CLASSIC SHOWCASE • Fall 2026 Newsletter
CLASSIC SHOWCASE • Fall 2026 Newsletter
ABOUT MONTEREY CAR WEEK
Monterey Car Week once again brought the collector-car world to California’s Monterey Peninsula, with major concours events, gatherings, displays, and auctions taking place throughout the region. The auction scene was especially active in 2026, with five principal houses combining for a record-setting week of sales. Classic Showcase spent time at several of the major venues, giving our team the opportunity to see an extraordinary range of significant classics, competition cars, modern supercars, and rare automobilia up close. The following highlights focus on the auction and collector events we attended during the week, including the Automobilia Collectors Expo, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum, Broad Arrow, and Bonhams.
The Automobilia Collectors Expo returned to Embassy Suites Monterey Bay in Seaside from August 10-12, 2026, once again serving as one of the opening destinations of Monterey Car Week. Tom and the Classic Showcase team visited the Expo, where exhibitors from the United States and abroad offered an extensive selection of automotive art, vintage posters, enamel signs, books, scale models, badges, parts, accessories, and other collectible pieces of motoring history. New for 2026 was the ACE Forum, which added discussions on automotive history, collecting trends, market perspectives, and the culture surrounding automobilia. The live automobilia auction took place on Tuesday, August 11, following two days of preview activity. With so many different specialties represented under one roof, the Expo remains an enjoyable way to begin Car Week and a reminder that the collector-car hobby extends far beyond the automobiles themselves.
RM Sotheby’s returned to the Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Center for its 29th annual Monterey auction, held August 13-15, 2026. This year’s three-night sale became the most successful auction in the company’s history, generating approximately $380 million in total sales with a 90 percent sell-through rate. Bidders participated from 39 countries, and 69 cars sold for more than $1 million. The auction offered an exceptional mix of important competition cars, pre-war classics, modern hypercars, and limited-production Ferraris. Among the most talked-about cars was the vividly liveried 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, which sold for $34.655 million and set records for both a McLaren F1 and a British-built automobile at auction. The 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport brought $18.705 million, while Ferrari once again occupied much of the upper end of the results. A special 2026 Ferrari Luce “Tailor Made” charity lot sold for $40 million, establishing a new record for a new automobile sold at auction. The breadth and strength of the sale made RM Sotheby’s one of the defining auction events of Monterey Car Week 2026.
RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale delivered an extraordinary group of headline results, with modern halo cars, competition machinery, and important pre-war automobiles all attracting serious bidding. In addition to the record-setting McLaren F1 GTR and Corvette Grand Sport, the sale included a Ferrari Daytona SP3 at $17.825 million, a Ferrari F50 at $12.105 million, and a Ferrari 288 GTO at $11.555 million. Clark Gable’s 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe also stood out among the classic-era offerings, selling for $9.08 million.
Top 10 Sales at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026:
2026 Ferrari Luce “Tailor Made” – $40,000,000
1996 McLaren F1 GTR – $34,655,000
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport – $18,705,000
2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 – $17,825,000
1995 Ferrari F50 – $12,105,000
1985 Ferrari 288 GTO – $11,555,000
2003 Ferrari Enzo – $9,410,000
1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe – $9,080,000
2015 Ferrari LaFerrari – $8,695,000
1991 Ferrari F40 – $8,365,000
The results reflected the remarkable range of today’s collector-car market. While limited-production supercars and modern Ferraris continued to command tremendous prices, historically important competition and pre-war automobiles remained highly sought after as well.
Mecum’s Monterey auction returned to the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa and Del Monte Golf Course from August 13-15, 2026. With more than 500 collector vehicles offered, Mecum again presented one of the broadest selections of Car Week, ranging from pre-war classics and European sports cars to American muscle, modern exotics, motorcycles, and late-model performance cars. Our team visited Mecum several times during the week, which gave us the chance to see different portions of the enormous field as the sale progressed. The headline result was a yellow 1996 Ferrari F50 that sold for $14.575 million, establishing a new auction record for the model. A 2003 Ferrari Enzo followed at $12.1 million, while a 2004 Gemballa Mirage GT achieved $3.96 million. Mecum sold more cars than any of the other major Monterey auction houses this year, with its scale and variety once again making it one of the most active stops of the week.
Mecum Monterey 2026 featured more than 500 collector vehicles over three days at the Del Monte Golf Course.
