MONTEREY, Calif. — Another eventful Monterey Car Week is in the books, capped off with a pre-war Mercedes — a jet black 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster — winning “Best of Show” at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance late Sunday afternoon.
Mercedes at the Pebble Beach show, considered the most prestigious car competition in the world, has captured two of the last three “Best of Shows,” and four of the last 11.
But it wasn’t just Mercedes that got all the attention this week.
Big auctions and big debuts from luxury automakers — with some electrification thrown in — unfolded over the past few days. The event was arguably the largest gathering of well-heeled car aficionados. (The city of Monterey estimates around 85,000 "automotive tourists" visit during the week each year.)
Here are some big takeaways from the week:
Auction action
The big auction houses like Gooding & Company, Bonhams, and RM Sotheby's were expecting big numbers this week, though many said last year’s whopping $473 million haul would likely not be repeated.
And the "many" were right.
But the auction houses did see their second-best year ever. According to classic car insurance giant Hagerty, preliminary numbers show that the 1,200+ lots, or listings, across five auctions led to $396.7 million in total sales — and a sell-through rate of 68%.
This year’s auction haul was about $76 million less than 2022, and the sell-through rate was far below last year’s 78%.
Why the decline? According to Hagerty, there was more discipline at the higher end of the market and weak demand from new collectors. Higher prices also discouraged potential buyers.
That said, there were some eye-opening sales, dominated by Ferraris. The top five:
1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta, $30,255,000 (Bonhams)
1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster, $13,205,000 (RM Sotheby's)
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe, $9,465,000 (Gooding & Company)
1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica SIII Coupe, $6,605,000 (RM Sotheby's)
1937 Bugatti Type 57 SC Tourer, $5,395,000 (RM Sotheby's)
The average sale this year was $474,519, compared with $591,768 in 2022.
Big debuts … and EVs!
Despite some slight weakness in the classics, the new market for high-end, luxury autos was on full display.
Lamborghini unveiled the surprise of the show, its Lanzador EV concept, years ahead of its likely 2028 debut. For Lamborghini it's a statement car. But more importantly the Italian luxury maker wanted the car to make an appearance at the glitzy Quail event on Friday, where many automakers reveal new future models alongside priceless classics.
“The US is our market No. 1 by far; this Monterey Car Week is the most important event in the year in America and the Quail is the most important one amongst this week,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said to Yahoo Finance. “So to unveil a car is good, not only for the press, but because we have a lot of fans of the brand, but also a lot of customers.”
The story was the same for British sports carmaker Lotus, which is pivoting from its racing heritage to the future with its Eletre EV SUV. The Eletre will be offered in the luxury premium segment, starting around $150,000.
Lotus is going with a dual-pronged approach though. It showed off an extremely limited gas-powered sports car alongside the Eletre, to showcase the Lotus’s heritage and performance — a unique part of the brand's DNA.
“My experience of this event is you've got so many people that are passionate about the culture of automotive and for us, we've got a lot of people here who are by virtue of being so passionate about it, are influential within their own environment,” Mike Johnstone, Lotus's chief commercial officer, told Yahoo Finance.
Another English star, Aston Martin, has been been celebrating its 110-year milestone with new models — and, of course, a new model here. In addition to showing the stunning Valour limited edition coupe, and the brand new DB12 four-seat coupe, Aston took the wraps off its latest creation, the DB12 Volante, a convertible.
The DB12 Volante, which will cost around $265,000, was the perfect car for Aston to debut here.
“I think if you look at other events around the world now, [Monterey Car Week and the Quail] is the leading event really for this mix of a business event, and a chance to reveal cars to the world,” Aston Martin head of product Alex Long told Yahoo Finance.
Selling 'experiences'
Relationships, and being taken care of, matter in this high-end luxury world. Tom O’Gara, head of the uber-high-end O’Gara Coach dealerships in California, said that he doesn’t actually sell cars, he sells experiences.
Even Ford, which isn’t usually sniffing around the upper echelons of the motoring world, has a presence here with the all-new Mustang GTD — a $300,000 Mustang race car for the road. And to show the full importance of the release, the company trotted out CEO Jim Farley to show it off.
Farley knows the Monterey Car Week and the Pebble Beach Concours well. When he was a young man he used to help restore vintage cars here. He knows this is the place to be for the Dearborn-based automaker and its richly priced pony car.
“We've never really made a Mustang in this kind of price zone, and this is the right crowd,” Farley said as he gestured across the Quail Event on Friday. “We want to sell $300,000 Mustangs? You've got to be at The Quail.”
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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