Monterey auction results: the £13.8m Corvette Grand Sport leads the field

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £13.8M

The huge prices for modern supercars may have been the talk of this year’s Monterey auctions, but the remarkable sum paid for this ultra-rare Corvette proves that serious history still counts. It was one of five Grand Sports created with the input of Le Mans class winner Zora Arkus-Duntov whose obsession with lightness resulted in a pure-bred race car that weighed more than half a ton less than the road model. It was driven to three SCCA wins by Dick Doane in 1963, took second in class at that year’s Nassau Trophy and achieved second-in-class finishes at the Sebring 12 Hours of ’64 and ’65.

1963 Jaguar E-Type XKE

Sold by Bonhams, £82,730

With 19 race victories in the VARA B Production Championships of 1992, ’93 and ’94, this E-type became known simply as ‘No46’. It was later owned by actor Nicolas Cage, who used it as a road car.

2000 Ferrari 360 Modena

Sold by Gooding Christie’s, £189,800

This 360 was expected to sell for upwards of £200k. It had covered just 28,000 miles, was fitted with a few tasty Challenge Stradale bits and it drove through a coveted manual gearbox.

1979 MG Midget

Sold by The Market, £8420

The Midget may not be the most exotic of classics but this one promised as many ‘smiles per mile’ as a car costing 10 times as much thanks to its 1800cc, Rover K-Series engine which produces 118bhp.

1986 Toyota Corolla GT

Sold by Historics Auctioneers, £48,048

Had you bought £800 worth of gold in 1999, it would be worth £15,000 today. Alternatively, you could have bought a 13-year-old Corolla GT AE86 for the same money and made three times as much.

2003 Petronas FP1

Sold by Collecting Cars, £29,750

World Superbike ace Carl Fogarty’s Foggy Petronas FP1 race team wasn’t his most successful venture – but it did produce 150 street legal versions of the FP1 competition machine. This one had zero miles.

1973 Triumph TR6

Sold by Hampson Auctions, £5400

Never restored but still in sound, original condition and running well, this must have been the most affordable on-the-button TR6 to have crossed the auction block in years. It had covered 76,000 miles.

1984 Audi Quattro Turbo Coupé

Sold by Iconic Auctioneers, £9562

The buyer of this desirable Quattro took a gamble – but it was probably worth it. In the same family for 27 years and in storage for the past 13, it was original, complete and very appealing with its factory black paint and zebra pattern seats.