A Summer of Cars, Conversations, and History in the Making

The last time I wrote here, I was about to start showing Collector Archives to the people I was building it for. I thought the summer would be full of demos and design work. It was, even when that meant working from the back of an extremely bouncy old van, on my 5G connection, as we flew down a California freeway. It also brought a Ferrari parade, a record-breaking auction, an introduction to drifting, and some unforgettable joyrides.

Much of the design work happened at my desk, but the summer kept pulling me out into the world the platform is built for.

The Highlight: Monterey Car Week

Pebble Beach, Ferraris, and a record-breaking auction

The Ferrari parade along 17-Mile Drive brought us right onto the lawn at Pebble Beach. Classic Ferraris filled the Concours d’Elegance—my favorite being a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Scaglietti Berlinetta. That color, that shape, that view over the hood: I wanted to open the door and drive away.

At Casa Ferrari, I walked past a 250 Testa Rossa that took my breath away. Then there was a vintage Bartoletti transporter loaded with Ferrari race cars. It was built to carry them from race to race, and it has become a piece of their history in its own right.

At The Quail, I fell hard for the Martini-liveried Kimera EVO37s. I’m a little obsessed with Martini Racing, so they never stood a chance.

I also met a race car driver who introduced me to drifting. It might be the wildest form of motorsport I’ve ever seen—though rally racing gives it a run for its money. In a separate Car Week adventure, I took a joyride in a 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. I spent time with my German friends from RUF, too, first at Car Week and again later in San Diego.

Then, I witnessed automotive history at Gooding Christie’s Auction.

It was the moment I’ll remember most. I was in the room as bidding on a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, chassis CSX2300, climbed to a $39 million hammer price. One of only six original Daytona Coupes, it once belonged to Carroll Shelby himself. With fees, the final price was $42.9 million, making it the most valuable American car ever sold at auction. I filmed the bidding, and I still love watching it unfold.

A Lot More Than Car Week

Shops, road trips, and more joyrides

The rest of the summer kept moving. Rod Emory showed us around Emory Motorsports in North Hollywood, where Porsche 356s sat in every stage of transformation. I also visited Gamroth Motorsports in Sherwood, Oregon, and Geary Motors in Deer Park, Washington, and stopped by a party hosted by ArcFlash in Bend. It was a busy summer!

And there were more joyrides. I rode in a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and we took a 1991 Mk2 Golf GTI G60 on a rainy drive through Central Oregon. Supercharged, five-speed, and, according to Jeff, “the ultimate Mk2 GTI.” I’m going with his other description: bigger wheels, bigger flares, bigger fun.

I’ve shared that rainy drive and other moments from the summer on @take.a.joyride on Instagram.

Taking the Conversations Back to the Design

From the field back to the prototype

In between the trips and rides, I gave demos and spent hours talking with collectors, collection managers, and people who work on cars. I showed them the prototype and listened to what they need to know: what happened to a car, who did the work, where it happened, and what evidence still exists. The invoices, service records, and historical documents they shared helped me refine the architecture with great precision.

The design moved forward across the platform, from the detailed flow for recording service work to how vehicle identity, location history, and collection expenses are documented. I made substantial changes in each of those areas.

What a summer. I watched history happen at an auction, saw remarkable work taking shape in shops, listened to people who know these cars inside out, and got into some wonderful ones myself.

Then, I went back to the prototype with better questions.

I can’t wait to see where the next conversations take it.

— Julia