The 7 Most Exciting Cars and Aircraft We Saw at Motorlux This Year

While blue-chip cars have long been from marques based in Europe, younger collectors are gravitating toward models from the Japanese domestic market (JDM), and among the most sought after are various versions of  the Nissan Skyline GT-R. The model’s popularity redlined with the 2003 movie 2 Fast 2 Furious, as evidenced by its star status in the Petersen Automotive Museum’s current exhibition, “A Fast & Furious Legacy.” The film franchise has played a substantial role in igniting a passion for car culture in the next generation, and Nissan’s R34 Skyline GT-R—in production from 1998 through 2002—was the catalyst for many.

Showcased at the Monterey Jet Center was a 1999 example reimagined by the restoration team at Built by Legends, an outfit that describes itself online as “the first successful Tuner Restomod builder from Japan.” If this car is any indication, Built by Legends is sure to be the new benchmark in reinterpreting such JDM jewels.

It’s a shock at first sight. Not because this Prancing Horse is the rare Ferrari Enzo, comprising a production run of only 399 examples developed to honor the marque’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, and its winning 2002 season in Formula 1. It stops you in your tracks because of what initially looks to be acts of inked vandalism. Upon closer inspection, though, you realize that the penned expressions are powerful, heartfelt messages of affirmation and support regarding the battle waged against cancer.

This 2004 Ferrari Enzo, with its 6.0 liter V-12, 660 hp, and ability to reach 217 mph, is a philanthropic tour de force, piloted by Barry and Julien Lundgren from Boston to Monterey. It’s their effort to raise funds for former professional hockey player Cam Neely’s namesake foundation, established to provide financial assistance for research, care, and a nurturing sanctuary for those being treated at Tufts Medical Center. The invitation was simple: Donate to the GoFundMe account and sign the car. As of today, the Lundgrens have garnered more than $42,000 toward their $100,000 goal.

The P-51H Mustang is arguably the most renowned combat aircraft from World War II, and understandably so. Initially developed by North American Aviation for the British, then conscripted into service by the U.S. Air Force, the formidable aeronautic gunslinger gave the allied forces an upper hand in the skies. According to an internet search that landed on results at airhistory.net, the P-51 Mustang that caught our attention at Motorlux—identified by tail No. 464551—is a P-51H variant, which the  website states is “the last production version of the P-51 Mustang” and that “only some 555 were produced.”

Performance specifications listed on the Museum of Aviation Foundation’s website notes that the P-51H carries a 1,380 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, has a top speed of 487 mph, and can fly as high as 41,600 feet. Yet unlike the powerfully purple P-51—aptly named “Plum Crazy”—that made our list of favorites at the 2024 edition of Motorlux, this example looks like it did when discharged from military service. Still, the bygone-era fighter won the battle for our attention, commanding it away from the assortment of cutting-edge aircraft on hand.

Although Porsche’s hallmark is the 911, there are other production models from the automaker that carry far more mystique and muscle. Case in point is the 603 hp Carrera GT, introduced in 2003 and numbering 1,270 examples by the time production ceased in 2006. Internally designated as the 980, the model was given a track-derived 5.7-liter V-10 mated to a six-speed manual transmission—a combination that allows Porsche’s largely carbon-fiber benchmark to tear from zero to 62 mph in 3.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 205 mph.

The Carrera GT is also quite the appreciating asset. Though Porsche notes that its original starting price was $390,000, the cost has subsequently leaped off the line at a startling rate. Just this past January, a 2005 example sold for $3.085 million through RM Sotheby’s. As for the snow-white Carrera GT on display at the Monterey Jet Center, we figure it’s not far off that mark.

Given a position of prominence—and its own platform—at Motorlux, a 1926 Bugatti Type 37A served as a reminder of both how far automotive acumen has come and how much we owe to the innovators and disruptors from early last century. Primary among them is Ettore Bugatti, who, driven to redefine the possible in engineering and design, founded his eponymous marque in 1909.

The Type 37A was equipped with a four-cylinder power plant and a supercharger that gave it enough muscle to max out at 120 mph. According to the French marque, only 76 supercharged versions of the Type 37 left the factory, many racing in the most iconic European endurance competitions of the period. And while its motorsport prowess may now be antiquated, its winning mojo is timeless.

To quantify the quantam leap in technological advancement since last century, one has to only compare the 1926 Bugatti Type 37A to its distant descendant, the 987 hp Bugatti Veyron. The one we were drawn to was a stunning two-tone green expressed in a flowing graphic motif. Its no surprise that the car is such a visual tour de force, as it’s the personal vehicle of Bugatti’s design director, Frank Heyl, who explains that it’s the 21st example ever made, but he just acquired it in December.

“I always had a dream . . . 18 years with the company, I’ve never made a car for myself—to do one like me, my personality.” At last, he has, paying homage to his father’s cars that he grew up riding in, usually defined by green exteriors and corduroy interiors. The distinctive combination has been resurrected in Heyl’s own hypercar. More personal still is the tableau of inked sketches above the  occupants’ heads. “These are my 12 favorite projects that I ever designed for Bugatti,” Heyl tells Robb Report, pointing to the illustrations. “There’s a Tourbillon, there’s a Divo, and there’s the Destrier that we’re showing on Friday,” says Heyl of the Bugatti models depicted above the seats. Yet while those are all part of his legacy with Bugatti, his creative brushstrokes on this Veyron forge perhaps his most intimate bond with the brand.

At the far corner of the Monterey Jet Center’s primary exhibition hangar is a rarity even for an automaker as boutique and exclusive as Ruf. “We brought this car out as a concept in 2020 for the first time,” says Aloisa Ruf, the marque’s creative director. “It had no engine at the time. It was just a design concept of what a Ruf off-road car would look like.” “This is the second production car,” she notes, adding that “the customer is taking delivery today.”

Aloisa describes what’s within the doors as a “Wild Western interior,” mentioning that “the car is going to live in Oklahoma . . . so we have some Navajo and Cherokee symbols in the car as well.” She goes on to claim that the all-wheel-drive, all-terrain, water-cooled coupe is also the first off-road car that is built on a carbon-fiber monocoque in the world.” It’s no wonder that, when asked how she feels about the future of Ruf, Aloisa doesn’t hesitate. “I see it very bright when it comes to pushing ourselves with technology and engineering, while still keeping that charm and minimalism that makes us—us.”