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Quick answer: Monterey’s modern collector-car auction tradition began in 1986, when Rick Cole organized the first dedicated Monterey auction during Pebble Beach weekend. What started as one pioneering sale developed into one of the world’s most important annual marketplaces for rare and historically significant automobiles.
Every August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes a rolling automotive museum. Historic race cars return to the track at Laguna Seca, important automobiles gather on the Pebble Beach lawn, and collectors from around the world fill auction rooms in Monterey, Pebble Beach and Carmel Valley.
The auctions now feel inseparable from Monterey Car Week—but they arrived decades after the Peninsula’s automotive tradition began.
I recently researched the full story, from the first dedicated auction in 1986 to the sale of a Ferrari 250 GTO for $48.405 million. The resulting article also includes a ranked list of the ten most expensive automobiles sold during Monterey Car Week through the completed 2025 auction season.
Read the complete Monterey Car Week auction history and the 10 most expensive sales here.
How Did Monterey Car Week’s Auctions Begin?
The foundation was already in place. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Pebble Beach Road Races began in 1950, bringing serious automotive enthusiasts to the Monterey Peninsula. Racing eventually moved to Laguna Seca, while the Concours grew into one of the world’s most prestigious celebrations of automotive design and history.
By the 1980s, Pebble Beach weekend was attracting collectors, racers, restorers, dealers and historians from around the world. Rick Cole recognized the opportunity to bring great cars and qualified buyers together in the same place. His 1986 auction helped add a new dimension to the weekend: the automobiles could now be publicly bought and sold as well as raced, judged and admired.
A Short Timeline of Monterey’s Auction Growth
- 1986: Rick Cole launches the first dedicated Monterey collector-car auction.
- 1990: The first auction is held in connection with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
- 1997: RM begins the Monterey era that will eventually make the event an RM Sotheby’s flagship sale.
- 2004: Gooding & Company debuts its Pebble Beach auction.
- 2009: Mecum holds its inaugural Monterey auction.
- 2022: Broad Arrow holds its first live auction in Monterey.
Today, major names such as RM Sotheby’s, Gooding Christie’s, Broad Arrow, Bonhams and Mecum help make the week a global collector-car marketplace.
What Is the Most Expensive Car Sold at a Monterey Auction?
Through the completed 2025 Monterey Car Week auction season, the record belongs to a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, chassis 3413 GT. RM Sotheby’s sold it in Monterey in 2018 for $48,405,000.
That sale exceeded the public-auction record established by another Ferrari 250 GTO at Monterey in 2014 by more than $10 million. It also captured something important about Monterey’s auction identity: provenance, competition history, rarity and design can converge in a single automobile—and an international group of knowledgeable buyers is present to recognize it.
Why Are Ferraris So Prominent in Monterey’s Record Sales?
Ferrari dominates the top of the Monterey record book. Eight of the ten highest published Monterey Car Week auction results through 2025 are Ferraris. The group includes the 250 GTO, 412P, N.A.R.T. Spider, 275 GTB/C Speciale, 410 Sport Spider and two exceptional Ferraris sold in 2025.
The two non-Ferraris in the top ten are equally significant: an Aston Martin DBR1 and the Jaguar D-Type that won the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Why Did Monterey Become Such an Important Auction Destination?
The answer is larger than any one auction house. For one week, the Peninsula brings together the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, historic racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, The Quail, marque gatherings, rallies, manufacturer events and an international audience of collectors and enthusiasts.
The setting matters too. The roads through Del Monte Forest, the Pacific coastline, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Carmel Valley create a backdrop that feels entirely appropriate for important automobiles. Monterey Car Week did not manufacture the Peninsula’s appeal; it concentrated that appeal into one extraordinary week.
Where Can I Find the Complete Top 10?
My full feature includes the complete auction chronology, the ranked top ten with sale prices and auction houses, closer looks at several historically important cars, and answers to common questions about the Monterey auctions.
Explore Monterey Car Week Auctions: History, Record Sales & the Most Expensive Cars Ever Sold.
Monterey Car Week—and Life on the Peninsula
Car Week offers a dramatic glimpse of qualities residents enjoy throughout the year: beautiful roads, coastal scenery, historic places, distinctive architecture, recreation and a strong sense of community. Visitors may arrive for the automobiles, but many leave with a deeper appreciation for the Monterey Peninsula itself.
If you are considering a home in Pebble Beach, Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey or Carmel Valley—or would like local insight before selling a property here—I would be glad to help.
Mark Bruno
Monterey Peninsula Home Team | Keller Williams Coastal Estates
California DRE #01715978
831-917-8190
Search Monterey Peninsula homes and explore our local real estate resources
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