Our picks from the principality
The 15th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique takes place from 24-26 April 2026.
The event in the principality often attracts some of the world’s wealthiest enthusiasts, and this reputation is certainly upheld by this year’s auctions.
Big-money lots will start to go under the hammer during the Bonhams|Cars sale at the Fairmont Monte Carlo hotel on 24 April, before the RM Sotheby’s event at the Grimaldi Forum on 25 April.
We’ve inspected the catalogues and picked some of our favourite dream cars, plus a couple of slightly more attainable options – presented here in chronological order.
But if you’ve checked under the sofa cushions and emptied your piggy banks, and you’re still a few pennies short, then why not join us for a few minutes of make-believe?
Slip on your imaginary dinner suit or ball gown and pretend to dip into your bottomless bank account. How would you spend your millions?
Prices are given GBP£, US$ and EUR€; all conversions were correct at the time of writing
1. 1954 WD Denzel 1300 (est: £130-155,000/$175-210,000/€150-180,000)
Although it’s a largely forgotten marque today, Denzel went toe-to-toe with Ferdinand Porsche’s burgeoning car company in the 1950s.
It was founded by Wolfgang Denzel, an Austrian engineer who built his own car using readily available Volkswagen Beetles and Kübelwagens. Sound familiar?
This car, chassis DK28, will cross the block in the RM Sotheby’s sale without a reserve.
It was one of a few WD Denzel 1300s sold new in Portugal. Its first owner, Joaquim Filipe Nogueira, was a well-known local racing driver.
He competed in 13 events in the Denzel, starting with a competition – which he won – just one day after the car was registered.
Six more first-place results and a handful of podiums followed before he sold the car in 1955.
The current owner acquired the WD Denzel 1300 in 1997, and it’s been in their care ever since.
2. 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder (est: £3.05-3.3m/$4.1-4.45m/€3.5-3.8m)
In 1956, American racing driver Jack McAfee piloted an ex-works Porsche 550 Spyder to class victory in the Sports Car Club of America’s F Modified category.
One year later, McAfee’s friend, Stan Sugarman, bought this 550A – an uprated Spyder with more power and a lighter, stronger spaceframe.
This one made its competition debut in June 1957, at Paramount Ranch Racetrack in California, driven by McAfee.
He recorded a second-place finish and a few race wins across the weekend.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, the Porsche won events at Laguna Seca, Riverside Raceway and elsewhere.
Since then, it has resided in collections across the world.
In 2014, the rare Porsche was awarded a Best in Class trophy at the Amelia Island concours.
Fresh from a £300,000-plus restoration, this 550A Spyder is for sale in the RM Sotheby’s auction.
3. 1958 Lotus 16 (est: £390-570,000/$527,500-770,500/€450-650,000)
Graham Hill joined Lotus as a part-time mechanic in 1956.
Just two years later, Colin Chapman decided Lotus was ready for Formula One, and he picked Hill to be one of his drivers. Not bad career progression, eh?
This Coventry-Climax-powered F1 car was Lotus’ second single-seater design, and it was piloted by Graham Hill at the British Grand Prix in 1958.
This car – chassis 362 – also entered the French and German Grands Prix, but after a big crash in Portugal, it was brought back to the UK and set aside to be repaired.
Bonhams|Cars believes the frame then became the underpinnings for Anthony Brooke’s Formula Two ‘special’.
The ex-Team Lotus racer appeared at circuits across the UK and Montlhéry in France in 1960.
Today, the restored car sports a mix of new parts and original components.
4. 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (est: £1-1.1m/$1.35-1.49m/€1.18-1.28m)
If you can live without the Gullwing’s showstopping doors, then the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster is surely one of the most desirable classic cars to wear the three-pointed star.
The fuel-injected straight-six makes more than 200bhp and this 1962 model benefits from superior stopping power, thanks to the disc brakes that were introduced in 1961.
This example was finished with white paintwork and a red-leather interior when it was delivered to its first owner in California, USA.
In the 1970s, the 300SL was resprayed in the silver shade it wears today.
Then, in 1987, this Mercedes-Benz left the United States and travelled to Sweden, where it remained for around 30 years. It moved to Germany, then on to Poland, where the current owner lives.
According to Bonhams|Cars, this 300SL Roadster is highly original, having covered just 55,618km (34,559 miles).
5. 1966 Citroën DS21 Décapotable (est: £130-170,000/$176-230,000/€150-200,000)
Coachbuilder Henri Chapron sliced the top off the Citroën DS and presented his first Cabriolet at the Paris motor show in 1958.
The French marque’s bosses were impressed by the conversion, so a deal was made to sell DS drop-tops in Citroën dealerships.
This car – offered without reserve in the Bonhams|Cars sale – was the 1044th Décapotable (a total of 1365 were built) constructed in Chapron’s workshop in Levallois-Perret, just outside Paris.
After being delivered to Citroën’s Quai de Javel factory on 22 September 1966, this car was exhibited on the marque’s Paris motor stand from 6-16 October. It was photographed with Charles de Gaulle, the French president at the time.
