Five auction houses moved $755.6 million in three days at Monterey, beating a record that had stood since 2022 by roughly $284 million. Almost every headline out of the week called it a boom.
Underneath it, cars from the 1960s covered by the Hagerty Price Guide sold for a median of 6.2% below condition-appropriate value. Take out the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and that is what the decade did.
The 1950s and 1960s supplied more than a third of everything consigned, and they were the only two decades to finish below book. Cars built from the 1980s through the 2020s carried median premiums of 31 to 38%.
A record total and a soft middle happened in the same room.
Key Takeaways
- Total sales reached $755.6 million across five houses, up from $432.8 million in 2025 and past the 2022 record of roughly $471 million.
- Sell-through held at 76%, identical to 2025, on 853 of 1,124 lots. Average sale price jumped to $885,765 from $529,034.
- Modern supercars accounted for more than half of all sales, and seven of the top ten lots were Ferraris.
- The 1950s and 1960s were the only decades to finish below book against Hagerty Price Guide values.
- A 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe took $42,905,000, a record for an American car at auction.
- Bonhams fell to $11.9 million from $44.2 million in 2025, the year after losing its Quail venue.
- Broad Arrow, which took that Quail slot, posted $97.4 million.
What the $755.6 Million Includes
The figure comes from Hagerty, counting results observed during the live sales plus post-sale deals the houses reported afterward, with buyer’s premiums included.
One lot inside it deserves its own asterisk. RM Sotheby’s sold a 2026 Ferrari Luce Tailor Made sedan for $40,000,000 as a charity lot. That single car is more than 5% of the week, and whether a given tally counts it explains most of the disagreement between published totals. Magneto put the week at $718.3 million specifically excluding the Luce.
On comparing totals: auction houses report their own numbers, and those numbers keep moving as post-block deals close. Mecum announced $114 million and said openly that the figure would rise as its Bid Goes On department finalized transactions. Hagerty’s tally for the same sale was $111.4 million. RM Sotheby’s announced $380 million at a 90% sell-through; Hagerty recorded $376.1 million at 88%. None of these are wrong. They are counting on different days.
House by House
| House | 2026 total | Lots sold | Sell-through | 2025 total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM Sotheby’s | $376.1M | 171 of 194 | 88% | $163.8M |
| Gooding Christie’s | $158.8M | 157 of 167 | 94% | $127.8M |
| Mecum | $111.4M | 328 of 526 | 62% | $39.5M |
| Broad Arrow | $97.4M | 154 of 181 | 85% | — |
| Bonhams | $11.9M | 43 of 56 | 77% | $44.2M |
RM Sotheby’s did roughly half the week on its own and averaged $2,199,360 a car. Gooding Christie’s cleared 94% of its catalog, the best rate of the five.
The Venue Swap Showed Up in the Numbers
Bonhams ran its 2026 sale after leaving the Quail, where it had been for 23 years. It brought 56 lots and took $11.9 million.
In 2025 it brought 91 lots and took $44.2 million at a 96% sell-through, the strongest rate of any house that year.
Broad Arrow moved into the Quail slot and posted $97.4 million on 181 lots, more than eight times what Bonhams managed. One sale lost a venue and three quarters of its volume in a single year. The other inherited the venue and finished third for the week.
The Modern Car Question Got Answered
Before the sales, the strangest number in the Gooding catalog was a 2024 Ferrari 812 Competizione with under 200 miles, offered without reserve at $2,000,000 to $2,400,000. A two-year-old car priced on specification rather than race history.
The room agreed, repeatedly. Modern supercars set more than a dozen records over three days, some of them broken again within hours.
| Car | Price | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 Ferrari F50 | $14,575,000 | F50 record |
| 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO | $11,555,000 | 288 GTO record |
| 1991 Ferrari F40 | $8,365,000 | F40 record |
| 2010 Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 | $3,100,000 | Model record |
| Lamborghini Countach LP400S | $2,400,000 | Model record |
A 2004 Gemballa Mirage GT, a modified Carrera GT from a tuning house, brought $3,960,000 at Mecum. It outsold every prewar car in that catalog.
