Monterey Car Week is the highlight of the US, and some would say, the world's classic automotive calendar. From the 11th to 20th August this corner of California is home to more classic car auctions and events than anywhere in the world.
Auctions play a central role in the party. This year, Broad Arrow, Mecum, RM Sotheby's Gooding & Co and Bonhams bring 1,193 cars to sell between the 17th and 19th August.
We've gone through all 1,193 classic car auctions and picked our top 23. Not necessarily the most expensive, but rather the most intriguing in our eyes. In no particular order, let's get started.
1 - 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider Series I by Pinin Farina
"There is no denying that 0406 MD will require a comprehensive restoration to return the car to the condition of its glory days." Agreed.
This 500 Mondial was one of 13 Pinin Farina bodied spiders to be built and was previously owned and raced by Franco Cortese - the Italian Ferrari factory driver. Cortese raced it in period including at the 1954 Mille Miglia finishing 4th in class.
The estimate on the car is $1,200,000 - $1,600,000 (£950,000 - £1,250,000).
Given that two Pinin Farina 500 Mondial Spider's have sold in the past couple of years, both in the region of £1,600,000, it sure does seem an expensive chassis plate to go and buy.
As we see so often with classics and restorations the economics of restoration rarely come into mind and the heart rules. The same will happen here to bring 0406 MD back to its glory days.
2 - 1938 Peugeot 402 Darl'mat Special Sport Competition Roadster
How does a manufacturer's design team go for producing a car like the Darl'mat to the 1007? Christ, anyway.
Emile Darl'mat set up shop in the 1920s in Paris initially selling and repairing vehicles, then he became a licensed Panhard and Peugeot dealer offering coachwork on top of existing Pegueot cars. He was rather good and Peugeot threw him the keys to create his own car by the mid 1930's.
This is the output.
If you're in the market, Gooding & Co have it listed at $1,100,000 - $1,300,000.
That would be more than double the previous world record for a roadster Darl'mat, albeit none have previously sold in competition trim.
3 - 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta
If the Peugeot was beautiful, the 212 is the next level up.
The 212 as with many early Ferrari's was available in road-going form (212 Inter) and competition form (212 Export).
Two 212 Export Barchetta's have sold publicly before, one of which was bodied by Touring and sold in May 2015 for £4.8m. With both cars having similar race history in period - the estimate looks good value.
This car would be my pick from all 1,193 cars available during Car Week.
4 - 1959 Frisky Convertible Special
Frisky is a rare name in the automotive world, they started business in the late 50s and were out of business in 1961. They built 1,500 vehicles over that period. 75 of which survive today.
Built in 1959, this car started as a Frisky Family Three, a three-wheeled coupe. The sensible, prudent and logical decision was then made to convert the car into a convertible which is what we see here.
Look at it - it's just brilliant. RM Sotheby's place the estimate at $30,000 - $40,000.
5 - 1967 Toyota 2000 GT
What could you do in 11 months? Get to basic conversational level in a language? Think about starting that project in your garage? In 1965, Toyota took the 2000 GT from idea to prototype in that time.
Toyota had big plans. They believed they could sell 1000 a month. The reality was they produced 337 over a three-year production run. I'll save you the maths - that's about 10 a month.
However, they'd produced a monster. So much so that Carroll Shelby flew to Japan to convince Toyota he should lead their racing effort in the US with the 2000 GT.
Today, they're one of the most expensive Toyota's around - our TCV value places the median model value at £621,766. The world record stands £1.89m for the first serial numbered 2000 GT that also happens to be one of three cars prepared by Shelby.
6 - 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB
The 250 SWB is arguably one of the most iconic Ferrari's of all time. And for good reason.
In 1960, their debut season, competition-prepared SWB's captured class wins at both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans and claimed overall victories at Tour de France, Paris 1000 Kilometers, Coppa Inter-Europa, RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood, and Nassau Tourist Trophy.
165 cars were built between 1960 and 1963 and this car, chassis 3507 GT, has never been offered for public sale before. In the first 18 months of ownership the initial owner put a superb 15,000 km on the car.
7 - 1952 Jaguar C-Type
Only 53 Jaguar C-Type's were produced in period. Jaguar have since commenced a continuation run of 16 additional cars. This car is the real deal, though.
Raced by Phil Hill in period. Presents in British Racing Green. And yours for $3,500,000 - $4,250,000 (£2,700,000 - £3,300,000).
