Monterey Car Week is upon us and good grief, does it feel like we’re getting inundated with new car reveals. What is one of the most glamorous gatherings of cars old and new in the motoring world, alongside our own Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard of course, features some properly cool metal this year. Let’s go through some of them, from the new Mercedes-AMG GT, to the Lamborghini Lanzador Concept.
New cars at Monterey Car Week 2023
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1. Aston Martin DB12 Volante
Of all the cars on this list, this is perhaps the one we’d most love to actually drive to car week. For enthusiasts, the journey there and the drives around the Southern Californian area, between Monterey, the Quail, Pebble Beach and of course Laguna Seca, are as much a part of it as the reveals, the racing and the concours events themselves. So the latest Aston Martin Volante, getting its in-person debut on the West Coast this year, ought to be a boon. The DB12 comes with a new face, a hopped-up V8 engine and now, roof-off novelty. Prettier and more desirable than the Coupe, we’d argue.
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2. Zenvo Aurora
That said, if you really want to make an impression, an all-new quad-turbocharged, 6.6-litre V12-engined hybrid hypercar could do the trick. Zenvo is making a big splash at Monterey this year, debuting its second all-new car in two decades. The Aurora is a ground-up design, with ‘Tur’ and ‘Agil’ flavours catering to road and track use respectively. Looks wise, there’s a bit of Rimac and a bit of Valkyrie, but honestly, a lot of Zenvo. A company that has traded on shocking yet compelling design has churned out a worthy next-generation machine here, with which chapter 2 for the Danish marque is to begin.
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3. Bugatti Chiron ‘Golden Era’
As we say hello to one new hypercar, we say goodbye to an institution – that of the Chiron and, longer serving than that, Bugatti’s W16 engine. That’s what this ‘Golden Era’ art car celebrates, with hand-drawn artworks of Bugatti’s two golden eras displayed on both sides of this Chiron Super Sport. It’s a wonderful thing, that’s being handed over to the individual who commissioned its creation at Monterey Car Week.
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4. GMA T.50S Prototype
Very very cool to see is what progress Gordon Murray Automotive is making with the T.50S programme. This track-only version of its halo V12 hypercar was first shown no less than two and a half years ago. Now, we get to see the first proper running prototype at Monterey. Billed to have over 700PS, weigh less than 900kg and produce up to 1,200kg of downforce, this is a thing of wonder, to worry the likes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro and Bugatti Bolide. Le Mans? It’s too light, too powerful and produces too much downforce for the LMH class…
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5. Pininfarina Pura Vision concept
Giving us a first taste of what a post-Battista Pininfarina looks like is the Pura Vision Concept, a car designed to explore the limits of design and what’s possible for a high-riding luxury vehicle. We’ve got to say, it’s quite the elegant thing for what could uncharitably be dismissed as an SUV. It’s like the already-elegant Aston Martin DBX went on a six-month programme to become a muscle-bound Marvel superhero.
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6. Hennessey F5 Revolution Roadster
Of course, if the GMA isn’t ‘raw power’ enough for you, and if you want to drive on the road, how does a twin-turbo V8-engined Hennessey with no roof and 1,842PS sound? Talk about a Californian blow-dry. Yes, the F5 Revolution Roadster is the latest limited serious in the F5 family to debut, with just 12 being made. The first of the series will debut at The Quail.
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7. Bentley Blower Jnr
When we say electric city car, surely you think neither ‘America’, nor ‘Bentley’. And yet this little device has a Flying B and is getting a Monterey debut. No, it’s not a re-bodied Citroen Ami in the style of the Aston Martin Cygnet. It’s a Bentley Blower, to 85 per cent scale, packing an electric motor and batteries instead of a supercharged four cylinder. It’ll go 65 miles on a charge and top 45mph. So actually, it’s better than an Ami. Well done Bentley and collaborators, The Little Car Company.
