Lovers of classic cars are flocking to Monterey, California this week for a bevy of events organized around a zeal for the automobiles of yesteryear. And while many will be competing for a variety of awards at Monterey Car Week, as the events are collectively known, there will be a lot of high-end buying and selling. Hagerty, the large insurer of classic cars, anticipates $290 million will change hands at sales conducted by leading auctioneers.
While that figure is lower than past years, it’s not likely to lessen the excitement at the most prestigious events (August 16-20), like the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, The Quail: A Motorsports Reunion, and the two-year-old Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Awards sponsored by Peninsula Hotels. Classics fans can also see old favorites in a series of races at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Auctions run by companies like Gooding & Company, RM Sotheby's, and Bonhams are expected to sell some models for top-dollar amounts. Hagerty expects a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 (RM Sotheby's) to fetch $20 million, a 1995 McLaren F1 (Bonhams) between $10 million and $14 million, and a 1970 Porsche 917K (Gooding & Company) featured in the 1971 Steve McQueen film Le Mans as much as $16 million. Hagerty anticipates at least 10 cars will have an auction price of $5 million or more.
Investors also might lean toward automobiles designed by Italy’s Pininfarina: four of the eight cars vying for the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award are the creations of the noted Italian car designer. Here are nine of the classic cars that caught our eye.
