Top Marques Monaco

Top Marques is the event where ultra-luxury supercars discreetly come to Monaco to show off the capabilities of their builders to the glamorous crowd that gathers at the Grimaldi Forum.

While being advertised as a “supercar show” throughout the whole Principauté and being a specific show for high end and tuned cars the Top Marques also gathers almost anything exclusive that high class society can buy: relaxing spa’s, custom motorcycles, racing simulators and even gym weights. With no interest at all in this selfish aristocratic nonsense we went straight to see the cars located at  upper level of the Forum, to enjoy the sight of a zillion horses exposed all together in a very tight space. This of course, not stopping by the watch section admiring vintage Rolex, Rebellion, Audemars Piguet’s and Patek Philippe: timepieces are always the appreciated starter to a fine petrolhead’s meal.

Visitors were greeted by a lime yellow Porsche 918 Spyder which hid behind its curvy sexy lines a stunning McLaren 675 LT Coupè. Not a bad start after all!

This year event was a celebration of some of the iconic 007 Saga’ cars and on display we could admire Spectre’s vehicles from Jaguar and Land Rover:  the 550 hp CX 75 and the two hyped up and very black Range Rover and Defender from the latest movie.

The folks of Jag were kind enough to give us a short tour of the CX75, perhaps the most wanted unborn Jaguar of modern times. While the original concept was a very fast and clever hybrid, powered by a tiny 4 cylinder engine and electric motors, the six movie cars are as traditional as a supercar can get: racy interior, paddle shifted racing gearbox, roll cage, hydraulic hand brake and the awesome supercharged 5.0 liter V8 from the F Type R. The lines and the body color will make any car nut water: it is one of the most gorgeous vehicles of the last 20 years. Although being (purposeful) traditional, it looks like the future.

Of course after getting high with a closer look to  the Jaguar stand, we went to Aston Martin to get in touch with James Bond’s 2016 daily driver, the almighty DB10. Another very standard (with a manual gearbox!) car from Aston Martin, yet so beautiful and very futuristic: why regular people won’t be able to buy it, we’ll never know.

If odd doors openings styles always steal the show, Mazzanti is an absolute master of this luxurious art: upwind scissor doors? No way! For sure there is a lot more car when looking at their flagship Evantra, an entirely in-house-developed italian supercar with an American heart. While boasting a traditional “motoring melting pot” already seen and appreciated in cars like Iso Rivolta and De Tomaso, Mazzanti is Tuscany answer to Pagani and Lamborghini. A bespoke performance focused car with a whopping 750 horses fitted in the elegantly finished engine compartment and a sound that will make the earth shake. I don’t think that the world will ever get tired of Italian-American supercars.

If you like open wheelers, then you like Donkenvoort. While being one of the least seen hyperformance cars around Monaco: after all, these beasts were born to be used on windy roads, tracks in a proper way. They appeal to drivers and they look absolutely gorgeous. Exposed carbon fiber, small steering wheel and a 5 cylinder Audi engine are the right ingredients for an astonishing road registered prototype. Could these be among the purest driver’s cars of Top Marques 2016? Of course!

The feast for the eyes continued with the much loved display of Shelby American, which brought  two exact recreations (or shall we say original from 2016) Cobra 427 and GT40. These two looked absolutely stellar and one of our favorite of the show.

ABT delighted the crowd with the classic RS6 with more 700 hp: it’s a widely used package and one of their best sellers but who cares if they’re a bit too common? They’ve taken a good car and made it even better!

The best part of the show was the Test drive section, where visitors could enjoy the thrill of being spotted by carspotters on some seriously exotic machines: Hamann’s, Gumpert’s, Shelby’s… you could tell by the crowd who gathered at each stand how popular this section was. Jaguar was even giving rides in their F Type R!

Despite full of multi million supercars, Top Marques Monaco was a discreet, yet intense event that projected you into the classic Monaco lifestyle. While being one of the most terrible places to drive on Earth (narrow roads, loads of traffic) it’s one of the best to experience the world of luxury on 4 wheels.