Showstoppers
Every August, the collector-car world turns its attention to Monterey, on California’s coast.
The US city’s renowned Car Week (7-16 August 2026) draws enthusiasts from across the globe, including deep-pocketed classic car fans who come for the big-money auctions that are among the highlights of this 10-day motoring celebration.
This year, Bonhams|Cars, RM Sotheby’s, Mecum Auctions, Gooding Christie’s and Broad Arrow Auctions will host sales.
We’ve browsed the catalogues and chosen some of the most head-turning lots, presented here in chronological order.
Where available, prices are given in GBP£, US$ and EUR€, and all conversions were correct at the time of writing
1. 1928 Bugatti Type 44 Torpédo (est: £280-336,000/$375-450,000/€329-395,000)
This Bugatti Type 44 arrived at coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi’s Parisian workshop in 1928.
Shortly after the four-seater was completed, the Bugatti was shipped across the Atlantic Ocean.
Its first owner, businessman John Wilson McConnell, was one of the wealthiest people in Canada in the 1920s.
The former bookkeeper’s various concerns included newspaper publishing, sugar refinery and a department store in Montreal.
A philanthropist and Bugatti enthusiast, McConnell acquired this Type 44 and a Type 57 from London importer Colonel Sorel.
By 1972, the Type 44 had joined Theodore Waugh’s huge Bugatti collection, where it stayed for more than five decades.
Following its sale in 2024, almost $70,000 has been spent on this car, which will be offered in the Broad Arrow Auctions event at the Quail Golf Club in Carmel, California, from 13-14 August.
2. 1936 Cord E-300 (est: £485-635,000/$650-850,000/€570-745,000)
The Cord E-300, or E-300 Experimental Disappearing Top Cabriolet to give the car its full name, is one of two remaining LeBaron-bodied prototypes – and this is the sole drop-top.
Five were built (initially under the project code E-277) with the aim of replacing the eye-wateringly expensive Duesenberg Model J, which struggled to find buyers after 1929’s Wall Street crash.
The E-300 was to be a rationalised, more affordable model than the glitzy Model J.
The firm planned to fit its Lycoming V12 motor, but the E-300s were eventually finished with Cord’s supercharged V8.
Photographs from the 1950s show that this car was in a bad state by the mid-20th century.
The current owner – who bought the E-300 in 2013 – commissioned a restoration that was completed in 2021.
It will cross the block without a reserve in the Bonham|Cars sale at Laguna Seca Raceway on 13 August.
3. 1948 Tucker 48 (est: £750-950,000/$1-1.3m/€900,000-1.15m)
An astonishing 47 of the 51 Tuckers produced still survive.
This car, the 19th built by the American marque, drew a crowd when it was delivered to Stratton Tucker Sales, a distributor in the USA’s Pacific Northwest, in July 1948.
In February 1950, the Tucker 48 – then finished Viola Grey – was sold to Earl T Simoneau from Seattle.
When subsequent owner William D ‘John’ Bryan ran for a seat in Congress, he used the Tucker as a mobile billboard for his campaign.
Melvin Hull acquired this car in 1959. He repainted the Tucker and installed a new interior.
Shortly after his car appeared in the film Tucker: The Man and His Dream, he gifted the car to his daughter, Debbie, who owned it until 2012.
It will be offered in the RM Sotheby’s auction at the Monterey Conference Center from 13-15 August.
4. 1959 Chrysler Scimitar Town Car (est: N/A)
This striking Scimitar is one of three Chrysler EX show cars.
Each was completed with a different body style: there was a Two-Door Convertible, an All-Purpose Sedan and this car, the sole Phaeton.
Designed by Brooks Stevens and constructed by Reutter in Stuttgart, Germany, the concepts were funded by the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a US manufacturing conglomerate that entered the aluminium industry in the mid-1950s.
Powered by a Golden Lion V8, the show car was constructed to promote the use of aluminium in car bodies. The corrosion-resistant metal was used in the cars’ most rust-prone areas.
In 2020, the trio was reunited at the Amelia Island concours.
This intriguing one-off will be offered in the Mecum Auctions sale at the Del Monte Golf Course from 13-15 August. This auction house doesn’t supply guide prices.
5. 1967 Porsche 910 (est: £1.35-1.65m/$1.8-2.2m/€1.6-1.95m)
The Gooding Christie’s sale at Pebble Beach Parc du Concours from 14-15 August includes a set of significant Porsche racing cars, including this 1967 910.
One of 27 constructed for the 1967 season, this car was delivered to British privateer outfit William Bradley Racing.
The sleek, mid-engined 910 was an evolution of the 906.
