The 20 most expensive cars sold at the 2018 Monterey auctions

Pebble Beach bidders go for broke

Looking to sell a multi-million-dollar classic car? There’s only one place you should do it: Pebble Beach.

Every year, Monterey Car Week brings thousands of classic car enthusiasts to the California coast. While most are there to schmooze and peruse, a wealthy few are ready to drop bank-breaking sums on rare historic motors.

And 2018’s event was no exception: according to insurance specialist Hagerty, the total haul across all of the late-August auctions was a staggering $367.5m (£286m).

Which cars were top of the lots? Here are the 20 most expensive cars sold at Pebble Beach 2018.

1955 Maserati A6GCS/53

Sold for: $5.2m (£4m)

Frua created just three drop-top bodies for Maserati’s sleek A6GCS/53 chassis, including this stunning 1955 example, commissioned by Rome Maserati dealer Guglielmo “Mimmo” Dei.

Stabled with numerous notable collectors over the years, chassis 2110 has been exhibited several times across the decades and, well-kept, goes to its new owner in remarkable condition.

1958 Ferrari 250GT Tour de France

Sold for: $6.6m (£5.1m)

Up there with the most gorgeous cars of all time, the beautiful, capable 250GT Tour de France was built to the tune of just 78 examples – with a mere 36 being bodied by Scaglietti in single-louvre style, including this 1958 model.

Raced in the Targa Florio in ’58, it was subsequently restored to concours quality and exhibited several times before being won by its new owner at the Gooding & Company auction.

1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix

Sold for: $3.7m (£2.9m)

What at first glance looks like a kit-built weekender is in fact an ultra-rare Bugatti that sold for more than $3.7m. 

This 1931 Type 51 is an original works Bugatti racer that competed in a host of Grands Prix in period, at the likes of Spa-Francorchamps, Pau, Casablanca, Nîmes and Monza – before being sold and raced as a privateer machine.

1967 Ferrari 330GTC Speciale

Sold for: $3.4m (£2.6m)

This dashing Ferrari 330GTC Speciale is one of just four built and one of the last true custom coachbuilt Ferraris.

Delivered new to renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey, chassis 9653 was shown on the Pininfarina stand at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show, before going on to reside in several private collections – latterly spending 25 years out of the public eye.

1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial

Sold for: $5m (£3.9m)

What is it with Ferraris and massive price tags? This 1955 racer – campaigned and proven at countless events in the late-’50s and early-’60s – fetched an astonishing $5m at the Gooding & Company auction on Friday.

A rare Series II example of the 500 Mondial, of which just seven others were built, it entered private ownership after its competition career and went to auction in concours condition, after 58 years with the same owner.

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

Sold for: $4.5m (£3.5m)

Another competition classic, this pristine example of the world-beating Porsche 550 Spyder was campaigned in 14 races in the mid-’60s in California. 

The 356-successor then went off the radar for a while, resurfacing in ’71 before a sensitive restoration in the ’80s of what was, and remains, a remarkably original race-proven Porsche with all the trimmings.

1935 Duesenberg SSJ

Sold for: $22m (£17.1m)

Another Duesenberg number, this one proved to be the out-and-out showstopper. Delivered new to actor Gary Cooper as a shrewd marketing move, it's one of just two short-chassis, 400bhp SSJs built.

Latterly stabled in the Briggs Cunningham Collection and, more recently, the Miles Collier Collection, this aerodynamic American icon easily topped its estimate of 'more than $10m' on its way to becoming the most expensive American car ever sold at auction.

1959 Porsche 718 RSK

Sold for: $3.7m (£2.9m)

Last of the Gooding & Company lots is this 1959 racing Porsche – one of 34 718 RSK spyders ever built, raced at Le Mans in 1959 and Pikes Peak in the early-’60s, and sold new to American racer Ed Hugus.

A lightweight machine built to dominate at race tracks the world over, it remains a stunner today and wouldn’t be out of place at the most exclusive of historic events – including Pebble Beach, of course.

1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT

Sold for: $3.1m (£2.4m)

If the Dino was one of the most pivotal Prancing Horse models, this 1966 GT surely belongs on a plinth: the second of two prototypes designed and built by Pininfarina ahead of production, it was the first mid-engine V6 Ferrari designed for the road – and set the tone for the Italian marque's machines for years to come.

A true one-off, chassis 00106 entered private ownership in '67 after its debut at the 1966 Turin Motor Show, and latterly spent 25 years in a private collection.

2007 Porsche RS Spyder

Sold for: $4.5m (£3.5m)

One of the youngest cars at the Gooding & Company auction was also one of the most valuable: the last of six RS Spyders built to win LMP2 races in 2007, chassis 9R6.706 never actually made it onto the track.

As a result, it went under the hammer as an essentially brand-new featherweight racer, its 3.4-litre V8 engine having been maintained by a race mechanic and its bare carbonfibre bodywork as beautiful as the day it was built.

