The Wildest, Rarest, Most Ridiculously Expensive Cars Of Monterey Car Week 2025

As the receding morning mists of Monterey, California, give way to sunshine every Friday before the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the world's most exclusive automakers attract crowds of revelry to The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Here, the immaculate golf course serves as center stage for an industry of seven and eight-figure automotive excellence, where everything from radical supercars to ultra-luxe chauffeur specials, and even wacky concept cars, might attract big bucks from prosecco-fueled revelers. 

At this year's iteration, the nonstop parade of press conferences actually slowed down just a smidge compared to the last few Quails, but only because more and more companies seem deadset on upping the ante in the one-off custom game, where exclusivity and personalization matter even more, perhaps, than performance specs. Still, in the Monterey bubble, a few debuts stood out more than the rest, even if all served as a stunning reminder of just how much the one percent of the one percent seem unaffected by an increasingly concerning calendar of current events in the outside world.

Perhaps the single wildest story came from Gordon Murray Automotive, which this year at Monterey announced the beginning of Gordon Murray Special Vehicles branch. Clearly, the incredible T.50 supercar and its $2.1 million pricetag left a little on the table, so the good souls at GMA decided to take on a new project with a new level of absolute absurdity. In this case, a customer came to GMA wanting to build an homage to the iconic F1 of the 1990s. But not just one, as it turns out, rather five—all for himself. 

Happy to cover the cost of development, engineering, and production, this customer simply wanted a bespoke car and pulled out the checkbook to back the project.

"He's even brought in his own designer to get it a very clear aesthetic," development driver and brand ambassador Dario Franchitti told me at a preview event the day before. "He sort of sets the parameters, and Gordon and the team have to find a way to try and make that happen."

Known internally as T56, the car will officially be called the S1 LM (thanks to obvious nods to the F1 GTR). A bored out version of the T.50's 3.9-liter V12 now displaces 4.3 liters, but weighs less while producing 887 naturally aspirated horsepower. Target weight? Just over 2,000 pounds. Every panel on the body needed to be built bespoke, and Franchitti admitted the car I viewed was very much a concept car still, especially the headlights which are not a finished product yet.

"With GMA, we make 100 cars, so we can be much more aggressive than somebody that makes 1,000 cars." But when you're making five cars, you can be really aggressive. 

Thinking about the T.50's already staggering price point, my mind balked at how much this whole project must cost. Truly, before Monterey Car Week this year, I'd never heard of anything anywhere similar. And yet, the jealous lust started to creep in as a little primer of The Quail to follow the very next morning.

Bugatti arrived at The Quail to unveil a new car, the Brouillard, which simultaneously announces another new business model, in this case dubbed Programme Solitaire. Clearly based on the Chiron–which means a quad-turbocharged W16 engine and all-wheel drive–the Brouillard nonetheless introduces a new roof scoop layout, revised side intakes, and a not-at-all-subtle horse motif throughout the interior. 

As usual, the level of Bugatti detail goes entirely overboard, from the shifter to the door embroidery. But somewhat more surprising than the spec itself is the concept that a brand as exclusive as Bugatti still spies a need to create one-offs. Clearly, the demand for individualization has never been higher, and the profit margins for this kind of undertaking must make the prospect of such a process unavoidable—or at least, that seemed to be the theme at The Quail this year.

This wild muscle car from the American restomod firm Ringbrothers marks a few firsts. The first time for Ringbrothers to make a debut at Monterey Car Week or The Quail, as well as the company's first build based on an Aston Martin. From a company more typically associated with updates to Detroit steel, the DBS perhaps expectedly takes on a muscled-up form. Adapting the Aston to such an aggressive aesthetic reportedly took over 12,000 labor hours, and the track now measures an absurd eight inches wider up front and 10 inches wider at the rear. 

Accordingly, a Ford V8 now lurks beneath the longer-than-long hood, which looks extra stretched thanks to scooting the front wheels forward by three inches, and the powerplant uses a 2.65-liter Harrop supercharger to pump out up to 805 horsepower. Of course, a six-speed manual transmission sends that power to the rear wheels, while massive Brembo brakes provide stopping power.

Though not fully committing to the one-off trend, Lamborghini made a splash at The Quail with the announcement of another "few-off" that follows in the footsteps of the Sesto Elemento in 2010, the Veneno in 2013, the Centenario in 2016, the Sian in 2019, and most recently, the Countach in 2021. In this case, the Fenomeno will be limited to just 29 units, with a slightly recognizable form shares many cues with the Revuelto that serves as a foundation, albeit while turning up the wick a notch to produce a combined total of 1,065 horsepower—or up 50 from the "regular" Revuelto.

"This is celebrating 20 years of Centro Stile," Director of Design Mitja Borkert told me on the stage. "I always want to design a Lamborghini, but always with a different design language."

The styling, therefore, enhances the flagship's overall length with a more aggressive front end and a stretched rear. And the yellow launch-spec paint purposefully aimed to capture attention—and pop in social posts—amidst the rest of the eye-catching cars on hand.

"The car is more long-tail proportioned," Borkert admitted. "We are here in Monterey, we are at the Quail Lodge, so you have world-class cars surrounding you. You need to stand out, you need to play with the shape, it can be a little more opulent." 

