Monterey Car Week Auctions: History, Record Sales & the Most Expensive Cars Ever Sold

Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3413 GT on display at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2018. It later sold for $48.405 million. Photo: Prova MO / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Every August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes one of the most important marketplaces in the world for collector automobiles. Cars worth millions of dollars arrive in enclosed transporters. International collectors fill hotel ballrooms and auction tents. Bidding can jump by hundreds of thousands of dollars in seconds, and on exceptional evenings a single automobile can sell for more than many of the Peninsula's most spectacular estates.

Today, the auctions are an essential part of Monterey Car Week. RM Sotheby's, Gooding Christie's, Broad Arrow, Bonhams, Mecum and other auction houses bring hundreds of collector cars to Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel and Carmel Valley.

It wasn't always that way.

The modern Monterey collector-car auction tradition traces its roots to 1986, when auctioneer Rick Cole recognized an opportunity created by the concentration of serious collectors already coming to the Monterey Peninsula for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and historic racing.

What began with a single pioneering auction grew into an international marketplace where some of the most valuable automobiles ever offered publicly have changed hands.

2026 Editor's Note: This ranking covers completed Monterey Car Week auctions through 2025. The 2026 auctions were still underway when this article was prepared on August 15, 2026. Results will be updated after the final sales conclude.

Before the Auctions: Pebble Beach Creates an Automotive Tradition

A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Photo: LarryStevens / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

To understand why the auctions became so successful, it helps to understand what already existed on the Monterey Peninsula.

The first Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was held in 1950 alongside the inaugural Pebble Beach Road Race. The race was actually the main attraction in those early years, with the Concours serving as a stylish companion event.

Over time the Concours evolved into one of the world's most prestigious celebrations of automotive design and history, while racing eventually moved from the roads of Del Monte Forest to Laguna Seca.

That story is explored in much greater detail in our history of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

By the 1980s, Pebble Beach weekend was already drawing exactly the people an elite collector-car auction needed: serious collectors, racers, restoration experts, dealers, historians and wealthy enthusiasts from around the world.

Someone simply needed to connect those buyers with great cars for sale.

1986: Rick Cole Creates the First Monterey Collector-Car Auction

That person was Rick Cole.

Cole had entered the collector-car business as a teenager and later established his own auction company. In 1986, he created what he describes as the first Monterey Auction, taking advantage of the audience already gathered for Pebble Beach weekend.

The idea seems obvious today. At the time, it represented an important change in the economics of the collector-car weekend.

The world's most serious enthusiasts were already in one place. Now they could not only race, exhibit and admire important automobiles; they could buy and sell them publicly.

Within only a few years, seven-figure auction results were becoming possible. Cole's company reports that by the late 1980s he had already sold more than a dozen automobiles for over $1 million, including a Ferrari 250 P race car for $2.8 million in 1988.

1990: Auctions Reach the Pebble Beach Concours

The relationship between auctions and Pebble Beach became even more direct in 1990.

David Gooding, who would later establish Gooding & Company, helped organize the first auction held at the Pebble Beach Concours that year.

That milestone helped establish a pattern that continues today: the auction calendar and the Concours are separate events, but the extraordinary concentration of important automobiles and knowledgeable collectors makes them natural companions.

How Monterey's Auction Scene Expanded

Over the following decades, Monterey auction week evolved from a pioneering sale into a competitive international marketplace.

1950 — The Automotive Foundation

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and Pebble Beach Road Races begin, creating the automotive tradition around which the future Monterey Car Week would grow.

1986 — Rick Cole Launches the Monterey Auction

Rick Cole creates the first dedicated Monterey collector-car auction during Pebble Beach weekend.

1990 — The First Auction at the Pebble Beach Concours

David Gooding helps organize the first auction held in connection with the Concours.

1997 — RM Begins Its Monterey Era

RM's ownership of the Monterey Auction begins in 1997. The sale would eventually become one of RM Sotheby's flagship events and one of the most important high-end collector-car auctions in the world.

Late 1990s and Early 2000s — More Auction Houses Arrive

The Monterey marketplace expands significantly. Bonhams establishes its long-running Quail Lodge sale, while Russo and Steele joins the Monterey auction scene around the beginning of the new century, increasing both the variety of cars and the number of auction formats available to collectors.

2004 — Gooding & Company Debuts at Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company holds its inaugural Pebble Beach auction in 2004 and goes on to become the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The company became Gooding Christie's following Christie's acquisition at the end of 2024.

2009 — Mecum Comes to Monterey

Mecum holds its inaugural Monterey auction on August 15, 2009. The very first sale produced a headline result when Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX2601 sold for $7.25 million, then a record-breaking figure for an American automobile.

2013 — The N.A.R.T. Spider Reaches $27.5 Million

RM sells a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider for $27.5 million. One of only ten built, the car instantly becomes one of the defining Monterey auction sales of its era.

2014 — A Ferrari 250 GTO Sells for $38.115 Million

At Quail Lodge, Bonhams sells Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3851GT for $38,115,000, establishing a new world auction record for an automobile at the time.

