Some might say that Carmel is trapped in time, but Chanterria McGilbra brought a time machine to town. The destination? The Roaring ’20s (see what we did there?). And yes, a DeLorean was on display courtesy of Monterey Touring Vehicles.
Time travel jokes aside, McGilbra is responsible for the eighth iteration of The Prancing Ponies car show that happened on Thursday, Aug. 14. The event takes over the intersection of Mission Street and Ocean Avenue in downtown Carmel for a car show exclusively for female car owners, accompanied glitz and glam in the form of a fashion show. The eponym of the show is a nod to Ferrari, but this year included a collaboration with three graduates from the Academy of Art.
“It is wonderful to see ladies showcasing their beautiful cars,” McGilbra says. “I cannot wait to see us start our engines.”
The fashion show this year was led by Maddox Haberdasher, who was the lead organizer of designers to be showcased. The all-female runway featured local models wearing designs by Carmel-based designer Natalie Baroni, Martharine Jabo, Ema Latham, Devashree Jhaveri and Kendra Rae. Models were also adorned with timepieces on their wrists presented by Abingdon Co. watches.
In addition to the glamour, made possible in part by the mother-daughter makeup artists Leah and Quinlin Beets, the fashion show dimension of the event featured a surprise $1,000 scholarship presented to Jasmine Seratto and a “pawshion” show featuring pets of the models to benefit the Animal Friends Rescue Project.
Taking a lap around the Prancing Ponies car show, dozens of women car enthusiasts dressed in Great Gatsby-inspired period attire stood proudly alongside their vehicles, lined up along Ocean Avenue.
For Carmel local Lizzy Yasuda, it was all about matching the vibe—and the car. She paired a Joker-green hat and shoes with her custom 2024 Lotus Emira V6, a supercharged beauty from the first year Lotus imported these models into the U.S. Hers is reportedly the second one in California.
“I drive it on track locally at Laguna Seca and I take it to car shows,” Yasuda says. This is her first time at Prancing Ponies with the Emira, but her fourth year participating in the event overall. “I spec’d the entire car from day one—the brake calipers, the colors, everything. Everything that looks great about the car, I picked.”
Learning how to drive the car wasn’t immediate, she says, but she caught on, feeling the power in not just the speed but also control, suspension and acceleration come alive on the track.
“One of the most incredible feelings is the acceleration. You’re going so fast and then it will slow down, almost to a stop in such a short distance. It really is such an intense feeling,” Yasuda says.
It took three-and-a-half years to get the car, which she ordered in 2021. The color—shimmering in the light with a chromatic shift from sparkly black to green—she calls “dark verdant,” or jade.
“It was a long wait, but worth it,” she adds.
Yasuda’s love for cars runs in the family: Her father collected Corvettes, her mother loved Toyotas. Being part Japanese and part British, she says she feels a personal connection to the car’s dual heritage. “It’s kind of in between,” she says. “It has a Toyota engine and a British body.”
Personal stories like this abound at the show.
Down Ocean Avenue, Santa Cruz local Rachel Kupper showcases her 1970s Mercedes convertible, which she bought earlier this year. With only 94,000 miles—and just 10,000 of those added since 1988—the car originally came from Tennessee, purchased in 1978.
Kupper found the car through a local meet-up called Coffee and Cars, and test-drove it on her birthday. “Me and my husband went to dinner, and I was like: I really want this car,” she recalls.
They’ve been working on it since January to get it ready for Prancing Ponies, for her first time showcasing at the event.
“I adore this car. It’s like a boat, and it’s got a lot of power,” she says. “Every time I drive it, I’m like: This is it. There’s nothing better.”
Fast-forwarding to a more recent Italian flavor, Carol Chouest brought her 2017 Maserati GranTurismo convertible, styled by Pininfarina.
“When I was 10, I used to speak in broken Italian with my mom about our favorite cars,” Chouest says. “She told me, ‘Of course you’d buy a Maserati.’” In her late 40s, she made that dream a reality and proudly showed her mother her car.
“She couldn’t believe it,” Chouest says. “And she [the car] sings on the track. She holds the corner beautifully.”
