Past and future: EVs share spotlight with V-8s at Monterey

Auto industry elite, performance enthusiasts, and collectors donning pastel linen suits, floral jumpers, fascinators and fedoras gathered on California's central coast for Monterey Car Week to admire both old and new sheet metal exhibitions.

Amid bellowing V-8 engines and eye-watering wafts of tailpipe exhaust, one thing is clear: Americans' love for gasoline-powered autos is alive and well among the wealthy.

But despite the rich history and performance on display, electric vehicles shared an equally bright spotlight at this year's celebration — from exotic hypercars to spaceship-shaped cruisers to boxy kid haulers — taking the storied event into the ultimate collision of past and future.

Lotus EVIJA: The customized Lotus carries a 93 kilowatt-hour battery with an output of 2,011 hp and can go from 0 to 100 mph in under 3 seconds.

Automobili Pininfarina PURA Vision: The design concept shows tri-opening pillarless doors.

Volkswagen ID Buzz: Old school and new school merge with throwback two-tone paint in bright colors.

NWTN Rabdan MUSE: A mobility vision from UAE green technology company NWTN.

Kia EV9: Kia's three-row electric crossover will launch with Light, Wind, Land and GT-Line trims; a GT will follow.