Mecum's Top 10 Sales:
1996 Ferrari F50 – $14,575,000
2003 Ferrari Enzo – $12,100,000
2004 Gemballa Mirage GT – $3,960,000
2017 Ferrari F12tdf – $3,657,500
2014 McLaren P1 HDK – $3,575,000
2005 Porsche Carrera GT – $3,575,000
1933 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe – $3,410,000
2023 Ferrari 812 Competizione – $3,355,000
2011 Ferrari 599 GTO – $3,300,000
1966 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster – $1,980,000
Mecum’s Monterey sale produced some of the week’s most dramatic results, particularly at the very top of the market. The Ferrari F50 and Enzo together accounted for more than $26 million in sales, while the remainder of the catalog demonstrated the remarkable variety that continues to define Mecum’s Monterey event.
Broad Arrow entered a new chapter at Monterey Car Week in 2026, moving from the Monterey Jet Center to The Quail Golf Club and becoming the official auction partner of The Quail by The Peninsula, A Motorsports Gathering. Tom and the team visited the sale during its August 13-14 run, where 186 lots crossed the block in a setting that placed the auction directly alongside one of Car Week’s premier motoring events. Broad Arrow reported $97.4 million in total sales and an 85 percent sell-through rate, making this its highest-grossing Monterey sale to date. The top result was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo finished in Nero D.S. over Rosso leather, which sold for $10.675 million. A 2025 Bugatti W16 Mistral followed at $8.805 million, while a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S achieved $4.075 million. The move to The Quail gave Broad Arrow a distinctly different atmosphere this year while maintaining the strong mix of modern hypercars, European classics, and limited-production performance cars that has become a hallmark of the sale.
Broad Arrow’s inaugural auction at The Quail Golf Club combined a new venue with the strongest Monterey results in the company’s history. Twenty cars sold for more than $1 million, and several world-record prices were established during the two-day event.
Broad Arrow Auctions Top 10 Sales:
2003 Ferrari Enzo – $10,675,000
2025 Bugatti W16 Mistral Roadster – $8,805,000
1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 S – $4,075,000
2017 Ferrari F12tdf – $3,635,000
2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport – $3,305,000
1988 Porsche 959 Komfort – $2,865,000
2023 Hennessey Venom F5 – $2,837,500
2023 Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster – $2,425,000
2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale A – $2,425,000
1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster – $2,040,000
The range of the Top 10—from a 1950s Mercedes-Benz roadster to contemporary Bugatti and Hennessey hypercars—illustrated the broad spectrum of collector interest represented at the sale.
Bonhams introduced a major change to its Monterey presence in 2026, moving its long-running Car Week auction from Quail Lodge to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Held on August 13 during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the new setting gave the sale a distinctly competition-oriented atmosphere and placed bidders close to one of the week’s most historic racing venues. The auction offered 56 collector vehicles and achieved approximately $11.9 million in sales, with 43 lots finding new owners. Leading the results was a 2024 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport at $4.57 million, followed by a rare 2000 Lamborghini Diablo GT at $2.425 million. The remaining catalog mixed racing machinery, pre-war automobiles, European sports cars, and more approachable collector vehicles. The venue change made Bonhams feel noticeably different this year, but its focused catalog and proximity to the Motorsports Reunion gave the auction its own identity within an increasingly busy Monterey schedule.
(PHOTOS FROM CLASSIC SHOWCASE'S VISIT TO BONHAMS AT LAGUNA SECA)
Bonhams’ first Laguna Seca auction placed modern performance cars at the top of the results while also offering a diverse selection of historic competition and classic automobiles. The 2024 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport accounted for the largest individual result, and the 2000 Lamborghini Diablo GT set a strong model benchmark at $2.425 million.
Top 10 Sales at Bonhams:
2024 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport – $4,570,000
2000 Lamborghini Diablo GT – $2,425,000
1967 Vollstedt-Ford 67 USAC Indianapolis Racing Single-Seater – $698,000
1934 Packard Twelve Model 1108 Individual Custom Convertible Sedan – $456,000
1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT – $417,500
1936 Cord E-300 Experimental Disappearing Top Cabriolet – $324,000
1995 Mercedes-Benz E60 AMG Limited – $313,000
2019 Toro Rosso-Honda STR Racing Single-Seater – $224,000
1953 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Coupe – $201,600
1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series III Coupe – $190,400
Although smaller than several of the other Monterey auctions, Bonhams’ 2026 sale offered a distinctive mix of cars and an entirely new setting at Laguna Seca.