In the lead-up to my first time at Monterey Car Week, I reminded myself that I was going to see a lot of ultra-expensive hypercars. In fact, while media supervisor Dustin W. Johnson and I were commuting between our Airbnb and one of our various destinations, we passed a Ferrari F40 and a Porsche Carrera GT. I saw block after block of Ferraris, Koenigseggs, Lamborghinis, McLarens, and other road missiles at Exotics On Broadway in Seaside, California. That’s also where I learned new things about my fellow enthusiasts.
Exotics On Broadway began in 2015, but its appeal — being able to see and hear the world’s most exclusive automotive creations — is almost as old as the car itself. According to the event’s organizers, it features more than 300 cars from 50-plus manufacturers and draws over 40,000 spectators.
I was one of those spectators lined up for a shuttle bus that would take my fellow gearheads and me to the four blocks between Del Monte and Fremont Boulevards. Despite the sleepy, overcast conditions, people got out of bed, drove into town, and stood in long lines to see their favorite supercars. I’ve heard that the younger generations aren’t interested in cars, but I saw otherwise that Saturday: There were plenty of teens and 20-somethings waiting for their ride to all the action.
The motor coach dropped us off just in time to catch some of the cars backing into their spots in front of the main entrance. Given that the Corvette has been mid-engine since 2020, it wasn’t a surprise to see it next to Europe’s heavy hitters. What did shock me was just loud one of them was — it let out a roar so enormous that my eardrums felt as if they were vibrating. It brought me back to 2016, when I attended the IMSA Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas to watch the Dodge Viper race against Corvettes and 911s (and soon learned that I couldn’t go the whole day without wearing earplugs).
Walking toward the official entrance to Exotics On Broadway, it became clear to me that it appealed to more than just Instagram-savvy teens. Entire families came out to see dream cars they had previously only encountered online. One young boy posed next to a McLaren while his father snapped a picture of him — one that might just motivate him to a level of success later in life that enables him to buy a McLaren of his own.
Once I was inside the actual event, the throngs of people surrounding every car obscured just how long the rows of them went on. The cars were a mix of personal drivers, dealer inventory, and rolling showcases of car care products or aftermarket parts. The longer I was there, the more languages I heard — Spanish one second, Persian several minutes later, then Russian after that.
Several people had accents from different parts of the world. The most noticeable one was Swedish because Christian von Koenigsegg was being interviewed over the PA system. He and the team at his eponymous hypercar company had recently unveiled the 1,600-horsepower, road-legal-yet-track-capable CCGT1, but they made sure to bring some of their other models with them. Those were parked behind fencing, which people quickly flocked to to take pictures of the only hypercars made in Sweden. I was there to bring you this story, but all of us, from little kids to adult enthusiasts, had the same basic goal. Surprisingly, two limited-production Ferrari Icona models, the Monza SP2 and Daytona SP3, were out in the open, although there was an attentive security guard keeping people a certain distance away from them.
While I was shooting video of a Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale, I heard someone next to me ask, “That finish is so cool, isn’t it?” The 1,016-horsepower hybrid was covered in a pearlescent white with a subtle blue tint, which coordinated with its royal blue accents. I agreed with him that it was really cool. Many people are uncomfortable speaking to strangers, but that guy (and another person later on) was so excited by what he saw that he just had to mention it to someone he’d never met before. The world outside of Exotics On Broadway could use more of that kind of enthusiasm and friendliness.
At the end of the event, Dustin and I lined up with everyone else to watch the stars of the show leave. One character yelled at nearly every driver, “Rev it, boss!” Fortunately, most of them obliged, swinging the tach needle to numbers that generated satisfying crescendos.
Only a lucky few owned the cars displayed at Exotics On Broadway, but I think everyone else got what they came for. I know I did. Attainability didn’t matter — just seeing the exotic, the unusual was enough for the fans there. There’s a similar mentality at art museums: The average person can’t afford a Jackson Pollock, but that’s irrelevant because, to this person, the true value of the painting is in the experience of seeing it and feeling whatever emotions it brings out. At Exotics On Broadway, automotive enthusiasts can get up-close to moving metal and carbon fiber sculptures they might never see anywhere else. Even better, they can hear them, too.
