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RM Sotheby's is the world's largest collector car auction house by total sales.
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They are the preeminent market maker of high-quality collector cars and collections, regardless
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of size or complexity.
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By working in partnership with the Sotheby's team and its network of 80 offices in 40 countries,
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RM Sotheby's has established the largest client network of any collector car auction
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house in the world.
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Join the RM Sotheby's family by connecting with one of their car specialists at RMSotheby's.com
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or contact me directly at gstanley at RMSotheby's.com
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I just sent it out this morning, so if you are subscribed to my newsletter, all of this
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information is in your inbox as we speak.
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Now when it comes to Monterey, when the auction houses do well, that means the collector car
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So for this review, I sourced a lot of information mostly from HammerPrice, but I've also crossed
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reference with Glen March, the auction house press releases, a lot of different places,
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and then I put it all into this podcast episode.
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Now I will cover a little bit of everything from top sales, record sales, Ferrari, Porsche,
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some of the stuff from the 50s, muscle cars, there's a lot of cool stuff happening in Monterey.
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So stay tuned if you want to hear one aspect of the market, just continue to listen in
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because I will probably cover it.
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Now I have to give you a heads up on a couple things ahead of time.
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First off, when a car goes to auction, it's up to the car specialist in the auction
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house to come up with an estimate range in which they think that car will sell.
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So a low to a high estimate range, ideally in my world, I like to try to get it just right
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so that it sells a mid estimate when that car crosses the block and then Hammer is sold.
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Now there are some strategies, sometimes you'll hear of some car specialist putting out a lower
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estimate to get buyers very excited about a car.
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Other times you hear about clients that insist on a high estimate, which honestly
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just scares people away from actually bidding on the car because they feel like it's unreachable.
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So there's a little bit of magic going to creating estimates.
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So just because a car did not hit the low estimate does not necessarily mean that it was well
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bought or poorly sold.
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So just a word of caution there.
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Also for these results, Meekum does not release estimates for some reason for Monterey.
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So I have their results only as it relates to total sales and sell-through rates.
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So I wasn't able to do how they did against a low estimate because they did not provide
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a low estimate, which I kind of wish they did.
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It would have made for a little bit more information, multiple data points that I could have drawn
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Now also the timing of the data.
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So this data was pulled right after Monterey and it's when the auction houses were still
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actively trying to sell cars that may not have sold over the auction block, but
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the car specialists were working hard after the fact to get them sold.
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So one example I'll call out is I know Broad Arrow sold two of their top 10 most
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valuable cars after the auction, which impacted their sales by $6 million.
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So that is not reflected in these results just because of the timing in which I pulled the
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Now as you all know, I'm sure R&S Sotheby's had a huge sale with a Ferrari SP3 that hammered
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for $26 million, world record price.
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Because it was a charity auction car, that is not included in the results outside
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So Gooding's Christie's is a little bit different because there was a ballpark
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low estimate of around $23 million for their big cow spider that sold for just over $25
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So that one was recorded in these results.
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So what are my headlines from this sale?
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I would have to say records were shattered, but at the same time, expectations were
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So what do I mean by that?
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Well, there's a seismic generational shift underway within the collector car
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A lot of things happened in Monterey.
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You can see this come to fruition.
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So one example I'll give you is that while there was almost 72% sell-through rate of all
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cars across all auction houses, about 60% of the hammer prices, excluding the buyer's
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premium, landed below the low estimate.
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So what does this tell us?
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This tells me that sellers are becoming more realistic about today's market and allowing
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their cars to trade at true market value, meaning that when the estimates were created
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by the car specialist, there's a little bit of give and take there where maybe
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the consigner wanted a higher estimate and they realized in Monterey at that time when
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their cars on the world stage, you know what?
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This is all the money for this car.
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I'm going to let it go, even though maybe it didn't reach the low estimate.
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So that happened in 59.6% of the cars that sold in Monterey.
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So sellers are getting more realistic in what their cars are worth.
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Now the flip side of this is that there were a lot of records.
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From Sotheby's recorded 14 new records, everything from a Yanco Super Sport Camaro that blew past
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the previous record by over $200,000 to a Ferrari 512TR, again 200 grand above the previous record.
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One of the big ones was the Ferrari F50, which almost hit $10 million, which was really amazing
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to see, as well as the F40 LM, which netted out around $11 million.
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I think that doubled in price since the last time one was sold publicly.
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That arrow had eight new records, including a 2005 Maserati MC12 Stradale.
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That one's really interesting just because it's based on an Enzo.
