Monterey Car Week: History, Events, and What It Means for the Peninsula

Monterey Car Week: History, Events, and What It Means for the Peninsula

What is Monterey Car Week?

Monterey Car Week is an annual, multi-day celebration of automotive history and culture held each August across the Monterey Peninsula — including Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Seaside, California. It brings together vintage car concours, historic motorsports racing, marque-specific gatherings, and major collector-car auctions, culminating in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. What started as a companion event to a local road race in 1950 has grown into one of the most significant automotive gatherings in the world, drawing collectors, manufacturers, and enthusiasts from around the globe.

How did Monterey Car Week start?

The Peninsula's automotive history goes back further than most people realize. In 1895, the Hotel Del Monte built a circular track in Monterey, and by the early 1900s the Del Monte Company was hosting some of California's earliest organized automobile races. That early era ended in 1907 after a fatal accident.

The modern celebration traces its true origin to 1950, when the first Pebble Beach Road Races were held on a 1.8-mile course through the Del Monte Forest. That same year, organizers added a companion event: the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, originally conceived as a social gathering to complement the racing rather than a competition in its own right.

The Concours took on its present character in 1955, when driver Phil Hill won Best in Show with a restored, decades-old Pierce-Arrow rather than a new car. That result reshaped the event into a true showcase for historically significant collector automobiles, which remains its identity today.

Racing on the original road course ended after a fatal accident in 1956. In response, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was built nearby and opened in November 1957. Historic racing returned to the Peninsula in 1974 with a small vintage field at Laguna Seca — the forerunner of what is now the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (known as the Monterey Historics until 2010).

Over the following decades, additional events grew up around the Concours and the historic races — including The Quail, Concorso Italiano, Legends of the Autobahn, and a growing calendar of major collector-car auctions — turning a single weekend event into the ten-day celebration now known as Monterey Car Week.

When is Monterey Car Week held?

Monterey Car Week takes place every August, with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as its final-weekend centerpiece. In 2026, the week runs August 7–16, with the Concours held on Sunday, August 16 — marking its 75th anniversary.

Car enthusiasts planning ahead should note that the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is shifting its long-standing date. Beginning in 2028, the Concours will move from the third Sunday in August to the second Sunday, a change organizers say is meant to make the event easier for families to attend as school calendars start earlier in the year. Confirmed future dates are:

- August 16, 2026 (75th Concours)

- August 15, 2027

- August 13, 2028

- August 12, 2029

- August 11, 2030

Because exact dates and venues for individual events can shift slightly from year to year, it's worth checking the official Car Week schedule close to the date if you're planning a visit.

What events happen during Monterey Car Week?

Monterey Car Week isn't one event — it's a full calendar of concours shows, races, marque gatherings, and auctions spread across the Peninsula. The major fixtures typically include:

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance — The week's marquee event, held on the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Links on the final Sunday. The world's most significant collector cars compete for Best of Show, with proceeds benefiting charity.

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering — A premium, limited-attendance event in Pebble Beach featuring rare cars, motorcycles, and new-model debuts from manufacturers.

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion — A multi-day vintage racing event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, featuring hundreds of historically significant race cars competing on track.

Legends of the Autobahn — A showcase of German marques (Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and others), typically free and open to the public.

Porsche Club of America Werks Reunion — A large, free, single-marque gathering dedicated to Porsche, established as its own event in 2014.

Concorso Italiano — A celebration of Italian automotive design, held in Seaside and featuring Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and other Italian marques.

Major collector-car auctions — Auction houses including RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, Gooding & Company, and Mecum hold high-profile sales throughout the week, drawing serious collectors and record-setting bids. In 2014, for example, combined Car Week auction sales topped $463.7 million.

Beyond these headline events, the week includes dozens of smaller gatherings — rallies, marque club meetups, and free public car displays in Carmel-by-the-Sea, downtown Monterey, and Seaside — making it accessible even to visitors without event tickets.

How big is Monterey Car Week, really?

Monterey Car Week has grown from a single companion event into a globally recognized happening. Media estimates for 2024 placed total attendance across the week's events at roughly 100,000 people, with commentators describing hundreds of millions of dollars in combined auction activity. Exact figures vary year to year and by source, but the scale is consistent: this is one of the largest automotive gatherings anywhere in the world, and one of the most economically significant weeks of the year for the Monterey Peninsula.

How does Car Week affect the Monterey Peninsula real estate market?

Car Week's impact on the Peninsula goes beyond the events themselves. It's one of the highest-visibility weeks of the year for the region, bringing an affluent, well-traveled audience — many with ties to the collector-car and luxury goods world — into neighborhoods like Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Monterey.

A few things locally active buyers, sellers, and investors should know:

- Visitor volume is significant. Car Week is among the busiest weeks of the year for lodging and short-term rentals on the Peninsula, which is part of why Monterey County has adopted specific short-term rental ordinances to manage demand in residential neighborhoods.

- Out-of-area interest can translate into real estate interest. Major regional draws like Car Week bring visitors who may already be considering a second home or investment property on the Peninsula, and well-marketed listings can see increased attention during high-visibility periods like this one.

- It reinforces the Peninsula's national profile. Car Week is one of the reasons Pebble Beach, Carmel, and Monterey remain nationally recognized names — a factor that supports long-term demand for the area independent of any single year's market conditions.

If you're a buyer, seller, or investor curious about how seasonal events like Car Week intersect with current market conditions on the Monterey Peninsula that's a conversation worth having with a local expert who tracks both.

Monterey Car Week: Quick Answers

Is Monterey Car Week one event or many?

It's a collection of dozens of independently organized events — concours shows, races, marque gatherings, and auctions — spread across the Peninsula over about ten days, unified under the "Car Week" name.

Do I need tickets to attend Monterey Car Week?

Some events, like the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and The Quail, require tickets, often purchased well in advance. Others, like Legends of the Autobahn and the Werks Reunion, are typically free and open to the public. Check each event's official page for current ticketing.

Where does Monterey Car Week take place?

Primarily across the Monterey Peninsula, including Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas Valley.

What is the oldest event of Car Week?

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, first held in 1950, is the anchor event and the one from which the rest of the week grew.

Why is it called "Car Week" if it's ten days?

The name predates the modern schedule, when the celebration was closer to a single week. As more events were added over the decades, the "Car Week" name stuck even as the calendar expanded.

*This guide reflects publicly available information on Monterey Car Week's history and 2026 schedule. Event dates, venues, and ticketing details can change; always confirm specifics with official event sources before planning a visit.