neue Klasse made its North American premiere right by Cannery Row. There was a long list of iconic and classic M cars alongside it, and the crowd was full of BMW purists in a genuinely great setting. The pizza was on point there too. That's the moment I realized I was going to be a pizza connoisseur for the week, because pizza turned out to be the common thread at nearly every event I attended. Not a complaint by any means whatsoever.

If you're wondering whether I called it a night there, you'd be wrong, unfortunately for my feet. I still had Gunther Werks' private event at Folktale Winery ahead of me, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire week. The atmosphere was lavish, warm, and welcoming all at once. Standing in the cask room surrounded by the winery's barrels and roughly 3,000 candles was unreal, and the smell of the wood was an experience by itself.

On display was a recent commission finished in multi-stage Pearl White over smooth-grain Marine Blue leather with bespoke blue houndstooth, making 850 horsepower and running a manual transmission. That's the right car for the coast roads and the run up through Carmel Valley, and I don't think anyone at that event would argue.

And while I didn't get a chance to attend, duPont REGISTRY was a partner with Luxury Rally Club for their Concours & Cocktails at The Preserve event. This event was an invite-only happening held in an unbelievably picturesque setting that offers extraordinary cars, elevated culinary experiences, and unforgettable conversations. This upscale event is on everyone's list of things to attend during MCW, but only a select few get the chance to experience it.

On Friday, The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, was taking place, and while I didn't get the chance to attend, duPont REGISTRY was on display alongside Luxury Rally Club with an activation sponsored by BRABUS. In attendance was also the BRABUS BODO, the car on the cover of our August 2026 issue.

For my own Friday, I finally had a few hours to catch up on work and actually look around. If you think Monterey Car Week is all about the cars, you're right, but the setting is a big part of why it works. The coastline gives you those deep blues as a backdrop, and it delivers the cool air that makes walking around all day genuinely pleasant instead of the endurance test it would be back home in Florida.

The people are as good as the scenery. I spent some time talking with employees at shops along Lighthouse Avenue about what they think of the week. I'd expected a range of negative opinions and mostly got the opposite. Most of those I talked to loved seeing the cars roll through their hometown, and they appreciated the surge in spending at local restaurants and shops. The complaints came down to two things: traffic, which means leaving earlier for work or school, and the drivers who insist on revving and breaking local traffic laws.

For what it's worth, this year felt calmer than last, and there was a noticeable law enforcement presence around town. Enforcement on the Monterey Peninsula was increased for 2026, and Car Week led to 761 traffic stops and 48 arrests across the peninsula. Some people will complain about that, but we want Monterey Car Week to survive, and it won't if reckless driving keeps trending up. More to the point, we should be kind to the locals who welcome us into their beautiful home and treat them with respect. The vast majority of visitors already do, but a couple of bad apples can ruin the bunch.

Now that I'm off my soapbox, let's talk about Mecum. With more than 500 cars crossing the block and over $100 million in sales, there was a lot of ground to cover, and thankfully David Morton from Mecum gave me a tour of the field. A bare carbon fiber Bugatti EB110, a Koenigsegg Jesko Attack, and the custom baby-blue 1959 Chevrolet Impala lowrider from Nipsey Hussle and DJ Khaled's 2019 "Higher" video were all in the mix, along with plenty more that stopped me in my tracks. I also got a preview of what's coming to their Kissimmee auction, which is always a must-attend.

Once night fell, it was over to RM Sotheby's at the Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Center for its 29th year in Monterey. That room is always electric, with high hammer prices coming through left and right, and RM consistently brings the best of the best to this sale. Friday was a shorter day than Thursday and a more auction-forward one, which I always enjoy.

It was also a welcome breather, because Saturday was going to be long. That being said, I wish I were in the room when the Ferrari Luce "Chassis 0" smashed all estimations and sold for a record-breaking $40 million, all of which went to the Ferrari Foundation charity.

Bright and early Saturday, I headed to Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course for Concorso Italiano, which duPont REGISTRY partnered with for the 2026 edition. If you're a fan of Italian cars, or just fine automobiles in general, this is one you can't miss. The field was full of machinery that made its way over from Italy, with Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Bizzarrini, De Tomaso, Ferrari, FIAT, Iso, Lamborghini, Lancia, and Maserati all represented. duPont REGISTRY Select was on hand with several vehicles that were actually for sale, including a stunning Porsche 918 Spyder, one of the few but very welcome non-Italian cars on the property.

