A day at the House of Maserati

August/September are usually busy months for Fortloc. That's when we cover events like the Seattle Polo Party in the good old Pacific Northwest and Salon Prive in the UK. To make things more interesting, we started covering Monterey Car Week in 2023. While it has certainly been very rewarding, it also means these months have become very hectic, but it's a good problem to have.

Monterey is a great place to unwind when you need a break. The seaside cliffs, world-class golf courses, and beautiful beaches never fail to bring calmness to your soul. My first trip to the quiet California city left quite an impression. It wasn't love at first sight, but it didn't take long for me to conclude that this would be a great place to retire.

Fly into Monterey airport, and one thing that will strike you is that private jets outnumber commercial planes. Perhaps that shouldn't be surprising, given that it's a small airport but I just hadn't seen that dynamic before.

In case you're not aware, there's a tradition at Monterey Car Week where car manufacturers host events for the press, influencers, and their loyal customers. The manufacturers show off their latest cars and offer test drives at these events. Many of these are in rented homes in Pebble Beach around the area where the 17-mile Drive is located.

'Classy' is the best word to use to describe these events. There's great music, gourmet food, and an open bar with delightful wine and cocktails. We've been fortunate enough to be invited to Maserati's version for two years now, and it improves with every year.

In 2023, they hosted an event where the MCXtrema was revealed before its public debut at The Quail. This year, they had more people from Modena with plenty of interview opportunities. They also had a larger, more impressive venue (not that there was anything particularly wrong with the last venue).

The Maserati event was on a street where two other manufacturers were hosting events, so getting in and out was a little hectic. However, that's the only negative thing I can say about the day. Honestly, mentioning it is a little petty on my part, but hey, I have to tell the whole story.

Whether you're a Maserati fan or not, you should know that they certainly know how to impress. They had chefs preparing great-looking Pasta alla Ruota with truffles, a variety of delicious hors d'oeuvres, music from Sonus Faber sound systems, and more than enough Maserati cars to ensure you had no doubt this was an event about cars.

I elected to drive the Gran Cabrio Folgore. It's the electric version of the Gran Cabrio, and it looked absolutely stunning in person. I got to drive it on the 17-mile drive, which is well-known as one of the best scenic roads in California. It also happened to be the first electric car I've driven (sorry, I'm still having a hard time letting go of the combustion engine). Perhaps I'll have more to say about the car and the drive later but know that if you're going to drive on 17-mile, a convertible car is the best option.

Back at the house, other cars on display included the MC20 Cielo, the GranTurismo Folgore, and some special edition cars, including the legendary MC12. This was the first time I came in contact with an MC12 in all its glory, where I could examine its legendary features with the king of the M12 himself, Andrea Bertolini.

If you're unfamiliar with the name, Andrea is the head test driver for Maserati. He won multiple world championships in the M12 and probably knows the car better than anyone else on the planet. Who better to talk about MC12? If you haven't seen the interview, be sure to take a look while you're here.

While I was waiting to interview Andrea, something interesting happened. Two people I didn't know at the time came over to the table where I was having a conversation with the editor of Acquire magazine. One of them said to me, 'please, can we borrow your table for a little bit?' I agreed and stepped back, wondering what they were up to. I then noticed a small crowd forming around us. Both men started sketching cars on their pieces of paper.

I was close enough to see the details of the diagrams. I didn't think anyone could draw something that looked that good in such a short period. As I wondered what I was missing, the editor of Acquire Mag whispered to me," Do you know who those are?" I looked at him and reluctantly admitted that I had no clue. He then told me, "That's Kaluse Busse, Maserati's head of design, and Ken Okuyama, the designer of the Ferrari Enzo."

At this point, I was thoroughly ashamed of myself for not recognizing them. The speed at which they created impressive drawings now made more sense to me.

I had a lot of time to kill before heading to my next destination, an event hosted by Eccentrica to preview the working version of the Eccentrica V12. I have a funny story about that event that I may tell someday, but I seized the opportunity to enjoy Maserati's hospitality for the rest of the afternoon. I interviewed Emanuel Colombini (CEO of Eccntrica) shortly after the unveiling of the car at The Quail the next day.

The only disappointment of the day? We didn't get to preview the GT2 Stradale. However, the exclusive walkthrough I got at The Quail more than compensated for that. If you ever get invited to a Maserati event, don't hesitate to attend. These people know how to entertain. Sadly, that's not something you can necessarily take for granted, even for luxury brands.