In most areas of the country, Aston Martins of any vintage are very rarely seen on the street, if at all. It may therefore seem that attracting enough cars to warrant a show dedicated to the marque would be a difficult challenge. Upon arriving at the show’s location in beautiful downtown Carmel-By-The-Sea, it will undoubtedly surprise the first-time visitor that Astons On The Avenue includes a very healthy population of cars that span a wide range of models and years. This year the total number of 53 badged cars included a factory team AMR25 Formula 1 race car.

As in past years, admission was free and all of the cars were arranged for display on both sides of Ocean Avenue and on selected cross-streets. This layout provides plenty of space to accommodate a great number of enthusiasts and casual viewers interested in Aston Martins. A nice feature was that the show’s organizers provided a free brochure that included a map showing the location of each of the models on display for easy reference for show goers interested in seeing a particular model.

There was also room for displays of various machines from different manufacturers that enhanced the show’s ambiance. One example of particular note is the Pagani Huayra R, a street-legal (?) V12 racer that is one of just 30 cars produced and that sells in the range of $3.5M. Its low-slung aircraft-like lines made it a show-within-the-show as admirers continually surrounded the vehicle that was on one of the side streets.

Another vehicle that drew attention was an actual aircraft, the SR-22T from Cirrus Aircraft, that was trucked in and assembled for display at show center. Its advanced features include a whole-plane ballistic parachute recovery system (also available on the company’s Vision Jet) which is deployed as a last resort when an aircraft is otherwise incapable of landing safely under guided control, and which has a proven record of a high percentage of crew and passengers survival.

The beautiful cars and setting for this event make it one that we recommend that Monterey Car Week attendees add to their itinerary. The only cautionary note is that parking in Carmel-By-The-Sea can be difficult to find due to the city’s small and narrow streets and the number of people that are drawn to this venue. As a result, we recommend that attendees either arrive early or build in time to search for parking into a planned visit.  

– Andre Swygert, 2025