The Citroën was restored in 2006. More recently, it’s been part of a diverse collection of classic cars in France.
6. 1971 Alfa Romeo GT 1300 (est: £22-30,000/$30,000-40,500/€25-35,000)
This classic Alfa Romeo, which is expected to sell for £22-30,000, is the most affordable car in this slideshow.
It’s set to cross the block with no reserve in the Bonhams|Cars sale at the Fairmont Monte Carlo hotel on 24 April.
The Verde Oliva Metallizzato car was delivered to its first owner in Frosinone, around 50 miles south-east of Rome, in October 1971.
It has spent all its life in Italy.
It stayed with its original owner for 45 years, until 2016. At this point, the Alfa Romeo travelled north to Venice, where it remained until 2019 when it was bought by the current keeper.
The car comes with an Italian roadworthiness certificate that’s valid until 2028.
7. 1972 Ferrari Dino 246GT (est: £260-330,000/$352,000-446,500/€300-380,000)
It was Enzo’s son, Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, who suggested the Prancing Horse should make a V6 engine.
Sadly, the 24-year-old engineer never saw the finished motor – he died in June 1956 – but his idea led to the marque’s first mid-engined road car, the 1967 Dino 206GT.
The six-cylinder sports car evolved into the 246GT in 1969.
The later car was equipped with production-friendly updates: steel bodywork gradually replaced the 206GT’s aluminium panels, while the previously all-aluminium engine was given an iron block.
The 246GT was also longer and wider, plus the 2418cc V6 produced more power and torque.
This ‘E-series’ model (the 246GT’s final iteration) is finished in Blu Sera. It was first registered in Turin, Italy, in September 1972.
It changed hands a few times until 1980, when it joined the current owner’s collection.
The Dino 246GT has been maintained by their private mechanic, but it’s never been restored. It’s for sale in the Bonhams|Cars auction.
8. 1983 Audi quattro (est: £780,000-1m/$1.05-1.35m/€900,000-1.2m)
How about this Audi quattro? Bonhams|Cars is selling this genuine Group B contender.
This quattro’s first event was the 1983 Rallye Monte-Carlo.
It performed brilliantly in the hands of Hannu Mikkola, alongside co-driver Arne Hertz, but the Audi team was beaten by Lancia’s rear-wheel-drive 037 – partly due to some sneaky tactics employed by the Italian squad, involving a delivery of c300 tonnes of salt to spread over the snow-covered stages.
This car, #R38, was back in action at the Rally of Portugal. Mikkola piloted the quattro to victory, beating Lancia and his Audi teammates.
It returned at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, where it won multiple stages before an engine issue forced an early retirement.
That was Mikkola’s final outing in the car, however it was campaigned by Lasse Lampi and co-pilot Pentti Kuukkala at the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. The pair finished seventh overall.
In recent years, the Audi has been restored and equipped with a recreation of its 1983 Rally of Portugal livery.
9. 1984 Toleman TG183B (est: £2.45-3.3m/$3.3-4.45m/€2.8-3.8m)
Who’s the greatest Formula One driver? Clark? Prost? Schumacher? Hamilton?
There’s certainly no easy answer. But Brazilian ace Ayrton Senna is undoubtedly a contender for the title.
And that’s what makes this Toleman – for sale in the RM Sotheby’s auction – so special. It was Senna’s first F1 car.
The Rory Byrne-designed TG183B was a stopgap model that filled in for the brand-new TG184, which wasn’t ready for the start of the 1984 season.
It was in this car that Senna scored his first F1 championship point, with a sixth-place finish in the South African Grand Prix.
After four rounds, it was replaced by the TG184.
This car eventually went to the USA, where it was restored in the 1990s, before returning to the UK in the 2010s.
In 2022, Martin Brundle drove Senna’s TG183B around Brands Hatch for a Sky Sports F1 documentary – it was the first time this car had been on a circuit since 1984.
10. 1989 Lamborghini LM002 (est: £260-300,000/$353-407,500/€300-350,000)
What happens when you stuff a Lamborghini V12 engine into a big, chunky off-roader?
Thankfully, the (seemingly unhinged) guys and girls in Sant’Agata were brave enough to find out.
It was born out of Lamborghini’s bid to replace the United States military’s ageing Jeeps.
The manufacturer’s proposal – the V8-engined LM001 – didn’t win the contract, but rather than forget about it and move on, Lamborghini did the sensible thing: it squeezed the Countach’s motor under the bonnet and sold it to the public. Of course!
According to Bonhams|Cars, this was one of three LM002s ordered by Muammar Gaddafi – however it’s unclear whether he actually took delivery of the car.
Either way, it was later exported to Spain and then to Sweden, where it has been partly restored by a Lamborghini collector.
11. 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM (est: £330-480,000/$448-652,000/€375-550,000)
So far in this gallery we’ve featured Porsche’s first purpose-built racer, two Formula One single-seaters and one of the most iconic Group B rally cars.