1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K

Sold for: $3.3m (£2.5m)

Subject of several stories regarding its original purchase – the most credible being that Charles Follett commissioned it for French driver Goffredo Zehender – this 1937 example of Mercedes' pre-war performance car spent much of its life in the USA.

In 1960 it was heavily damaged by fire, but a committed 20-year effort saw it returned to its original glory and, in the late-’90s, it gained its bold red colour scheme.

1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione

Sold for: $3.5m (£2.7m)

This remarkable Alfa Romeo is the last surviving Competizione Berlinetta of just three originally built. Finished in 1948, it raced at the turn of the ’50s in events such as the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and Coppa d’Oro, before entering Swiss collector Mochel Dovaz’s collection in '54.

Left to rust alongside some 50-odd classics in a barn at his French château, it was eventually rescued and fixed up enough to contest the 1984 Mille Miglia – but it wasn’t until '95 that it was bought and a proper restoration could begin.

1966 Ford GT40 MkII

Sold for: $9.8m (£7.6m)

It seems racing provenance is a good bet if you want to shift a car for millions: this Ford GT40 MkII finished third overall at the 1966 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours – and cruised past its $9m lower estimate at the RM Sotheby's sale on Friday 24 August.

Driven to a podium finish in '66 by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson, it was the fourth of just eight MkII examples ever built and was further raced and tested in period by the likes of AJ Foyt, Mark Donohue and Richie Ginther.

1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria

Sold for: $3.7m (£2.9m)

Proving age is no barrier to success, this 1934 Packard Twelve – from the collection of Judge Joseph and Margie Cassini – turned plenty of heads at the RM Sotheby's auction.

A truly stunning example, this pristine and unique Individual Custom won best-in-show awards at Pebble Beach in 2013 and the Concours d’Elegance of America in 2016, and goes to its new owner complete with original chassis, engine, steering box and body.

1963 Aston Martin DP215 Prototype

Sold for: $21.5m (£16.7m)

DP215 was built as a pure one-off, a prototype designed to be at the cutting edge of competition and to dominate the 1963 running of the Le Mans endurance race.

And that it most certainly did, hitting a record 198.6mph on the circuit’s Mulsanne straight, becoming the first car to officially break the 300kph barrier and eclipsing its Ferrari contemporaries.

Now fully restored, this most fabled of racing Aston Martins claimed an astonishing $19.5m when the hammer fell, which became $21.5m with the buyer's premium.

1957 Porsche 550A Spyder

Sold for: $4.9m (£3.8m)

Based on Porsche's existing 550 racer, the aluminium-bodied 550A benefited from a full tubular space frame chassis, refined suspension, better brakes and a top speed of almost 150mph.

Raced in California by privateer owners at the start of its life, this one-of-40 German speed machine was comprehensively restored in the '90s and would go on to win its class at the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – and proved suitably popular at the RM Sotheby's sale.

1956 Maserati A6G/2000

Sold for: $4.5m (£3.5m)

This storied Maserati ticks pretty much every box for fans of the Italian marque: it's one of only 60 twin-plug A6G/54 machines built, one of just 20 to wear bodywork by famed coachbuilder Zagato (including a unique grille) and goes to its new owner in restored condition complete with original engine and gearbox.

What's more, it's enjoyed quite the storied life – from competing in the '56 Mille Miglia to spells in France, Spain, Italy and, latterly, the USA, where it was an award-winner at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

1962 Ferrari 250GTO

Sold for: $48.4m (£37.7m)

Undeniably top of the lots was this Ferrari 250GTO, which set a world record for the most expensive car ever to sell at auction. The price tag? A cool $44m – which became $48.4m with the buyer's premium.

Chassis 3413 left the Ferrari factory in 1962 as one of just 36 Series I cars to be built and, shortly after, was test-driven by Phil Hill ahead of the 1962 Targa Florio road race. 

It competed in a total of 20 races in period and, remarkably, finished every single one. Even more remarkably, it went to auction with its original engine, gearbox and rear axle – together with the factory Series II body it gained in 1964 at the hands of famed Italian coachbuilder Scaglietti.

1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Coupe

Sold for: $4.5m (£3.5m)

Powerful Mercedes-Benz machines are nothing new, but none have ever been quite as absurd as the AMG-tuned CLK GTR – a 600bhp racer that launched in the late-’90s as a direct rival to the McLaren F1 and Porsche GT1.

Just 25 were built for the road, including this one which sold on Saturday 25 August with RM Sotheby's. It went under the hammer in entirely original condition, carrying its factory body, engine and drivetrain, as well as the same coat of paint it wore when finished in 1998.

1933 Duesenberg Model J Convertible

Sold for: $3.9m (£3m)

Bidding for this 1933 Model J at the Mecum sale might not have gone as stratospheric as for the SSJ at the Gooding auction, but it's not without its own Hollywood history: it was bought new by actress Marie Dressler and later stabled with director Roy Del Ruth.

The latter owner commissioned fresh coachwork from Bohman and Schwartz – which the car still wears today – making it one of just ten Duesenberg cars so clothed.