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duPont REGISTRY's presence went well beyond the display. Cristina Cheever, Charles Bradley, Eric Curran, and Antoine Tessier all took the stage across the day, and Charles sat down with Jeff Mason of the Piston Foundation for a conversation about the skilled trades shortage facing this hobby, which is not an abstract problem when restoration shops are aging out faster than they're being replaced. The Chairman's Award, presented by duPont REGISTRY, went to a 1949 Ferrari 166MM Touring Barchetta owned by David and Carol Seielstad of Princeville, Hawaii, with Antoine and Charles on stage alongside current chairman Tanya Kosta and former chairmen Tom McDowell and Jack Wadsworth. The award pits past Best of Show winners against each other, so the bar is absurd by design, and a 166MM is a small car carrying an enormous amount of history. Best of Show went to Jim Utaski's 1959 Maserati 3500 GT Bertone. When the awards wrapped, duPont REGISTRY led a rally off the property and over to the Monterey Motorsports Festival, which is exactly how a car show should end.

Happening simultaneously with Concorso Italiano was the Exotics on Broadway event, which duPont REGISTRY was a sponsor for. The show has come a long way since it started in 2015, pulling in more than 40,000 spectators, and it does it without the ropes and reserved seating you find elsewhere on the peninsula. This year the layout changed, with the old Fremont area relocated to Del Monte Blvd as a fully enclosed, ticketed Vendor and Hypercar Showcase holding more than 40 hypercars, a lineup of sponsors and vendors, and a main entertainment stage.

Going back to my day, the rally from Concorso Italiano put me at the Monterey County Fairgrounds for the Monterey Motorsports Festival. No allocation, no waitlist, just a ticket and a gate. The billing is "One Night, One Culture, All Cars," and the festival takes that literally. Rare builds and iconic machines shared the grounds with custom culture, a JDM section, Mecum's classics and muscle, and an off-road corner. duPont REGISTRY Group presented the evening and filled a good share of the programming, with Charles Bradley hosting main stage collector interviews and Raffaello Porro running additional conversations, plus a curated collector car display and the duPont REGISTRY Editor's Choice Award going to one of the cars on the field.

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The headline was Kimera Automobili, the 2026 featured marque, with founder Luca Betti pulling the covers off the Koenigsegg-powered K-39 live on the main stage before sitting down to talk about where the company is headed. Once the sun dropped, the Arena and Main Stage carried the night with the biggest concert of the week, and between the food vendors, the outdoor bars, and the vendor village, the fairgrounds felt like the one place all week where every corner of car culture was standing in the same lot.

After two events like that back to back, I went straight back to the house, because Sunday is the big one.

After a lovely breakfast at Happy Girl Cafe, it was time for the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Stretched across the 18th hole and all around the grounds were cars of unimaginable provenance, pulled out of their loving homes for a shot at one of the coveted awards and, for a few, at Best of Show.

Lamborghini brought what I counted as 43 Miuras to celebrate the model's 60th anniversary, setting the record for the largest gathering of Miuras ever assembled in one place. Ferrari had its own section dedicated to its finest work, including a curation of one-offs with my personal favorite, the SC40, among them.

When the time came, I headed to the stage, where the collector car world's top prize went to a Duesenberg SSJ originally owned by Clark Gable. The streamers and confetti filling the stage never get old, and it's still the best possible way to close out the event. Pebble Beach also surpassed $50 million in total charitable giving this year, a grand number for an equally grand event. This concours is always magical to attend, and not only because I see cars I will probably never see again. I get to catch up with friends and with people I work with all year long, in what I'd argue is one of the most serene settings on earth. If you've never been, this is one event you have to see in person at least once to understand how much it means to the automotive world.

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Once the day wrapped up, it was back to bed and then home after a long week. This was only my second Monterey Car Week, and it was just as magical as the first. I think that's how everyone else feels too, and it's why they keep coming back. The whole week was full of unforgettable events and memories made possible by the automotive world I've loved since I was a kid, and it's an honor to be part of what I'd call the most famous car week on the planet.

So again, if you ever get the chance to attend, even just to car spot from a sidewalk, do it. You will not regret it. Just be sure to be respectful to the locals and to your fellow visitors, because it takes the whole village to keep Monterey Car Week around so the generations after us can experience it too.

Edward Jones