2016 — A Le Mans-Winning Jaguar Makes History

RM Sotheby's sells Jaguar D-Type chassis XKD 501, winner of the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans, for $21.78 million.

2017 — Aston Martin Joins the Record Books

Aston Martin DBR1/1 sells for $22.55 million at RM Sotheby's, becoming the most valuable British automobile sold at auction at the time.

2018 — Monterey's $48.405 Million Ferrari

RM Sotheby's sells Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3413 GT for $48.405 million. The result sets a new world auction record for an automobile at the time and remains the highest public Monterey Car Week auction sale through the completed 2025 season.

2022 — Broad Arrow Enters the Market

Broad Arrow holds its first-ever live auction at the Monterey Jet Center. The inaugural sale generates approximately $55.3 million, demonstrating that even decades after the first Monterey auction there remained room for another significant international auction house.

That same year, RM Sotheby's 25th annual Monterey sale produces more than $239 million in sales, illustrating just how enormous the Monterey collector-car marketplace had become.

2023 — The Ferrari 412P Breaks $30 Million

Bonhams sells 1967 Ferrari 412P chassis 0854 for $30.255 million at The Quail Auction, placing another historically significant competition Ferrari near the top of Monterey's all-time results.

2025 — Two More Ferraris Enter the Top 10

RM Sotheby's sells the unique Ferrari Daytona SP3 "Tailor Made" 599+1 charity car for $26 million, while Gooding Christie's sells a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione for $25.305 million.

2026 — The Auction Map Changes Again

Broad Arrow moves from the Monterey Jet Center to become the official auction partner of The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, hosting a two-day sale in Carmel Valley. Bonhams, after its long Quail Lodge tradition, introduces a new Laguna Seca Auction at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

The changes are another reminder that Monterey's collector-car marketplace continues to evolve four decades after Rick Cole's first auction.

The 10 Most Expensive Cars Sold at Monterey Car Week Auctions

The following rankings use the published sale prices reported by the respective auction houses and cover completed Monterey Car Week auctions through 2025.

Ferrari Daytona SP3, the model represented by the special 599+1 Tailor Made example that sold in Monterey for $26 million in 2025. Photo: Calreyn88 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Note: Published auction-house sale prices are used for consistency. Where applicable, auction results generally include buyer's premium according to the auction house's published result.

#1: The $48.405 Million Ferrari 250 GTO

No Monterey auction result better illustrates the transformation of the collector-car market than the Ferrari that topped RM Sotheby's 2018 Monterey sale.

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 3413 GT, sold for $48,405,000.

Only 36 examples of the original 250 GTO series were built, and chassis 3413 GT had an extensive period competition history. Its 2018 sale exceeded the public-auction record established by another GTO at Monterey four years earlier by more than $10 million.

At the time, it became the most valuable automobile ever sold at public auction.

Although the global auction record has since moved higher at a sale outside Monterey, $48.405 million remained the Monterey Car Week record through the end of 2025.

The Ferrari Factor: 8 of Monterey's Top 10

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the list is the dominance of a single manufacturer.

Eight of the ten most expensive Monterey Car Week auction sales through 2025 are Ferraris.

They aren't simply eight expensive road cars. The list includes the 250 GTO, 412P, N.A.R.T. Spider, 275 GTB/C Speciale and 410 Sport—cars with combinations of rarity, competition history, engineering significance and provenance that place them among the most collectible automobiles in the world.

The two non-Ferraris are hardly ordinary: Aston Martin DBR1/1 and Jaguar D-Type XKD 501, both automobiles with extraordinary competition histories.

The Aston Martin DBR1: $22.55 Million

When Aston Martin DBR1/1 sold at RM Sotheby's Monterey auction in 2017 for $22.55 million, it established a record for a British automobile at auction.

It was the first of only five DBR1s built and had been raced by drivers including Stirling Moss, Carroll Shelby, Jack Brabham and Roy Salvadori.

The automobile is particularly appropriate to the Monterey story because Pebble Beach has long celebrated the same combination of competition history, engineering and design that drives values at the highest level of the auction market.

Aston Martin DBR1/1 at Pebble Beach. DBR1/1 sold at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2017 for $22.55 million. Photo: Rex Gray / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The Le Mans-Winning Jaguar D-Type

The tenth car on the list may have one of its greatest racing résumés.

Jaguar D-Type chassis XKD 501 won the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ecurie Ecosse. Sixty years later, RM Sotheby's sold it in Monterey for $21.78 million.

The auction house described it as the only Le Mans-winning C- or D-Type to survive essentially intact in its winning form.

The 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport and Carroll Shelby

The Ferrari 410 Sport Spider that brought $22.005 million at Monterey in 2022 carried its own remarkable American racing connection.

Chassis 0598 CM had been driven by Juan Manuel Fangio as a Scuderia Ferrari team car before becoming closely associated with Carroll Shelby. According to RM Sotheby's, Shelby won eight races driving this particular Ferrari—more victories than he achieved in any other single car during his driving career.