This example was campaigned at Monza, Montlhéry, the Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps and elsewhere, piloted by Porsche drivers Vic Elford and Gijs van Lennep.
More recently, it’s been at Le Mans Classic and Goodwood’s Festival of Speed.
6. 1967 Vollstedt-Ford (est: £560-935,000/$750,000-1.25m/€660,000-1.1m)
Most enthusiasts associate Jim Clark with Lotus’ iconic green-and-yellow Formula One cars of the 1960s, but the Scotsman competed in a variety of machines during his career – including this Vollstedt-Ford.
Clark raced this American-built single-seater in the 1967 Rex Mays 300 at Riverside International Raceway in California.
He qualified second and lined up alongside polesitter Dan Gurney on race day.
The pair battled for more than 10 laps before Clark snatched the lead. Unfortunately, he retired from the race with a broken valve.
This was Jim Clark’s sole outing in the V8-engined Vollstedt-Ford, but the car contested a total of 30 races during its three-year career.
It has since become a concours star: chassis 67B was shown at Pebble Beach in 2018 and Amelia Island in 2020.
It will be offered with no reserve in the Bonham|Cars auction on 13 August.
7. 1970 Volkswagen Beetle (est: £55-95,000/$75-125,000/€65-110,000)
You’ve probably noticed that this isn’t a normal Volkswagen Beetle.
Artist Rafael Esparza-Prieto created 23 of these rolling sculptures, a fully functional VW Type 1 with wrought-iron bodywork.
The first was commissioned by the owner of an automotive shop in Zacatecas, Mexico.
When employees from the local VW factory saw it parked outside his store, word of Esparza-Prieto’s spectacular design spread through the organisation.
With the 1968 Olympic Games coming to Mexico City, VW commissioned two more for promotional purposes.
The pair’s popularity led to the German marque ordering another 18 to display at dealerships across the world.
When Esparza-Prieto moved to the US, he produced two more, bringing the total to 23.
In recent years, this example has been cared for by the founder of classic VW specialist West Coast Metric, in California.
It will be offered in the RM Sotheby’s auction from 13-15 August.
8. 1982 Ralt RT3 (est: £374-523,000/$500-700,000/€438-614,000)
Is this one of the most significant Formula Three cars in existence? West Surrey Racing campaigned this Ralt RT3 (chassis 291) in the 1982 British F3 season.
Enrique Mansilla piloted the car to four race victories, enough for second place in the championship.
With the silver-medal position secured, team owner Dick Bennetts offered the Ralt to up-and-coming driver Ayrton Senna for November’s round at Thruxton.
Despite having never raced at the Hampshire circuit, Senna started on pole position, set the fastest lap in the race and won by 13 secs. The Ralt is apparently the sole-surviving F3 car driven by Senna.
After the future three-time F1 champion’s impressive outing, the car was bought by Helmut Marko for promising Austrian racer Gerhard Berger.
It has been consigned to the Broad Arrow Auctions sale, taking place from 13-14 August.
9. 1996 McLaren F1 GTR (in excess of £26m/$35m/€30m)
The most valuable car in this slideshow is this 1996 McLaren F1 GTR.
It’s the only one finished with this bold, pop art-inspired paintjob.
Chassis 10R left the factory in December 1995. Around six months later, this F1 GTR participated in pre-qualifying for the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it didn’t compete in the race.
It remained with McLaren until 1999, when Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason acquired it, at which point it was converted for road use.
The McLaren was displayed at Rétromobile in 2007 and appeared in Classic & Sports Car’s sibling publication, Autocar, in 2009.
After a crash in 2010, the F1 GTR was restored by specialist Lanzante.
Since then it’s been at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting twice, restored a second time and appeared at the 2022 Festival of Speed.
All eyes will be on this McLaren F1 GTR when it crosses the block in the RM Sotheby’s sale from 13-15 August.
10. 1998 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport Lightweight (est: N/A)
The standard Bugatti EB110 weighed just 1566kg (3452lb), so it was hardly a cumbersome car, but the carbonfibre-bodied Super Sport shed around 150kg (331lb) – and the Dauer-built Lightweight took things even further.
Just five Super Sport Lightweights were constructed by Dauer, the engineering firm that continued to build and develop EB110s – with a few tweaks of its own – after Bugatti filed for bankruptcy.
According to Mecum Auctions, this is the only example finished in clear lacquer, which flaunts its exotic construction.
What’s more, this Bugatti’s ECU has been fettled and it’s been fitted with a modified exhaust system to liberate even more power from its quad-turbocharged V12.
This super-rare Bugatti – which has covered just 6025 miles – will go under the hammer in the Mecum sale from 13-15 August.