2015 Monterey Classic Car Week Pre-Auctions Overview

Highlights from The Pinnacle Portfolio
Highlights from The Pinnacle Portfolio – Patrick Ernzen © 2015 courtesy RM Sotheby’s

Well over 100 cars are expected to sell for over a million dollar each at the annual Monterey classic car week auctions in mid-August 2015. Ferraris are likely to achieve the highest results but this year will also see a range of top Porsche and Jaguar racing cars, McLarens, Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Mercedes Benz cars on offer. RM Auctions are likely to earn the most and sell the largest number of cars for over a million dollars followed by Gooding & Co and Bohams. Mecum and Russo and Steele also offer a few cars that may achieve more than a million dollars while Rick Cole is also again running a small online auction with a couple of very appealing cars.

Top Ferraris of Offer at the 2015 Monterey Classic Car Week

1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale bz Bertone
Photo: Brian Henniker © Courtesy Gooding & Co

Ferraris are generally the most-expensive cars at classic car auctions and at the 2015 Monterey week classic car sales it is most likely that Ferraris will once again provide the top results. More than 40 Ferraris are expected to sell for more than a million dollar each with RM Sotheby’s alone offering 20, Gooding 12 and Bonhams 5.

The top Ferraris on offer at Monterey 2015 are:

Year Car Estimate Auction House
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Upon request Gooding
1956 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione “Tour de France” by Scaglietti Upon request RM Sotheby´s
1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti Upon request RM Sotheby´s
1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti Upon request RM Sotheby´s
1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Alloy Berlinetta by Scaglietti 9,000,000 – 12,000,000 Bonhams
1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti
1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione – Photo: Patrick Ernzen ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

RM Sotheby’s sends its top three Ferraris into the Monterey 2015 auction without published estimates while Gooding has only one without an estimate. Gooding’s top published estimates are $16 – $18 million for a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider and $14 – $16 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale.

Not surprisingly, Bonhams will be unable to top the record $38 million achieved for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO last year. Bonhams top result is expected from a 1959 Ferrari 250 GTO Competizione Alloy Berlinetta.

Other Five-Million Dollar Plus Cars at Monterey 2015

Further Ferraris and other marques such as McLaren, Porsche and Jaguar may also return results of over five million dollars:

Year Car Estimate Auction House
1998 McLaren F1 “LM-Specification” Upon request RM Sotheby´s
1949 Verits Scorpion Cabriolet Refer to department Bonhams
1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight 9,000,000 – 12,000,000 RM Sotheby´s
1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti 9,000,000 – 11,000,000 RM Sotheby´s
1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta by Scaglietti 7,500,000 – 10,000,000 RM Sotheby´s
1982 Porsche 956 7,000,000 – 9,000,000 Gooding
1960 Porsche RS60 5,500,000 – 7,000,000 Gooding
1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing 5,500,000 – 6,500,000 RM Sotheby´s
1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series II Coupe 5,000,000 – 6,000,000 Gooding
1931 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supecharged Two-Seater Sports 4,500,000 – 5,500,000 RM Sotheby´s
2005 Ferrari Enzo 4,000,000 – 6,000,000 RM Sotheby´s

Car Comparisons to Watch

The 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort
Brian Henniker © Gooding & Co

Surprisingly similar cars tend to turn up at the various auctions held at the same time. Mercedes Benz 300 SLs are almost a requirement for any top classic car auction these days but Porsches are also coming increasingly into play in the million-dollar league. As Porsche 911s and 959s are increasingly selling for more than a million, other owners seem interesting to test the market. The Porsche 959 is especially helped by the 25-year rule that now make it possible to drive this supercar in many parts of the USA.

Similar cars on offer at the Monterey 2015 classic car week include amongst others:

  • 11 Mercedes Benz 300 SLs cars – 4 at Gooding, 3 at RM Sotheby’s, 2 at Bonhams and one each at Mecum and Rick Cole
  • 4 Porsche 959s
  • 4 Toyota 200 GTs
  • 4 Shelby Cobra 289s
  • 4 Ferrari F40s
  • 3 Lamborghini Miuras

More Previews for the Monterey Classic Car Week Auctions 2015