A Bird in the Hand; Elbow room and good eats highlight Quail.(News)(The Quail)

Byline: Mark Vaughn

The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering is a sort of highbrow Concorso, the latter of which was held for many years on these very same grounds until it ran out of room. Like Concorso, one of the themes of this year's Quail was the 100th anniversary of the Targa Florio, and to that end the Gathering featured an actual Targa Florio winner, a Lancia D24 that won in 1954.

There were 100 cars in all spread out over the fairway grounds, all in one way or another at least sports cars, or, more properly, full-on race cars, which explains the Motorsports in the event's name. A further racing connection was the helicopter shuttles whisking guests from the Big Q directly to the Historics at Laguna Seca, the latter of which is featured as a golden anniversary celebrant at the Quail.

But this ain't just a Show `n' Shine, Umberto. The Quail prides itself on exclusivity, too. With never more than 3000 people allowed through the gates, you won't have to rub elbows with anyone unless you want to. That means easy parking all day and plenty of room to roam. And your $150 ticket gets you fed, wined, champagned and even includes free neck and ...