Monterey Car Week auction sales could top $471 million record
Hagerty forecasts up to $500 million in Monterey auction sales as demand shifts toward modern supercars.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
2 min read
Monterey Car Week auction sales could reach $470 million to $500 million, a range that puts the 2022 record within reach. Hagerty’s forecast means the week’s sales would need to clear $471 million to set a new high, CNBC reported.
The top end would make it the collector-car world’s first $500 million auction week, according to Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty. The estimate remains a projection, with bidding still to determine the final tally.
Will Monterey Car Week auction sales set a record?
They could, if total sales exceed the $471 million recorded in 2022. Hagerty’s low-end forecast of $470 million would fall just short, while its $500 million upper estimate would beat the old mark by $29 million.
Monterey Car Week is an annual California gathering built around collector-car auctions, shows, races and awards. CNBC said this year’s forecast follows a market decline in 2023 and 2024, then a rebound during last year’s Monterey event.
Modern supercars take the wheel
The possible record comes with a notable change in what buyers want. CNBC reported that millennials and Gen Z collectors are increasingly pursuing modern supercars from their own era, while the 1950s and 1960s cars traditionally favored by baby boomers have lost ground.
Ferrari F40s, F50s and Enzos, plus the Bugatti Veyron, Ruf Yellowbird, Koenigsegg and Pagani models, have posted sharp gains, according to industry data cited by CNBC. The report said many had doubled in price over the past two years.
The split shows up in Hagerty’s measures of the market. Its Blue Chip Index of leading traditional collector cars fell 2% over the past 12 months, while its Supercar Index climbed 30%, CNBC reported.
- RM Sotheby’s is offering a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR with a $35 million estimate.
- The same auction house has listed a 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 with an estimate above $10 million.
- Hagerty said nine of the 10 most expensive cars sold at auction so far this year were Ferraris.
Price surge brings a warning
Dealers and advisers told CNBC that the rush into newer supercars carries risk. Simon Kidston, a classic-car dealer and adviser, described that segment as heavily speculative and frothy.
CNBC reported that some younger collectors treat cars as short-term trades, limiting mileage and selling quickly for potential profits. Those are dealer observations rather than a measure of the whole market, and they sit alongside the strong auction estimates heading into Monterey.
Recent sales underscore the pace: a 2003 Ferrari Enzo brought $17.9 million at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction in January, while Broad Arrow sold another 2003 Enzo for $15.2 million and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT for $6.7 million at its Amelia Island auction in March, CNBC reported.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.