2017 was the last time a C-Type came to auction, selling for £3.95m. A works car will set you back upwards of £7m.
8 - 1968 Ford Bronco U13 Roadster
This Bronco Roadster was one of 212 built for the 1968 model year, and one of only 26 believed to exist.
Is there a cooler way to pop to the pub? At $115,000 - $135,000, there are certainly cheaper ways to get there but that's not really the point is it.
9 - 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia
The Fiat 8V was a departure from the norm for Italy's largest car factory and this streamlined beauty soon dominated on track too. Privately entered 8Vs easily claimed the 2L class of the Italian GT Championship for six straight seasons (1954 through 1959).
The 8V as we see it here has been draped in coachwork designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi for Ghia. One of 14 . Matching numbers. And exhibited at Pebble Beach and Retromobile.
10 - 1996 Porsche 993 GT2
194 993 GT2's were produced between 1995 and 1996, and with its PTS Iris Blue Metallic this is a unique example. It was previously owned by Philippe Aunay, ex-President of the Porsche Club of France for 25 years before later being bought by ex-F1 driver Adrian Sutil.
11 - 1973 Aston Martin V8 "The Living Daylights"
This is no standard 70's Aston V8.
This car was one of four examples used in the filming of the 1987 James Bond movie 'The Living Daylights' (another seven prop fibreglass shells were used too). It comes equipped with 'Q Branch' gadgets including outrigger skis and rocket booster.
The vehicle is currently SORNd according to the DVLA and comes with an estimate of $1,400,000 - $1,800,000 (£1,100,000 - £1,400,000).
12 - 1958 Ferrari 250 GT
I know what you're thinking. What's going on here? Let me explain.
This car was originally a 250 GT Coupe Ellena when it was sold new in Florence, Italy in 1958.
46 years later the car was re-bodied into a 14-louvre 250 TdF body constructed in Italy to the original chassis.
A year later the car was extensively restored and it comes with 99 pages of receipts totalling $240,000.
Mecum don't provide an estimate for this car but they do have a genuine, albeit crashed, TdF in their sale with an estimate of $3,000,000 - $3,500,000.
13 - 2007 Maserati MC12 Corsa
Before we go any further if you haven't seen the video of Joe Macari blasting his MC12 up a hillclimb in Italy, go watch it. Link here. It's epic.
Between 2004 and 2005 50 MC12 road cars were produced in an attempt to homologate Maserati's racing efforts with the three MC12 GT1's they developed.
Maserati responded to "customer demand" and subsequently built 12 of the MC12 Corsa. The Corsa was developed directly for use on track, with the modifications meaning it's illegal to drive one on the road.
Regardless, customer's still paid €1,000,000 when new in 2006 / 2007 to sit behind the wheel.
In 2023, Gooding & Co, are selling this MC12 Corsa for $2,500,000 - $3,000,000 (£1,950,000 - £2,350,000).
14 - 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta
Without doubt, the big daddy of all the auctions across Car Week when it comes to values is this Ferrari 412P Berlinetta.
Built in 1967, Ferrari sold two customer versions of the carbureted P3/4 under the name 412P - this car being one of those two.
It raced extensively in period: 1000KM of Spa, Le Mans, Nuremberg 200km and the Swedish GP.
It retains matching numbers chassis, engine, gearbox and bodywork and has undergone a nine-year restoration.
Bonhams haven't publicly placed an estimate on the vehicle. There's talk of the number $35,000,000 - $40,000,000 being banded around. That would make it the third most expensive car ever sold publicly. In complete honesty, we have no idea of how much the car will sell for.
What we do know is that we'll be watching when it goes under the hammer on August 18th.
15 - 1957 Jaguar XKSS
Jaguar had withdrawn from racing in 1956 and were left with a number of D-Type's unsold.
The question was what to do with them.
The solution? Convert them to road-going spec and sell them into the US market. The headrest and fin from a D-Type were removed along with the centre cockpit divider. The luxuries of a passenger door, full windshield, chrome bumpers and a folding roof were added amongst other tweaks and we have our XKSS.
25 cars were planned, 16 rolled off the production line after 9 of the 25 were destroyed in a fire. Jaguar have since done a continuation run of the remaining 9 XKSS'.
The only other original XKSS to come to auction in recent history reached a high-bid of $11,900,000 in 2017.
Side note: The 412P above was previously owned by Lord Bamford of JCB fame, and so was this Jaguar.
