Top 3 Wildest Cars From Monterey Car Week 2023
Monterey Car Week 2023 is catnip to automotive enthusiasts, a beguiling mixture of beloved classics, rarities most people have never even heard of, and the latest and greatest from automakers hoping to build the next icon. If you're going to grab the attention of the super-rich, though, you need something seriously special. That's just what Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Maserati brought to the lawn.
Historically, Monterey Car Week has been all about classic cars, and not just any classic. Instead, it's an opportunity for collectors and museums to show off the best-of-the-best: rare, painstakingly restored, and often priceless examples of automotive art. It's only in recent years that automakers themselves have brought along their new — usually most expensive — models to pitch them to Monterey's wealthy audience.
Despite economic uncertainty, 2023 hasn't been short on some jaw-dropping examples of four-wheeled excess. What singles out the three cars on our Wildest Cars from Monterey Car Week list this year is the fact that these are no mere flights of fancy. Each is the basis for a production vehicle, even if the end result will be far outside the budget of most drivers.
Rolls-Royce Droptail
Rolls-Royce is no stranger to Monterey Car Week, or the whims of billionaire buyers for that matter. For a company that prides itself on coachbuilding, the California show is a unique opportunity to demonstrate just what its experts, engineers, and artisans can do when price is no object. Hence, 2023's Rolls-Royce Droptail.
Though instantly recognizable as a Rolls-Royce, Droptail still manages to be a huge departure for the automaker. The first roadster body style in the company's modern history, it includes an aerodynamically-functional "dropping" rear end reminiscent of a sailing yacht's profile. Hot rod aesthetics inspired the low-slung glasshouse, particularly when the removable hard top is fitted. That top is crafted from carbon fiber and features an electrochromic glass panel that can be dimmed to adjust how much light comes into the cabin.
Rolls-Royce
Inside, meanwhile, this is minimalism, Rolls-Royce style. Two seats, just three visible buttons, and a sweeping wooden console. Only four Droptails will be built, each unique, and featuring a more potent version of the automaker's 6.6-liter V12 engine.
As for how much membership in the very, very exclusive Droptail owners club might cost, Rolls-Royce isn't giving specific numbers. All the automaker will say is that Droptail is a "more involved" project than the 2021 Rolls-Royce Boat Tail was. Given that car was rumored to cost around $28 million, a $30+ million price tag for the Droptail seems as possible as it is shocking.
Lamborghini Lanzador Concept
Lamborghini promised something dramatic as the automaker headed into its all-electric future, and there's arguably no better place than Monterey Car Week to preview just what that EV excess will look like. At first glance, it's tough to categorize quite what the Lamborghini Lanzador Concept actually is, though. As sleek as a two-door, with a profile similar to the automaker's coupe supercars, at the same time it rides higher, more akin to a Urus SUV.
The result, Lamborghini claims, is an all-new category: an Ultra GT, or Ultra Grand Tourer, with seating for four and a fearsome dual-motor drivetrain to ensure speed is never in question. Permanent all-wheel drive plus e-torque vectoring on the rear axle should mean the Lanzador hugs the corners much like a Huracan might, while a new iteration of Lamborghini's dynamic control system can adjust everything from the air suspension, rear axle steering, and torque distribution, to how the active aerodynamic aids are positioned.
Lamborghini
Inside, recycled and eco-friendly materials clad a futuristic dashboard, with switchgear that wouldn't be out of place on a movie spaceship's console. Once again it's a combination of SUV flexibility with sports car focus, but it's not only the driver that gets entertainment on road trips as various pop-out displays are available to keep passengers amused.
Most exciting, Lamborghini says that the Lanzador is "a concrete preview" of its upcoming fully-electric model. We'll have to wait until 2028 in order to actually see that arrive, but when that happens it'll slot intriguingly in-between Lamborghini's coupes and SUV as a whole new product line, rather than replacing any of them.
Maserati MCXtrema
What can a supercar achieve if it no longer has to comply with those pesky, overly-restrictive road rules? The Maserati MCXtrema aims to find out, taking what has proved so exciting about the automaker's MC20 supercar and turning it into a track-only beast that could turn Batman's head.
730 horsepower is enough to give rival supercars sleepless nights, and it's all the more impressive when you consider it's coming from a tuned version of Maserati's twin-turbo V6 engine. Around that, the automaker wraps a symphony of custom carbon-fiber bodywork, including an asphalt-scraping front spoiler, soaring flying buttresses, and a tail that looks straight out of a video game. The result is more than seventeen feet long, and as much a statement of Maserati's appetite for innovation as a means of transportation.
Michael Teo Van Runkle/SlashGear
Since this is a track plaything, everything about the MCXtrema is made with the goal of going fast in mind. Adjustable suspension and anti-roll bars will make tailoring the coupe to each course possible; so, too, can the aero — including the vast rear wing — be tweaked. Inside, there's a full roll cage and racing seats, plus an automatic fire suppression system and a roof-mounted escape hatch. Bristling with buttons and knobs, the cockpit looks more like something a fighter pilot would buckle into.
While an MC20 certainly isn't cheap (and its Cielo convertible sibling is even more expensive), both look positively mainstream next to the MCXtrema's seven-figure price tag. Initially, only 62 cars will be built, with Maserati offering owners full track day packages with a team of engineers on-hand to take care of maintenance. The bad news? Even if you have the budget for it, you're probably too late: all MCXtrema build slots have been taken.