Going, Going, Gone!

Monterey Car Week is where serious collectors gather to buy and sell cars that anywhere else would only be described as “priceless.” This August over the course of a week in California’s Central Coast, more than 800 cars were sold by auction houses Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum, Broad Arrow Auctions, and Gooding & Co. Spread across these multiple auction houses and events, the average sale price was $476,965.

The overall trend was toward newer classics, with pre-war and 1950’s vehicles showing signs of softening. A rising interest in car collecting from Gen Xers and Millennials is starting to drive values for vehicles from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

At RM Sotheby’s, for example, cheers greeted the sale of a 1989 Lamborghini LM002, which sold for $635,000—almost double its estimate. Meanwhile, Steve McQueen’s 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3, bought new and driven by him until his death in 1980, was a bargain, sold at $148,400. The auction house realized the highest price among all sales for the week when the hammer dropped on a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider at $17,055,000. RM Sotheby’s reported total sales of $161.2 million.

At Gooding & Company, a special edition 2013 Lamborghini 5-95 with coachwork designed and built by Zagato to celebrate its 95th anniversary sold for $720,000, while world-record prices were achieved for modern cars: a 1995 Ferrari 333 SP Evoluzione sold for $5,120,000 and a 2001 Ferrari 550 GTZ Barchetta made $841,000—both benchmark prices. Gooding & Company reported total sales of $108 million—with 151 lots sold for a sell-through rate of 82%. 

Broad Arrow’s two-day auction proceeds totalled $71.5 million. Topping the sale was a 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion with a final price of $7,045,000. One of the headline stars was a 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV, sold at $2,700,000.

For their part, Mecum sold a total of $54 million in vehicles, with a 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight topping the sales chart at $7,865,000.

At Bonhams, many of the cars selected for auction were in the American muscle car category and fell flat in sea of European prestige vehicles found elsewhere. The top seller was a late-entry 2022 Ferrari 812 Competizione at $1,611,000. One nostalgia entry in the auction, the Risky Business Porsche 928, failed to sell. This year’s Bonhams sale totalled $11.3 million. 

According to specialty vehicle insurer Hagerty, the top five biggest sales this year were:

1. 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider—$17,055,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
2. 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider—$14,030,000 (Gooding & Company)
3. 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider—$12,985,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
4. 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight—$7,865,000 (Mecum)
5. 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion Coupe—$7,045,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)