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Monterey Car Week again served up a feast of all things automotive, with some of the world’s best taking to track and show as sales records tumbled around them.
Across 10 packed days, the Monterey peninsula in California becomes a bustling hub of automotive activity like no other. From world-class classic car shows to full-throttle race events that offer fans a portal to a bygone age, while those with deep enough pockets happily flex their financial muscle in the sales rooms.
The sheer breadth of things to see and do can be overwhelming, so here’s a handy highlights package to get you up to speed.
Static shows and concours events are all well and good, but nothing beats the rumble of real racing engines and the smell of Castrol R in the morning. The Monterey Motorsport Reunion, marking 25 years of Rolex sponsorship, again proved why it is the beating heart of Car Week with a plethora of classic and exotic cars, celebrity guests and heap of on-track action to stir the soul.
More than 400 cars of all shapes and sizes took part across the four days, from diminutive 1950s sports cars that hark back to the peninsula’s road-racing roots, to swollen sedans, fire-breathing Group C monsters and even more modern laser-precise endurance icons.
Can-Am cars take on the Corkscrew in the Bruce McLaren Trophy
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And these were no tethered-back parades of classic machinery either, with the entire meeting proving highly competitive as evidenced by some nail-biting finishes.
The much-anticipated IROC Unser Family Cup more than lived up to its billing, pairing a host of celebrity drivers with classic International Race of Champions cars to produce a stunning finish. Nobody overtakes around the outside of Laguna’s final corner, but nobody told Kurt Busch that as he launched an odds-off attack on Jimmie Johnson on the final lap, somehow found grip and out-dragged the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion to the flag by 0.002sec in one of the best finishes you’ll see anywhere. Tomy Drissi made it an all-classic NASCAR top three. Dario Franchitti was seventh and Scott Pruett eighth.
Can-Am cars are more notable for their earth-shaking performance, but the second-closest finish of the entire event fell to that race as Gunnar Jeannette’s Porsche 917 PA just held off Warren Briggs’ McLaren M8E by 0.248sec. Formula Junior may be vastly lower-powered but proved no less entertaining with Danny Baker pipping Joseph Colasacco by 0.276sec. Shout out to ex-British GT racer Lee Mowle who secured twin podiums in his Lotus.
All three Historic B&C Sedan races were settled by less than 0.9sec, with Rob Fuller’s Datsun 510 proving the star. Speaking of stars, Jenson Button grabbed a 10th place aboard the diminutive Alfa Romeo GT Junior in that field, but by far the 2009 world-beater’s best performance came aboard the raucous Dodge Viper, finishing second in the ALMS Grand Am race, beaten only by Nick Yelloly and Bob Neapole’s Acura LMP2 car that the Viper GT really had no right to be anywhere near.
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McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown scored an event-best fourth in the IMSA GTP race with a Jaguar XJR-9, while stunt driver Derek Hill won three of the five 1950-56 Road Racers outings aboard a Jaguar Parkinson Special, the field recreating the area’s famous Del Monte Trophy days.
Amid the bevy of racing activity, there were also demonstrations of Japanese performance cars and bikes, as well as a special reunion of all six living 500cc World Grand Prix Champions; Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr.
From the dusty runoff of Laguna to the pristine grass of The Quail, Monterey Car Week’s first show of note took place at The Peninsula Hotel on August 14 and featured some jaw-dropping vehicles.
In its 23rd year The Quail has done a remarkable job to build an event more than worthy of standing alongside the Reunion and Pebble Beach, standing out by mixing the best of classic machinery and ultra-modern hypercars in a sort of ‘Goodwood without the Hill’ garden party setup.
A line of Lamborghini Diablos added plenty of colour to The Quail
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The hypercar lineup included the 1250bhp Czinger 21C Spyder, which is capable of doing 0-60mph in a frankly ludicrous 1.9sec thanks to its V8 and twin electric motors. Hennessey’s new Blackbird sports a manual gearbox, immediately making it a firm favourite even if it lags behind the Czinger in only managing 0-60 in 2.5sec, although we bet you’d have more fun doing it…
Bugatti brought a new one-off Destrier, a strikingly redesigned evolution of its W16-powered Bolide, while restomod specialist Gunther Works showed off its 993 Porsche 911-based GXR-Evo. In a similar vein, Eccentrica – which features ex-Lamborghini CTO Maurizio Reggiani – showed a topless version of its beautifully retro V12 Roadster, which reimagines the Diablo.
Ferrari 625/20 Testarossa was awarded Best in Show at The Quail
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A stunning example of a 1957 Ferrari Testarossa proved the highlight of the concours element – one of only two built by the factory to feature the 2.5-litre Tipo 625 Grand Prix engine.
Monterey’s entire Car Week revolves around Pebble Beach. This event being the catalyst that kick-started the entire trend, so it’s fitting everything builds to this point with the 75th anniversary Concours d’Elegance proving a fitting finale on Sunday.