The final competition machine in this slideshow is this, a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM car.
Prepared by AMG, this was one of two factory cars built to compete in the 1990 season.
The owner believes this was the one raced by touring-car star Klaus Ludwig, however, since the AMG team kept the logbooks when it sold the car in 1994, they haven’t been able to confirm it.
Perhaps the next custodian can do some more research and establish its full race history.
In 2005, this Mercedes was rebuilt – possibly with a new bodyshell – before entering hillclimb competitions in 2006.
According to Bonhams|Cars, all of the rare parts that differentiate the factory-prepared racers from customer cars are present, though.
12. 1995 BMW M3 GT (est: £85-130,000/$115-175,000/€100-150,000)
When the DTM championship was discontinued in 1996 (it returned in 2000), BMW decided to homologate the E36 for FIA-GT Class II and IMSA GT.
To do so, it sold 356 M3 GTs.
All examples were fitted with aluminium doors, hotter camshafts and more – and it was only available in one colour: British Racing Green.
This example was delivered to its first owner in Germany in May 1995.
They added a long list of options, including heated front seats, cruise control, an electric sunroof and rear parking sensors.
In 1997 it went to Sweden, where it changed hands a few times, before moving to Finland in 2011.
In 2022, it was sold to a French enthusiast who sent it to BMW Classic for a refresh, before it was acquired by the current owner in 2023.
It’s got just 91,652km (56,949 miles) on the clock and will be offered with no reserve in the RM Sotheby’s sale.
13. 1999 Bugatti EB112 (est: £1.3-1.75m/$1.75-2.35m/€1.5-2m)
Do you recognise this spectacular Bugatti? The low-slung saloon is one of just three examples of the EB112, a V12-powered executive express derived from the EB110 supercar.
It’s equipped with all-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual gearbox.
The EB112 was styled by ItalDesign’s Giorgetto Giugiaro, who took inspiration from the marque’s back catalogue.
The wheels were influenced by the Type 41, it wears the iconic, horseshoe-shaped grille, and the split rear window was a nod to another super-rare Bugatti: the Type 57SC Atlantic.
By the time the revived firm went bankrupt in the mid-1990s, there was one working EB112 prototype and a pair of incomplete cars.
Businessman Gildo Pallanca Pastor acquired the latter and commissioned a team to finish them.
He kept this EB112, the last one built, for himself until 2015. It’s now being offered from its second keeper in the RM Sotheby’s auction.
14. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (est: £1.75-2.2m/$2.35-2.95m/€2-2.5m)
When Porsche was forced to abandon its plan for a V10-engined Le Mans car, it ploughed on with development and adapted the design for road use – and so the 603bhp Carrera GT was born.
This Basalt Black Metallic example rolled out of Porsche’s Leipzig factory in April 2005.
It was immediately transported to Denmark, where it was registered on 13 May.
The Carrera GT has been sent to Porsche dealers for every service.
Its most recent keeper bought this car in 2012, at which point its odometer showed just 8000km (4971 miles).
During their 14 years of ownership, they’ve added another 12,000km (7456 miles) to the clock.
In May 2025, the car went to Porsche Center Copenhagen for a major service. Since then, it has been in storage and it’s covered just 18km (11 miles).
15. 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (est: £175-220,000/$235-295,000/€200-250,000)
In 2009, Mercedes-Benz reimagined its legendary 300SL Gullwing for the 21st century.
This wasn’t a one-off show car, though. The stylish two-seater was developed to take on supercar makers like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
The front-engined SLS AMG was more of a grand tourer than Ferrari’s 458 Italia, but Mercedes likely ruffled a few feathers in Maranello: according to its maker, the SLS AMG’s V8 was the most powerful naturally aspirated production engine of its time.
This one-owner example is finished in silver with a tan-leather cabin and it’s done just 10,577km (6572 miles).
It will be offered with no reserve in the RM Sotheby’s sale at the Grimaldi Forum.
16. 2016 Volkswagen XL-1 (est: £78-110,000/$105,500-149,000/€90-130,000)
The final car in this slideshow is perhaps the most unusual, too.
So, what is this tiny, butterfly-doored two-seater?
The aim of the project was to make the most efficient road car possible.
So, the Volkswagen XL1 is a carbonfibre-bodied, diesel-fuelled, plug-in hybrid that was supposedly capable of 313mpg.
Powered by an 800cc, two-cylinder engine and an electric motor, the 795kg (1753lb) car boasted an astonishing drag coefficient of just 0.186Cd.
The example for sale in the Bonhams|Car auction is being offered without reserve.
It was delivered new to Luxembourg, where it was used as a promotional tool by technology company INGEM. It’s got just 1426km (886 miles) on the clock.
If you’re interested in this fuel-sipping VW, or any of the other cars showcased in this slideshow, click here to view the Bonhams|Cars catalogue, or here to find out more about the lots in the RM Sotheby’s auction.