The 12th August 2019 marked my first ever day in Monaco and what a day it was!
When we arrived, we parked a small walk away from the famous Casino Square which is notorious for hosting a plethora of incredible cars worth more than a lot of houses and of course was the first destination I had to go and visit, so I got walking.
After about half an hour of getting lost around the F1 circuit (not that I realised I was walking it), I finally stumbled across the Monaco Casino which is a rather impressive building in its own right, but for me, the building was a mere background feature. At this point I had walked past countless Bentley Bentaygas and Rolls Royce Cullinans and I actually walked into Casino Square alongside a Ferrari Portofino, but now I had finally hit the supercar hangout of the world, being initially greeted with a Mercedes AMG GTC parked back to back with a Mercedes-McLaren SLR Roadster which is not exactly a common sight straight off the bat, however, I had no idea what I was about to discover right around the corner.
A special edition Ferrari caught my eye whilst I was taking pictures of the Mercs, a Ferrari 488 Pista Spider to be precise. The car was finished in what I can only assume was Rosso Coburn (a lovely deep metallic red) and it had a black stripe running through the middle of the car and next to it sat a bright yellow Ferrari California. Now while the 488 Pista is renowned for its on-track prowess and the California is known as the ultimate Italian cruiser, the next car is known for being somewhat of a "tarmac terrorist" to quote MrJWW. The Audi RS6 surely is a brute of a car with an almighty amount of power which makes it capable of hanging with some of the quickest supercars in a straight line and definitely worth a place at Casino Square! But one car that the RS6 definitely can't keep up with was parked right next to it was born out of Woking, England. McLaren is now known for providing the world with some incredibly well valued, incredibly fast and incredibly useable cars; the 720S is no exception to that. The styling of the 720S always helps it catch your eye and in a very good way, it (much like the Senna) was very controversial when it was released as it's lights looked a bit odd and it didn't completely fit with what was 'in' at the time but no matter what you think of the styling, it's undeniably one of the quickest cars out there considering it can keep up with a Porsche 918 in the quarter-mile which is mighty impressive considering just how much cheaper it is compared to the hypercar from Stuttgart. Now I'd just like you to hold that thought about how well priced the McLaren is for a minute as the next car in this illustrious line up really doesn't fit the 'value for money' category whatsoever and we may as well jump straight to it. The Bugatti Chiron is fast, but it's not cheap. Especially not in exposed carbon with red carbon accents when you remember that the price for a normal Chiron (whatever that may be) cost around three million pounds when it was new. However I have a sneaking suspicion that this one's price doesn't come close to the other Bugatti Chiron that was parked at Casino Square which was finished, yet again, in exposed carbon.
Only this owner hadn't stuck to the boring black carbon, oh no. They had decided to go for brown carbon fibre to cover all of the body panels with the 'C' on the side profile and grille surrounds in what I can only think was a type of brushed gold finish. Knowing Bugatti, that was probably real gold. But I have definitely saved my favourite car that was parked in Casino Square for last. Finished (much like the first of the Chirons) in exposed black carbon sat a gorgeous Pagani Zonda F with, you guessed it, a manual gearbox! In my opinion, Pagani have got it absolutely right with their cars. They've got the combination of timeless design, wonderful engines and a sublime chassis all in one very Italian package and did I mention the noise? That AMG V12 screams with whatever magic exhaust Pagani have created for it and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is thankful that they exist!
After all that madness, we can now move on slightly further round the F1 track to the first of the two hairpins where there was an Aston Martin DBS Volante parked with a Porsche 911 Turbo, two very nice cars that I feel are underappreciated nowadays. Then we're down to another very famous area of Monaco, the Fairmont hotel and hairpin. This area is not only great for just sitting and watching the cars but also for its small carpark that houses an eclectic range of cars. The main side of the carpark was holding a rather interesting lineup of cars, starting with Lamborghini's Super SUV, the Urus. I'm still not completely sure on where I personally stand on the Urus, looks-wise I think it's okay, but the engine (both sound and performance) seems like the main plus point for the Audi based performance SUV. Next up, a new Bentley Continental GT which I love, however, this specific one was wrapped in some sort of marble-look vinyl and I can't see quite why you'd want your car to look like your kitchen counters but hey, each to their own.
There was a Mercedes AMG GT similar to the AMG GTC from up at Casino Square which is always a nice sight. Now it's time to go back to a track-focused supercar and the second Lamborghini in the lineup, the Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder finished in a bright red (Rosso Mars possibly, I'm not too in touch with my Lambo colours) with bronze wheels.
On the other, smaller, side of the carpark, there was a rather special Porsche. A silver 918 Spyder sitting amongst pedestrian cars, the 918 is very much of understated design and can blend in quite well but it is still always nice to see one of the Holy Trinity. Whilst watching the cars go round the Fairmont Hairpin, possibly the only special edition McLaren I saw that day drove past in the form of a Napier Green McLaren 675LT which was heading down into the F1 tunnel.
I decided to follow said McLaren down into the tunnel where a Porsche GT2RS was driving out in what I believe is the launch spec which is always a pleasure to see. After the 2RS there was an immaculate Ferrari 488 Pista Coupe that came through at rather low speeds meaning you couldn't properly hear the engine which is a shame.
However, the spec on it was one of my favourites I've seen on the Pista with silver paint and a white and red stripe up through the middle making it a nice and classy spec. One of the only cars I heard properly blast through the tunnel was possibly one of the best sounding cars in Monaco that day, it was a Lamborghini Aventador S 50th Anniversary Edition (bit of a mouthful). With its 6.5L V12, it screamed through the tunnel with a lot of pops on the overrun resonating throughout. Safe to say I'd also take that opportunity if it was handed to me like that!
I decided to walk a second lap of the F1 circuit, just to see if anything had moved around or if anything new had arrived. On the start-finish straight there was another 720S, this one being bright orange that made it stand out like a sore thumb in the traffic. Heading up the hill toward the Casino, there was a Rosso Corsa Ferrari 488 GTB which still looks very up to date against more modern supercars. Not much had changed up at Casino Square so I carried on walking around where I spied a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta driving into a rather fancy looking driveway. So I followed it. Down the same driveway, there was also a BMW M4 Convertible and a Ferrari 488 GTB, along with the F12. Turns out that I wasn't allowed to be in that driveway as it belonged to a building called 'Spa Metropole by Givenchy' which, yes I did have to Google to find out. Luckily I got a couple of pictures before I got kicked out!
That was the last new thing I saw around the F1 circuit before heading back towards the car. As I was walking back, I was obviously checking up and down the roads; not just to see if I was about to be run over but also to see if there were any hidden gems up side streets. It's safe to say that I'm glad I did keep a lookout because as I glanced up a street, I saw a hint of red and on a second take I realised that it was a Ferrari F40, street parked! Turns out it was parked in front of RM Autosports, a used supercar dealership in Monaco that was very tidy. While the dealership was closed, they had decided to leave their F40 out on the street and I'm very glad they did!
I think that just about wraps up what happened during my day out in Monaco and I can say with confidence that it was an incredible day. Let me know what you think via my Instagram @parkers_pics19
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!