16 - 1952 Ferrari 340 America
This Vignale bodied car was fifth overall and second in class at Le Mans in 1952. It's Classiche certified. It carries its matching numbers chassis and engine.
The price rise on the 340's like so many 50's Ferrari's has been remarkable.
In 1954, 2 years after it was built, it was sold for $8,750 ($99,245) adjusted for inflation.
17 - 1991 Isdera Imperator 108i
One of the rarest cars of this selection. Only 30 were produced and the story behind it is akin to the Horacio Pagani's and Christian von Keonigsegg's of today's world.
A chap called Eberhard Schulz was a design engineer for Porsche.
Despite never working for Mercedes-Benz, he yearned for a true successor to the Gullwing. and in 1972 began work on his own interpretation of such a machine.
This interpretation would evolve to be a Mercedes badged prototype car (CW311) unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1978.
The problem: Mercedes' had no interest putting the car into production.
The solution: Schulz established his own company, Isdera, to produce the car under his own brand.
And so the Imperator was born.
18 - 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti
With an estimate of $5,000,000 - $7,000,000 (£3,900,000 - £5,500,000), almost twice what a 'standard' 275 GTB/4 would be worth it's clear this isn't your average 275.
It isn't a GTB/C. It isn't a NART Spider. It is, in-fact, the King of Cool - Steve McQueen's - former car.
What's even cooler is he owned it from new in 1967.
We've dug into our archives and this exact chassis, 10621, has sold previously.
That estimate is c. $4,000,000 less than it sold for previously, in a market for 275's that has only gone up since 2014.
Value?
19 - 1966 Porsche 906
Imagine racing a season in this car back in 1966? Mt Fuji, Suzuka, Macau.
Well, this car did that. For eight seasons straight.
Of the 62 cars produced this is one of those with the most race history including a win in the Suzuka 1,000 km race - the most important of the Japanese competition calendar.
It's a rare thing for any of the 62 cars to come for public sale, Artcurial sold the most recent example in February 2020 for £1.45m.
20 - 1953 Siata 208CS Balbo Berlinetta
Siata started in 1926 producing accessories and tuning parts. Post WWII they begun producing 48cc engines that could be mounted to a bicycle that turned that bicycle into somewhat of a motorcycle.
The profits from this activity gave them the capital to start producing their own cars. The first of which were the 208CS (coupe) and 208S (spider), powered by the Fiat 8V engine from the Supersonic car we looked at earlier.
This car is one of 11 bodied by Carrozzeria Balbo and it won Best in Class at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.
21 - 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Spider by Frua
This A6G/54 Spider was from the line of A6 Maserati's that started in 1947. The A6 series includes a series of letter and number codes. We'll explain:
G stands for Ghisa which is Italian and literally translates into cast iron - reflecting the engine block material
CS stands for Corsa Sport. In other words, racing sports cars.
CM stands for Corsa Monoposto. In other words, single-seater racing cars
1500 or 2000 reflects the rounded up total engine displacement
53 or 54 denote the year of the type's introduction.
So if you see an A6GCS, it's a sports racing A6 with a cast iron block.
In this instance we've got an A6G/54. That an A6 with a cast iron block, introduced in 1954.
Maserati produced 60 before production ended in 1956. 10 of which are Frua Spiders.
22 - 1953 Arnolt-Bristol Deluxe Roadster
This beauty is an Anglo-Italian-American mash up.
Stanley "Wacky" Arnolt made his money in WWII selling boat motors. In 1952 he bought a stake in Bertone. He also became a US distributor for Bristol cars.
It was this relationship with Bristol that enabled him to take a Bristol 404 and give it the Bertone treatment in 1953. 130 cars got this treatment and it's believed 90 cars survive today.
23 - 1964 Ferrari 250 LM
It's been a 250 LM bonanza year so far. After not having a single car come to auction since 2015, this will be the third time a 250 LM has gone under the hammer in 6 months. Artcurial have seen a 250 LM go unsold in February followed up with the same chassis that went unsold setting a new world record in July for £13.5m.
And RM bring the third instance of a 250 LM, this time to Monterey. It raced in the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans where it unfortunately was one of the 39 cars (out of 54) that failed to finish the race.
The car raced extensively around the world after Le Mans and received stamps in its passports for travels to the UK, US, South Africa, Mozambique, France and Italy.
There we have it, 23 picks from the 2023 Monterey Car Week. What's your pick of the bunch?
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