Porsche restomods dotted the lawns of the Quail, but the most aggressive arrived from perhaps an expected source. Gunther Werks this time around unveiled a car code-named "Project F-26" in homage to a fighter jet. From a more historical standpoint, the new design references Porsche's famous Slantnose, or Flachbau, Type 930. And the rest of the F-26 continues to build on the theme, all capped off by a twin-turbocharged flat-six that's still air-cooled but somehow built by Rothsport Racing to handle 1,000 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque. 

If four-figure power ratings from a rear-engined Porsche sound excessive, keep in mind that all the carbon fiber—inside and out—help to keep the curb weight to just 2,700 pounds. Gunther plans to build just 26 examples, all of which can—of course—feature an almost infinite list of customization beyond the more typical shift knob, dash design, and Porsche Classic radio system complete with Apple CarPlay compatibility.

Tucked away under a tent at the far end of The Quail, I spied a rolling chassis that looked somewhat familiar. This low and lean concept from Iliya and Nikita Bridan adds a more modern to touch their (in)famous Half-11, which combined a Porsche's front end with the tube-framed open-wheel concept of an F1 car. The Bridans plan to build a full-on hypercar from scratch based on this more modernized design, which will reportedly offer both internal-combustion and electric powertrains—and both with the choice of a six-speed manual transmission. 

On hand, the Bridans reassured that nothing in the stated plan had changed, that their EV prototyping process included stalling out, and that the cooling system of the electric powertrain also produces an exhaust note. Living so far in the future sounds great, but at the very least, in person, the HF11's uniquely simple and understated curves sure nail the design portion of the brief.

In front of a brilliant American flag wall, Hennessey unveiled another one-of-one, billed as the most expesnive and complex hypercar from the Texas firm yet. The new spec comes courtesy of a new "Maverick" division that will specialize in exactly that: specialty one-off vehicles. In this case, Hennessey customer Louis Florey wanted more than just a "regular" 2,031-horsepower Venom F5 Evolution with Revolution goodies. He wanted a gated manual six-speed transmission. As Florey looked on in wonder at his new prize, I quizzed mad tuner John Hennessey about how a customer's left foot can control so much power without absolutely frying the clutch.

"There was really never a worry as far as going from a paddle-shift automatic to a manual to be able to handle the power," Hennessey told me. "It's a carbon-ceramic clutch designed to handle that level of power."

But what about hard launches, and the inescapable urge to drive like a bat out of hell?

"Now, you start putting a drag radial tire on the back of the car, you know, that may cause a slip issue," he admitted. "But on the street, we don't give the car full power until about the top of fourth gear. You don't have full power till maybe about 140 miles an hour."

Just 140? Pedestrian, from a car that started out as a project to crack the infamous 300 mile-per-hour mark before the recent pivot to one-off custom builds.

Before the leadup to The Quail this year, I knew absolutely nothing about Dacora, a new luxury brand that aims to take over the position of top dog missing in American automotive manufacturing since Duesenberg went out of business in 1937. Founder Kristie D'Ambrosio-Correll caught me up on the company's vision, which merges classic style with a modern powertrain provided by an as-yet unnamed OEM.

"I love vintage cars," she told me. "We went after an era, obviously, that we love. The curves and the long hood and the fastback just have always spoken to me and felt very timeless, so we really wanted to bring that back."

Dacora hopes to start delivers in 2028, though of course, D'Ambrosio-Correll acknowledged the many obstacles that an upstart in a crowded industry may need to overcome. But any new business always faces challenges, much less one trying to blaze a new trail into the ultra-luxury industry—a sector that Dacora believes actually needs more competition, other than in the high-performance supercar arena.

"It's about bringing an American perspective to the ultra-luxury space," D'Ambrosio-Correll continued. "Rolls-Royce does ultra-luxury cars at this price point, but there's very few others."

Last year, Italian restomod firm Eccentrica showed off a stunning purple recreation of the legendary Lamborghini Diablo. This year, the V12 goes a few steps further into the performance enhancements, rather than debuting an entirely new car. Handling took a priority, including stiffer springs with a lower ride height and new tunes for the adaptive shock dampers. The carbon rear wing produces more downforce, while a ECU flash unleashes a bit more power. 

Of course, on the brilliant white stage at The Quail, any driving dynamics remain a question—the exposed carbon-fiber body paneling, however, left me hoping for good weather at home after Car Week concludes, so I can hop back on my carbon-fiber road bike and enjoy the miracle material on something that no doubt costs a few percentage points as much as this unbelievable creation.

Every year, an unexpected automaker unveils something totally out of place at The Quail. This year, that award goes to Infiniti, who rolled up with a tricked-out QX80 concept dubbed the "Terrain Spec" for obvious reasons. With knobby tires and lifted suspension beneath fender flares, the QX80's boxy looks actually take on a macho character. Roof rails and a tent up top, plus off-road lights, help to crown the Terrain Spec, and matte paint tends to look great when covered with grit and grime—though whether the piano black plastic seen on many surfaces will pick up dirt quicker than a Swiffer came to my mind quite quickly. 

A slight gain from revised turbocharging boosts output to over 650 hp and 750 lb-ft of torque, while larger front Brembo brakes hide beneath those blacked-out rally-style wheels. Will Infiniti ever sell something anywhere as rugged as this? Unlikely. But for pulling up to The Quail to intimidate all the other lowslung supercars, the Terrain Spec certainly got the job done by my eye.