It feels like the summer is blasting by at a rapid pace, and that sense is heightened by the observation that we’re just a week away from the kickoff of Monterey Car Week. The event’s location on the West Coast precludes me from attending, but I do need to commit at some point and try to experience it just once. Fortunately, I’m able to observe and cover the major auction events from my office in Virginia. In this week’s Market Monday, I’ll provide a brief overview of the major 2025 Monterey auctions to watch and 10 of my favorite lots crossing the block in a couple of weeks time.

Certainly the biggest celebration of the automobile in the United States, Monterey Car Week kicks off on August 8th, 2025 and runs through the weekend of August 16th. The centerpiece of the celebration’s activities is the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance on Sunday August 17th. I won’t try to cover the event, as it’s truly massive and the city of Monterey has an excellent website set up to help plan a visit.

As with Amelia Island Concours Week, major tentpole collector car auction events have sprung up surrounding the Pebble Beach Concours. Along with the Spring auctions, the Monterey auctions are seen as a bellwether for the market climate heading into the end of the year.

There are 5 auction houses hosting major sales at Monterey this year. Below you’ll find overviews of each auction, including their dates, locations and other information.

Dates: August 13-14, 2025
Location: Monterey Jet Center
Broad Arrow returns to the Monterey Jet Center location for Car Week, bringing 170 lots including concepts, classics, Rad-era rarities and modern exotics. Last year, the newer player had an 83% sell-through rate and did $61.3M in dollar volume over 157 lots.

Dates: August 15-16, 2025
Location: Monterey Conference Center
This year RM Sotheby’s will bring 156 lots to Monterey, compared to 201 lots last year. Last year’s sell-through-rate was 87%, with a total dollar volume of $154.1M. There may still be some lots to consign, but as of now the total lot count is quite a bit lower than last year.

Date: August 15, 2025
Location: Quail Lodge’s West Farm Field
Bonhams is back with 97 automobile lots at their Monterey sale at The Quail. Last year the house had 83 lots and delivered a sell-through-rate of 77% with a total dollar volume of $12.5M.

Dates: August 14-16, 2025
Location: Del Monte Golf Course
The big seller at Monterey is Mecum who have consigned 372 lots for Monterey this year. More lots may be coming in, but this year’s count is less than last year’s 485 lots. Total sell through for 2024 was 61% and dollar volume $50.2M, so as you can see Mecum focuses more on the cheaper end of the market but they still have some amazing high-end cars for sale.

Dates: August 15-16, 2025
Location: Pebble Beach Parc du Concours
Gooding & Company is coming to Monterey with their new name, Gooding Christie’s, now that the acquisition of Gooding is complete. This year they’ll have 181 lots which is pretty much on par with last year’s 185 lots. They’ll be hoping to improve on last year’s $105.3M in dollar volume and 81% sell-through-rate.

The above big sales will include all your favorite blue chip cars including Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwings, Ferrari F40s, and Porsche Speedsters along with expensive exotic supercars. I’ll be tracking those, of course, but I’m more excited by cars I’ve never seen. This is true when I visit The Amelia in person and when I virtually attend the Monterey sales. Below are what I consider the ten most interesting cars at the Monterey auctions in 2025.

My favorite find in this year’s auctions is this beautiful wedge-shaped concept from Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign studio for Lotus. The Etna was never produced, but the interior design is incredibly futuristic and exciting, and it’s a running and driving vehicle! Estimated at $250,000-$400,000, as a Lotus fan I’ll be watching this one closely.

One of just 50 MC12 Stradale road cars built by Maserati for homologation racing purposes, this car is literally a race car for the street. The contrarian in me is drawn to this car over similar cars from Porsche or Ferrari, hence its appearance in this list. Estimated at $4.8-5.5M, this V12 beast is as exclusive as it gets.

It’s not the only Espada crossing the block at Monterey, but it’s the only one painted in pink! I’ve never been a huge fan of the Espada, as its genuine 2+2 arrangement makes the rear of the car too visually heavy, in my opinion. That said, estimated at $85,000-$115,000, it’s probably one of the most affordable entries to Lamborghini ownership. The paint color will either hold this car back, or rocket it to insane heights.

I like my Ferraris small, egg-crate grilled, and wire wheel-festooned and this car delivers. As a bonus, the bodywork is stunning with the deeply recessed areas below the headlights sweeping back to the rear. Featuring a Colombo V12 and superleggera bodywork, the car is estimated to hammer between $3.25 and $4M.

I’m a sucker for a large domestic car that’s been treated to coachwork from an Italian automotive design house. While this car may not be the most beautiful, the bodywork is certainly more flowing and European than the original steel body from Chrysler. Where it really shines is its gorgeous interior. There’s no estimate, but these cars routinely sell for half a million dollars and up.

I’m not really a big hot rod guy, but this car speaks to me. With its wire wheels, cycle fenders, short wheelbase, and drop top it cuts a form that is quite European. With an impressive provenance, this gorgeous genuine dry lake vintage racer is estimated at $70,000-$100,000.

Here’s a car for someone with my preferences for concepts and prototypes but has a bank account to match their aspirations. The Ferrari LaFerrari is a blue-chip collector icon and always will be, this mule is essentially a 458 Italia with the LaFerrari’s drivetrain. I’d personally rather have this car over the one it ultimately helped develop. You’ll need $900,000-$1,200,000 to make it yours.

A De Tomaso race car? Yes, please. I’d much rather see this pull up to a car meet than the nearly ubiquitous Pantera. While it’s a cool car, this one is stunning. Designed to go Can-Am racing, the project wasn’t completed in time and was therefore shelved. Estimated at $750,000-$1M, this may be the most beautiful De Tomaso car I’ve seen.

My love for movie cars is well-known, and this one was driven by Tony Curtis in the film Johnny Dark. From its bathtub-like streamlined shape and elegant watch-like instruments, this car is stunning. A car from 1950 that could reach 142mph is a special thing. You’ll need between $275,000 and $325,000 to bring it home to your garage.

I’ll never own a pre-war Bugatti, unless the market for these absolutely collapses. I don’t see that happening, especially for rare and significant vehicles like this aero-engined test car designed by Ettore’s factory during World War One. Passing through multiple collections, the car is restored and has run at Goodwood and other events. Estimated at $700,000-$1,300,000, whoever purchases this will be a caretaker of a true piece of motoring history.

Next week’s Market Monday will probably focus on the 18 different Porsche 356s that will be offered at Monterey this year, and whether there are some opportunities for savvy buyers among those consignments. Of course, I will also cover the results of the auctions in a few weeks and share my perspective on what those results mean for the market through the end of 2025.

Have a great week, everyone! 

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!