The Ten Biggest Sales of the Week
| # | Car | Price | House |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | $42,905,000 | Gooding Christie’s |
| 2 | 2026 Ferrari Luce Tailor Made Sedan | $40,000,000 | RM Sotheby’s (charity lot) |
| 3 | 1996 McLaren F1 | $34,655,000 | RM Sotheby’s |
| 4 | 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport | $18,705,000 | RM Sotheby’s |
| 5 | 1963 Ferrari 250 P Spider | $18,705,000 | Gooding Christie’s |
| 6 | 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 | $17,825,000 | RM Sotheby’s |
| 7 | 1996 Ferrari F50 | $14,575,000 | Mecum |
| 8 | 1995 Ferrari F50 | $12,105,000 | RM Sotheby’s |
| 9 | 2003 Ferrari Enzo | $12,100,000 | Mecum |
| 10 | 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO | $11,555,000 | RM Sotheby’s |
The Corvette Grand Sport set a Corvette record. The McLaren set a record for a British car. Seven of the ten wore a Ferrari badge, and the list covers five decades.
Mecum Sold the Most Cars and Cleared the Fewest
Mecum brought 526 lots, more than RM Sotheby’s and Gooding Christie’s combined, and sold 328 of them. Its 62% sell-through was the lowest of the five houses, and its average sale price of $339,743 was roughly a sixth of RM’s.
The strategy still worked on volume. Mecum’s $111.4 million was nearly triple its $39.5 million in 2025, and the top 24 lots all cleared seven figures.
Prewar Cars Had a Better Week Than the Fifties Did
A 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Rollston Convertible Coupe, ordered new by Clark Gable, sold at RM Sotheby’s for $9,080,000. That is the third-highest price ever paid for a Duesenberg at public auction.
Two decades ago cars of that type were most of what sold at Monterey. Their share has shrunk every year since as Enzo-era Ferraris and then modern supercars took the room.
Not the same car: the Gable Duesenberg that won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours is a different machine, a 1935 SSJ Special Speedster shown by Harry Yeaggy and not for sale. Gable owned both. The JN is the Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz convertible coupe that RM sold from the Sam and Emily Mann Collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did the 2026 Monterey Car Week auctions total?
$755.6 million across five houses, according to Hagerty, which counts live results plus post-sale deals reported by the auction companies and includes buyer’s premiums. That is up from $432.8 million in 2025.
Why do different outlets report different totals?
Two reasons. Houses keep closing post-block deals for days afterward, so a total published Monday is not the total published Friday. And a $40 million Ferrari charity lot is counted by some tallies and excluded by others. Magneto reported $718.3 million specifically excluding that car.
What was the most expensive car sold?
A 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, chassis CSX2300, at $42,905,000 through Gooding Christie’s. It is the most valuable American car ever sold at auction.
Which auction house sold the most?
RM Sotheby’s, at $376.1 million on 171 of 194 lots, an 88% sell-through and an average sale price of $2,199,360.
Did the collector car market go up across the board?
No. Cars from the 1980s through the 2020s carried median premiums of 31 to 38% over Hagerty Price Guide condition-appropriate values. Cars from the 1950s and 1960s were the only two decades to finish below book, with 1960s cars a median 6.2% under once the Cobra Daytona Coupe is excluded.
What happened to Bonhams?
Its total fell to $11.9 million on 56 lots from $44.2 million on 91 lots in 2025. The 2026 sale was its first after leaving The Quail, where it had run for 23 years.
How did Broad Arrow do in its first year at The Quail?
$97.4 million on 181 lots at an 85% sell-through, third-highest of the five houses.
What was the Ferrari Luce?
A 2026 Ferrari Luce Tailor Made sedan sold by RM Sotheby’s as a charity lot for $40,000,000, the second-highest price of the week.
How many cars sold for eight figures?
Every car in the top ten cleared $11 million. The ten spanned five decades and four marques, and seven of them were Ferraris.
When are the next major collector car auctions?
January, at Kissimmee and the Arizona sales. Mecum’s next event is Nashville at Nashville Superspeedway, September 22 to 26, 2026, with an estimated 1,500 vehicles.
A Record Total Is Not a Rising Market
Ten cars carried $223 million of the $755.6 million, and the sell-through rate did not move at all from 2025. The same 76% of lots found buyers. What changed is that the cars at the top brought far more, and everything ordinary brought slightly less.
The 1950s and 1960s supplied over a third of the consignments and were the only decades to finish under book. If you own something irreplaceable, 2026 was a spectacular year to sell it. If you own a nice 1965 something, the room was polite and nothing more.
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.
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