Most Expensive Cars At The 2024 Monterey Car Week and why it reflects on the economy.

One of the biggest weeks in the automotive industry is Monterey Car Week. The week kicks off with Motorlux, a vibrant celebration of cars, planes and the car community held at the Monterey Jet Center. Global vehicle debuts, iconic cars, and luxury aviation pair with local wines, superstar chefs, and Broad Arrow auto auction action at Motorlux.

Motorlux will celebrate alongside Broad Arrow Auctions for the first day of their two-day auction. Among the cars on display will be classic road cars like the Lamborghini Miura, modern supercars like the Bugatti Chiron, and racing greats like the Lancia Stratos. 

Motorlux will also debuts many automobiles, among featured cars for the two-day sale are a Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion, a Talbot-Lago T150 C Lago Spéciale Teardrop Coupé and a Ferrari Enzo.

Day two we attend The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering is the epicenter of automotive excellence and luxury. Guests also enjoyed an array of culinary delights from five gourmet pavilions and a selection of award-winning wine and champagne. Attendees were also invited to attend the 27th Annual Bonhams “The Quail Auction”, the longest-standing auction held during Monterey Car Week.

Here are some of the reveals and the winner of the show is the 1937 DELAHAYE TYPE 135 WINS “BEST OF SHOW” AT 2024 THE QUAIL, A MOTORSPORTS GATHERING

One of the biggest reveal was the 2025 Lamborghini Temerario, it is a ten-freaking-thousand-RPM V8 monster supercar. The new “baby” Lamborghini is here, and it’s called the Temerario. It replaces the Huracan’s V10 for a mighty twin-turbo V8 with a 10,000 rpm redline and three electric motors to boot. It’s still all-wheel-drive, is a little roomier inside, and gains new tech too. But really, it’s all about the way it looks and the incredible new powertrain. Get all the details in our full first look at the new Temerario. Pricing will be released soon.

In addition to showing cars, Rolex presented the Monterey Motorsports Reunion which is a must attend event. Many of these cars presented have a racing heritage and are meant to be raced. Rolex and Hagerty Insurance supported the efforts for vintage racers to showcase the cars as they were meant to be.

Monterey Car Week is a huge occasion for both the vintage car-obsessed. The auctions set the price of collector cars and give insight to the economy. The price of a car is important because it tells us about the economy and where investors are placing their money. 

This year’s auction lineup promises to be particularly stellar … or at least pricey. This year’s auction lineup — featured lots from Gooding & Company, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum and Broad Arrow. Here are the results and what it means.

Overall the Monterey auctions were down 3% as some collectors stayed on sidelines. However there were some amazing vehicle sales that will blow you away.

First, here are the numbers.

• Spending drops as total sales for the week fell less than 3% year over year to a total of $391.6 million.

• Staple luxury cars aren’t selling as the sell-through rate for pre-1981 cars worth $1 million plus dropped to 52% vs. 63% for more modern examples. 
• Retreat to Modern. 73% of supercars less than four years old and valued at $500k+, were sold.  

High-dollar bidders weren’t buying the classics that have dominated the market for decades, instead shifting to more modern collectibles. The Pablo Picassos of the collector car world, Ferraris built before 1974 and worth $1 million-plus, sold slowly.

Sports racing cars of the 1990s, such as the Porsche 911 GT1 and Ferrari 333 SP, sold (for $7,045,000 and $5,120,000). These might be the next 1950s – 1960s sports racing cars of the market as the Ferrari competition cars from that era had an average hammer price of $5.5 million but only a 62% sell-through rate.

A down year may be harder for sellers but can be welcome news to enthusiasts who are looking to enter the market.

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions:

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) 
6. 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider – $5,615,000 (RM Sotheby’s) 
7. 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe – $5,505,000 (RM Sotheby’s) 
8. 1955 Ferrari 857 S Spider – $5,350,000 (Gooding & Company)  
9. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Alloy Coupe – $5,285,000 (RM Sotheby’s)  
10. 1958 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Coupe – $5,200,000 (Gooding & Company) 

We will continue to monitor collector car auctions and the impact of new car sales and the economy. 

Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance

Heading down 17-mile drive in Monterey, California to the famous Pebble Beach golf course; we reach the culmination of Monterey car week and the 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This famous and impressive concours is the most amazing car show in the world.  The display of dream cars, concept cars and the most special and unique collector cars all with an emphasis of preservation of historically significant automobiles.

Automobiles are judged for their style and technical merit, as well as their history, their originality and the accuracy of their restoration. For the first time in the history of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Best of Show was awarded to a preservation or unrestored original car – the 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports presented by The Pearl Collection/Fritz Burkard, from Zug, Switzerland.

This year, 214 cars from 16 countries and 29 states pulled onto the competition field. The winning car is a storied 1934 Bugatti, the first Type 59 built, is a rare factory race car that recorded multiple Grand Prix victories at the hands of several important racing greats—and it also has ties to royalty. Perhaps most importantly, it wears all of its history to this day, having been preserved in the livery it was given when redressed by King Leopold of Belgium. It’s important that this preserved car also gets recognition because a car can only be original once.

Many class winners and special award-winning cars were shown including the special classes representing the 125th anniversary of Packard cars; Maserati; Wedge-shaped concept cars and prototypes; Frua coachwork cars; and 1990 FIA race cars.

So many other cars were awarded with class and special awards. Every vehicle presented see this as the top opportunity for any car collector and automotive historian.

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