Monterey Car Week 2025 Part 3: Forza Horizon in Real Life
Jamie Ong
After the hairpins of Highway 9 and the canyons that shaped Part 2 of our journey, Monterey Car Week shifted into a different rhythm. The rarest machines were alive, breathing, and carving through Highway 1 with the Pacific at their side. Watching Ferrari F50s lined up nose to tail at The Quail or driving through Big Sur’s cliffs was an immersive experience for any true enthusiast. It felt like Forza Horizon rendered in real life, only with the patina of history and the unmistakable soundtracks of flat-sixes and turbos bouncing off canyon walls.
By the time the week reached its peak, the energy had shifted. Monterey has always celebrated provenance, performance, and passion, but this year the message was louder than ever: these icons were never meant to be entombed in garages. Their truest legacy isn’t static display - it’s the road, the motion, the horizon ahead.
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering: Monterey’s Modern Launchpad
The Quail isn’t Monterey’s oldest tradition, but it has quickly become one of its most anticipated. Originally introduced by the Peninsula Hotels simply as a celebration of cars, it has evolved into the place where manufacturers now choose to make their boldest statements. In the post-Geneva Show era, The Quail has filled the void - quiet in atmosphere, but hyped as the stage for the year’s most exciting debuts.
The highlight of 2025 was the Gordon Murray S1 LM, a bespoke creation inspired by the 1995 Le Mans–winning McLaren F1 GTR. Designed in collaboration with Florian Flatau and Gordon Murray’s own Special Vehicles team, the car embodied everything The Quail has become: a modern launchpad for the most exclusive and technically ambitious machines of our time.
Restomods: Redefining Collectible Culture
Last year, restomods were the curious sideshow - fascinating, but still battling for legitimacy. By 2025, they stole center stage. Builders were intent on reimagining history. Carbon fiber panels met vintage silhouettes, while hand-stitched leather interiors hid digital clusters and active suspension. These restorations were declarations, unapologetically challenging what “collectibility” means.
It was clear: a generational handover is underway. For younger enthusiasts raised on Forza and Instagram reels, restomods represent authenticity - not in preservation, but in evolution. And at Monterey 2025, that message came through louder than any hammer fall at an auction.
Highway 1 & Laguna Seca: Cars in Motion, Not Museums
Here’s where the heartbeat of Monterey truly pulsed. Last year’s events often left icons static - perfect but silent, admired like jewelry on velvet. This year, the script flipped. Highway 1 became a rolling stage, $4–5 million Ferraris and Lamborghinis carving Big Sur’s cliffs with the ferocity of a living art exhibit. At Laguna Seca, the legendary Corkscrew echoed with the growl of V12s and the shriek of turbos, cars doing what they were built to do: move.
Monterey 2025 reminded us that cars are not mini-museums or hedge-fund assets. Their value is not locked in garages but unleashed on the road. Seeing them alive - tires loaded, exhausts spitting, drivers grinning - was worth more than any concours trophy.
The Spirit of Driving: Monterey’s True Message
In the end, Monterey Car Week 2025 was less about the auction podiums, record bids, or concours ribbons, and more about a cultural reset. The message was visceral: cars matter most when they’re in motion. Engines under load. Tires gripping asphalt. Drivers chasing horizons.
If you missed it, catch up on the earlier chapters of our Monterey Car Week journey. In Part 1, we hit the road with the 1996 Porsche 911 (993) Speedster by MLR, exploring Malibu’s historic canyons and Sonoma’s scenic drives, setting the tone for a week defined by heritage and motion. Part 2 brought the excitement to the showfields and tracks, from The Quail’s curated lawns to the roar of Laguna Seca, highlighting rare machines, collector culture, and the visceral thrill of performance.
Monterey 2025 has shown once again that this week was beyond cars, it was about experiencing them, pushing boundaries, and celebrating the spirit of driving. The roads, the curves, and the engines under load remind us: automotive legends are made to move. For collectors and enthusiasts alike, it was a reminder of the obvious yet often forgotten truth: these machines were born to be driven. And for one unforgettable week on California’s coast, Monterey proved exactly that.