Ferrari 410 Sport chassis 0598 CM at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2022. The car sold for $22.005 million. Photo: Prova MO / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why Did Monterey Become Such an Important Place to Sell Collector Cars?

There are prestigious automotive auctions elsewhere in the world, so why Monterey?

The answer is larger than the auctions themselves.

For one week each August, the Monterey Peninsula creates an extraordinary concentration of collectors, historic automobiles, racing personalities, manufacturers, restorers, dealers and enthusiasts.

The Pebble Beach Concours provides international prestige. Historic racing at Laguna Seca adds competition heritage. The Quail, marque gatherings, manufacturer events, rallies and dozens of smaller gatherings broaden the audience.

Most importantly, the Monterey Peninsula provides a setting that feels appropriate for the cars.

The forest roads of Pebble Beach, the Pacific coastline, Carmel, the historic hotels and golf resorts, Laguna Seca and the scenic routes connecting them create an experience that would be difficult to reproduce elsewhere.

The setting has been part of the Peninsula's identity for much longer than Car Week itself. The story goes back through the early resorts, roads and recreational traditions explored in our history of 17-Mile Drive.

Monterey Car Week Is About More Than Cars

Car Week is extraordinary partly because it magnifies qualities that already define the Monterey Peninsula: scenery, history, architecture, recreation, hospitality and a sense of place.

Visitors may initially come for a Ferrari, a race at Laguna Seca or Dawn Patrol at Pebble Beach. Along the way, they experience Carmel Bay, Del Monte Forest, Pacific Grove, Carmel-by-the-Sea and the broader Monterey Peninsula.

That is also part of the appeal of living in Pebble Beach. The ocean, golf courses and forest that provide the backdrop for one of the world's great automotive weeks are part of everyday life during the other 51 weeks of the year.

For those interested in making the area more than an annual destination, you can also explore current Pebble Beach real estate and homes for sale.

What Happens Next for the Monterey Auctions?

The auction landscape continues to evolve.

Broad Arrow's move to The Quail and Bonhams' move to Laguna Seca in 2026 demonstrate that even established Car Week traditions can change. Meanwhile, the cars themselves are changing as younger generations of collectors increasingly pursue supercars and modern competition cars alongside traditional prewar classics and 1950s and 1960s sports racers.

But the fundamental attraction that Rick Cole identified in 1986 remains unchanged:

For a few days each year, many of the world's most important cars and many of the people most capable of buying them are gathered on the Monterey Peninsula at the same time.

That combination has turned an auction experiment into one of Monterey Car Week's defining traditions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Monterey Car Week Auctions

When was the first Monterey Car Week collector-car auction?

Rick Cole created the first dedicated Monterey collector-car auction in 1986 during Pebble Beach weekend. The sale helped establish the auction component that later became an important part of Monterey Car Week.

When was the first car auction held at the Pebble Beach Concours?

The first auction at the Pebble Beach Concours was organized in 1990. Future Gooding & Company founder David Gooding helped organize that inaugural Pebble Beach auction.

What is the most expensive car ever sold at a Monterey Car Week auction?

Through the completed 2025 Monterey Car Week season, the record is the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO chassis 3413 GT sold by RM Sotheby's in 2018 for $48,405,000.

What are the major Monterey Car Week auction houses?

Major auction houses participating in Monterey Car Week in recent years have included RM Sotheby's, Gooding Christie's, Broad Arrow, Bonhams and Mecum. Historically, Rick Cole Auctions and Russo and Steele also played important roles in the development of the Monterey auction scene.

Are the Monterey Car Week auctions part of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance?

No. The auctions and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance are separate events held during the broader Monterey Car Week. Gooding Christie's is the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours, but numerous other independent auctions take place throughout Monterey, Pebble Beach, Carmel and the surrounding area.

Why are so many important cars auctioned in Monterey?

Monterey Car Week brings together an unusually concentrated international audience of collectors, dealers, historians, manufacturers and enthusiasts. The Pebble Beach Concours, historic racing at Laguna Seca and numerous other automotive events make the Peninsula an especially attractive marketplace for important collector cars.

How many of Monterey's 10 most expensive auction sales are Ferraris?

Through the completed 2025 Monterey Car Week season, eight of the ten most expensive published auction sales are Ferraris.

Explore More Monterey Peninsula History and Lifestyle

• The History of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
• The History of 17-Mile Drive
• Living in Pebble Beach, California
• Pebble Beach Real Estate & Homes for Sale

Sources & Further Reading

• Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance — History & Traditions
• Rick Cole Auctions — History
• RM Sotheby's — 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, Monterey 2018
• Bonhams — 2014 Ferrari 250 GTO Record Sale
• Gooding Christie's
• Broad Arrow Auctions

About the Author: Mark Bruno is a Monterey Peninsula real estate professional with the Monterey Peninsula Home Team at Keller Williams, serving buyers and sellers throughout Pebble Beach, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Carmel Valley and the surrounding communities.