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8. Jenson Button’s Lotus Evija
While we’re quite familiar with the Evija by now, it’s interesting to see a genuine customer car and indeed, read the finalised specs. This one, as you’ll be able to tell from the sub header, is Jenson Button’s, resplendent in a livery that pays tribute to his championship-winning Brawn GP. That’s to say there’s a lot of white and a good few flashes of lurid green. As for final Evija specs? Well, it’s officially the most powerful series production car in the world (hold tight Koenigsegg), with 2,039PS (1,500kW). The weight has also been divulged, at 1,887kg (not bad for an EV) and a not-so-impressive 215 miles of range.
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9. Pininfarina B95
You didn’t think the Battista would be the only supercar to come from Automobili Pininfarina ahead of a sea of SUVs, did you? Honestly, it was possible. Thankfully, the B95 proves that no such thing will happen. The B stands for Barchette while the 95 is a nod to the name’s 95th anniversary. Borrowing underpinnings from the Battista, each of the 10 cars to be made will pack 1,900PS or in other words, over double the power of a McLaren Elva. Now that’s one way to rearrange your hairstyle.
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10. BAC Mono
It’s like a Mono, only newer, given it is the new Mono. You wouldn’t exactly know it straight away, but this is a second-generation car, that very much evolves rather than revolutionises the tried-and-tested formula. There’s a bit of Mono R in there but mostly, it’s just a honed, tightened version of what came before, with the most recognisable bit being the new spoiler. The suspension gets a proper makeover, with 50 per cent more anti-dive up front, and 50 per cent less squat at the rear. Overall the new Mono should be a much more stable platform.
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11. Maserati MCXtrema
Maserati's track toy debuts at Monterey, with a 730PS version of the Nettuno V6 and a complete bodywork overhaul. It's aero-mad to the point of not really looking related to the MC20 on which it's based, perhaps barring the typical Maserati 'mouth' and prominent trident within. Just 62 are to be made, with an entry price of £936,000.
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12. Lotus Type 66
As supercar makers go electric, a sportscar maker that has claimed to be ridding itself of internal combustion very soon debuts a monster V8 tribute to the glory days of Can-Am. Meet the Lotus Type 66, the Lotus that never was, given a car by that name and in its image was originally planned as a sportscar to be raced alongside the 72 F1 car, with Emerson Fittipaldi driving. The new car is obviously developed with the benefit of hindsight and modern techniques, so it's a lot safer, wind tunnel-optimised and has creature comforts like a sequential transmission and power steering, all while still being entirely in the style of the stillborn. As is the engine, which is a giant V8 that produces 842PS and revs to 8,800rpm. You’ll be pleased to read it develops over 800kg of downforce at 150mph, then, which incidentally, is more than this Lotus weighs.
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13. Lamborghini Lanzador Concept
Lamborghini’s hotly-anticipated fourth model will bring the Italian marque into the electric age as its first full EV. The Lanzador Concept previews what will be a high-riding 2+2 with elements of the Revuelto, Urus, Countach and even the old Estoque Concept in its styling. Described by its designer as a ‘spaceship GT’, the Lanzador is a first tentative step into the world of electrification. On the inside there are plenty of developments in terms of luxury sustainability. The Lanzador is expected to ride on a collaborative twin-motor EV platform, SSP, which is said to be two generations ahead of what is currently available and capable of delivering up to 1,700PS. The Lanzador should go into production in 2028.
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14. Mercedes-AMG GT
The new Mercedes-AMG GT was probably one of the most hotly-anticipated debuts of the Monterey weekend. Certainly, the biggest production car debut. With broadly similarly handsome looks, the new AMG GT is largely the result of polling customers about what they want from the next GT. The answer? Keep the V8, add a couple of rear seats. The result we see before us is it, developed in tandem with the new SL on the same platform, the hard top-only GT packs either a 476PS or 585PS twin-turbo 4.0 V8. It’s also highly likely a plug-in hybrid will join the lineup too at some point. So the 911 remains firmly in sight and now, the AMG GT has the practicality as well as some serious performance, to match it.
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