Among the Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and eye-catching bespoke carrozzerie specials, Deusenberg proved the marque of splendour, with the long-since defunct Indianapolis manufacturer scoring its eighth Best of Show honour thanks to a 1935 SSJ Special
Harry Yeaggy claimed the Best of Show award for his 1935 Duesenberg SSJ
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Originally owned by Gone with the Wind (among others) actor Clark Gable, it is now in the care of noted collector and former winner Harry Yeaggy from Ohio, who said: “I won once before, 19 years ago [with another Duesenberg], but I appreciate it a lot better now… people don’t realise how hard it is to win this award. It’s amazing. I also found out recently that the second owner of this car lived right here on the point in Pebble Beach. He owned this car for almost 12 years, so it has come back home today.”
One of just two Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedsters ever built — and first driven by Clark Gable — has been crowned Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 2026
Concours chair Sandra Button added: “Duesenberg often tops the list of desires for people with a passion for American classics, and the iconic SSJ is the marque’s ultimate expression. This is a special Speedster, one of just two made and has a fantastic Hollywood backstory.”
The car beat competition from a total of 218 entries – 33 international entrants from 14 different countries mixed with 185 US-based cars from 30 different States. Notable other entries included a 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta, a 1938 Delahaye 165 with coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi and a 1954 Ferrari 375 America Vignale Cabriolet.
Pebble has always also boasted a charitable side and reached a major milestone of topping $50m in donations for the first time. This year’s event alone raised $4.3m, bringing the organisation’s historical total to $50,154,192, more than half that being raised across the last decade. The funds will be used by the Pebble Beach Company Foundation to benefit more than 130 local non-profit organisations dedicated to improving the education, health and well-being of children throughout the Monterey County.
Monterey simply wouldn’t be Monterey without some landmark sales, and this year was no exception, with Car Week continuing to set the bar in terms of big-money sales.
All the major auction houses were out in force, with Bonhams holding a sale at Laguna Seca alongside the Reunion, Broad Arrow siding with The Quail, Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach smashing house records and RM Sotheby’s flagship event at the Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Centre raising eyebrows. Collectively, the sales surpassed a record $758.3m. The figure eclipsing the previous record of $471.2m from 2022.
The bidding continues to rise as the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona climbs to a record-breaking hammer price
Gooding Christie’s
Top of the lots was a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, which not only became the most valuable American car ever sold when it hammered down at Gooding Christie’s for $42.905m (£31.48m), but also the most expensive vehicle ever sold at auction by the house.
Top of the shocks came at RM Sotheby’s when the controversial new Ferrari Luce sold for an eye-watering $40m (£29.35m). The first all-electric car from Maranello has split opinions with its styling, but this ‘Tailor Made’ example was chassis 0, the first constructed and with a host of bespoke design elements. It surpassed its estimation by a factor of 360, being originally guided at $1.1m (£800k), its value was no doubt boosted by it being a charitable lot with all proceeds from the sale going to the Ferrari Foundation to benefit education initiatives.
The anticipated sale of one of the two McLaren F1 GTR short-tails ever made smashed the record for a British car, with RM selling the 1996 coupe formerly owned by Nick Mason for $34,655,000 (£25.43m), beating the $25,317,500 (£18.6m) paid for F1 chassis 014 at Abu Dhabi in 2025.
McLaren F1 GTR set an auction record for British cars
RM Sotheby’s
Ferrari Luce fetched $40m in charity auction
RM Sotheby’s
Manufacturer-specific records also fell. A stunning 1963 Corvette Grand Sport became the most expensive Chevrolet ever at £18.7m (£13.72m), while a Packard 1108 Twelve set a marque record of $4.3m (£3.15m), both at RM Sotheby’s. Many models also changed hands for more than ever before, with sales of Ferrari’s 288 GTO ($11.6m / £8.51m), RM), F40 ($8.4m / £6.16m), RM) and F50 ($14.6m / £10.71m, Mecum) all breaking records.
Bonhams sale was headlined by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport fetching $4,570,000 (£3.35m) while the ex-Jim Clark Vollstedt-Ford Indycar proved bang-on its estimate at $698k (£512k). Broad Arrow’s leading lot at The Quail was the 2003 Ferrari Enzo at $10,675,000 (£7.83m). Good, but not quite the $12.1m (£8.88) Mecum’s equivalent from the same year fetched – both falling shy of the $17.8m (£13.06m) model record set by Mecum in January though. In total, Mecum sold 23 cars for more than a million dollars in a sale that totalled over $45m (£33.02m) at the Del Monte Golf Course.
| Car | Price | Auction | |
| 1 | 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | $42.905m (£31.48m) | Gooding Christie’s, Pebble Beach |
| 2 | 2026 Ferrari Luce Tailor Made Sedan | $40m (£29.34m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 3 | 1996 McLaren F1 Coupe short-tail | $34.655m (£25.42m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 4 | 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport | $18.705m (£13.72m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 5 | 1963 Ferrari 250 P Spider | $18.705m (£13.72m) | Gooding Christie’s, Pebble Beach |
| 6 | 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 Coupe | $17.825m (£13.08m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 7 | 1996 Ferrari F50 Coupe | $14.575m (£10.69m) | Mecum, Del Monte |
| 8 | 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe | $12.105m (£8.88m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
| 9 | 2003 Ferrari Enzo Coupe | $12.1m (£8.87m) | Mecum, Del Monte |
| 10 | 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Coupe | $11.555m (£8.48m) | RM Sotheby’s, Monterey |
