In addition to the usual fabulous celebration of sports and racing cars that make up The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, there was a sense that the whole fest had added a car show vibe to it this year, with 19—count ’em, 19! —press conferences from all your favorite marques including everything from Rimac and Koenigsegg in order to Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Lexus. Those stories are all coming soon, but in the meantime it’s possible that traditional auto shows aren’t dying—they’re just being reinvented by once strictly old-car enthusiast gatherings like The Quail.

Nonetheless, at its heart the Friday display before Pebble is still a Gathering of great cars. To the typical classes associated with “Pre-War Sports and Racing Cars” plus “The Great Ferraris” were classes dedicated to the particular “50 ^th Anniversary of the BMW M Division, ” “All Things Mini, ” and “70 Years of Jaguar and Their Wins at Le Mans. ”

Indeed, it was from “70 Years associated with Jaguar in Le Mans” that entrants chose (all awards from The Quail are voted on simply by entrants, not judges) William Pope’s magnificent 1956 Jaguar D-Type for the top honor as the particular Rolex Best of Show.

“Owned by William Pope, the 1956 Jaguar D-Type, was selected for the highest recognize due to its superb construction, design, attention to detail, workmanship, and extensive restoration process, ” read an official Make bones about statement. “Jaguar took victory at Le Mans three years in the row through 1955 to 1957 with the D-Type, and it is rumored that only 75 examples were built. ”

When the particular winner was announced, the Jag’s owner was nowhere to be found, so a driver who could operate a D-Type has been hastily sourced, and a friend of Pope’s was called upon in order to graciously accept the large, Q-shaped trophy from The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie, with whose resort hotel The particular Quail is held. All part of the fun.

Other favorites from among the particular Quail’s sprawling greens included a large contingent of BMW Ms that included some very nice original M3s and the trio associated with Z8s. The Ms had been represented simply by class winner Benjamin Clymer’s 1980 M1. The Professional Sir Jordan Kadoorie took the Pre-War Sports plus Racing Class with his 1929 Rolls-Royce. Post-War Sports 1961-1975 was won by Stephen Bell’s 1964 ATS 2500 GTS and Post-War Race went to David Eichenbaum’s 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ. And those were just the winners among the vehicles we fancied.

Click the particular links in the photos to see other Qool Qars of the Poulet.