Thousands of automotive enthusiasts and vintage car connoisseurs descend on the Monterey Peninsula every August for Monterey Car Week.

During this spectacular weeklong extravaganza, car lovers can enjoy specialty shows, automobile auctions, historic car races, gawk at some of the rarest and most exquisite automobiles ever made and drive all kinds of vehicles –new and old. From classic cars to futuristic concepts, there’s always something here to suit every taste. Here are some of the highlights from Monterey car Week 2019

69th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

We’ll start with the Big Show–the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which is French for ‘a competition of elegance’ -the finale of Monterey Car Week held on one of the world’s best-known golf courses. 2019 saw around 200 classic cars compete.

The Best of Show Honorsthis time went to a 1932 Bentley 8 Liter Gurney Nutting Sports Tourer, one of only 100 ever made, which belongs to billionaire Sir Michael Kadoorie of Hong Kong. Among the other notables was a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K cabriolet, a stunning 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Scaglietti Spyder, and a 1937 Delahye 145 Chapron Coupe.

Tour d’Elegance

This is where car owners get to really show off their precious automobiles. It involves a scenic trip around the Monterey Peninsula, which starts and ends at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center, winding its way up the hills toward Tehama Golf Club, to Carmel Valley Road, and south to Big Sur and then back again.

The Quail–A Motorsports Gathering

This is another big event held on Friday at the Quail Lodge in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where some of the most exclusive (and expensive!) automobiles are displayed –from legendary sports cars to the latest and greatest concepts.

This year Bentley celebrated its 100thanniversary with a display of 30 or more prewar Bentleys as well as unveiling their EXP 100 GT Concept. The Lotus Evija–a battery-powered supercar that can reach speeds of over 200 mph -also made its debut here this year. And the McLaren F1s also made an appearance.

Luxury carmakers cruise in with some new(and old)offerings

BMW showed off some of their new and not so new toys, including the Vision M Next electric sports car concept –an all-electric sports vehicle with an autonomous mode as well as a host of advanced driver-assist features. They featured a restored BMW Garmisch –which first debuted at the 1970 Geneva International Motor Show.

And they brought some production models to the event also, including the high-performance M8 coupe and convertible. Acura cruised in with its Type S Concept and the 2020 Acura NSX, and Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Aston Martin, and Bugatti, and many other automakers showed off their spectacular vehicles for the champagne-sipping crowds to peruse, admire, and maybe even buy!