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I would call it more attractive limited production.
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I believe they made 50 of those, but it's honestly being held back by the Maserati name,
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which isn't as lucrative or as well-known or as honored as much as Ferrari is.
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If that was a one of 50 Ferraris, it would be even higher.
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A lot of their cars were more modern stuff like the KonaSeg, CCXR, BMW M1 Pro car, Dodge
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Vipers and Hennessey Venom GT, and then Gooding Christie's had the record for a 250 GT short
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wheelbase Cal Spyder, a limited body for around $25 million, as well as a Daytona Compantissa
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Gione Series 3 for $8 million, and then Bottoms had a couple supercars that really
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rang the bell, including a Bugatti Devo at $8.6 million.
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I did not show any records announced for MECOM, so typically Monterey is not one of their
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You have to go to Kissimmee or to Indianapolis to get their bigger results.
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As far as sell-through rates, it was led by R&M, Sotheby's and Bottoms.
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I showed, based on my information, Bottoms had 100% sell-through rate, while they
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publicly say 96%, so I can't quite figure out where that 4% went.
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They did have 6 or 7 cars that were withdrawn, so if they were withdrawn, they were taken
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out of my results, but that might be the reason for the difference, and then R&M, Sotheby's
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I think their final tally was around 87%, so that tells you that a couple cars
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got sold post auction.
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And then what was interesting is both R&M, Sotheby's and Bottoms were the most successful
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at selling cars under the low estimate, meaning they didn't have as many as the other auction
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R&M, Sotheby's was at 43.8%, while Bottoms was at 48.3%.
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So when we look at the records, what really jumped out at me?
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It was the fact that 77% of the total record sales were cars that were built after 1980.
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That's not subtle, that's a huge trend that's talking about the generational shift that's
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happening right now.
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Cars that once lived on the bedroom posters or in Gran Turismo garages are now the ones
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commanding record bids under the auction lights.
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This could be a Ferrari from the 90s, Porsches from the 2000s, Hypercars that are basically
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These are the cars that are breaking records and the collectors are chasing right now.
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This makes sense because as new generations step into the market, they're bringing
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their own nostalgia with them.
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So this is the same way the baby boomers went through prices sky-high on 60's muscle cars
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and pre-war classics, Gen X and Millennials are now doing the same with the cars that
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define their childhoods.
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So I've often been quoted as saying that anyone who was pining after a 1957 Thunderbird
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is probably liquidating that car right now.
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It's just facts of life, generations change, as you get older you start liquidating
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your collections and so that's what's going on right now.
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Now when I look at these auction results I also like to look at million dollar results.
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So let's see who had the best results when it came to selling cars that were worth over
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one million dollars.
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Now RM Sotheby's led the field delivering 37 million dollar lots with an 82.2% sell-through
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rate which that is really really impressive but what was even more impressive is that
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over 13% of these lots sold above their high estimates.
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So that's really a strong sign of bitter competition in seller success.
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Now Gooding Christie's followed in second with 21 million dollar cars sold at 61.8% sales
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rate and then 4.8% just under 5% of those managed to exceed their high estimate.
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So sellers of 7 figure cars aren't just looking for a sale, they're looking for the best
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So if you're a consigner the message is clear the choice of auction houses matter
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to get that car sold.
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Alright something else that really popped in Monterey was the strength of JDM cars, Asian
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cars, Japanese domestic market cars or Asian cars that were made for the US market.
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So there are only 24 examples crossing the block but 22 of those found new homes in
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Now some of the standouts, the one that really stood out in particular was the
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1996 Nissan Skyline GTR NISMO 400R this was offered by RM Sotheby's one of just
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44 ever built and it hammered for just under $1 million which is approximately mid estimate.
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This was quite a car, a lot of next gen collectors were walking around this buzzing around it
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They were truly excited to see such a rare car come on offer kind of like a once in
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a lifetime chance to own one of these.
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Now what might be a takeaway if you're a collector looking to get into the Asian
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Now rare homologation specials such as the 400R Super Turbo NSX Type R they continue
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Now JDM and Asian exotics are punching far above their weight relative to supply.
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Now the time is ripe to consider bringing rare Skyline Supras or RX-7s to market while
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Like I said 24 cars were offered 22 sold.
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Now how about an update on Porsches for Monterey.
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Now what has surprised me is that for the past few years much of the
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collector car marketplace has been in a bumpy place except for Porsches.
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Time and again the market has defined broader trends holding its ground harder stronger and
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longer than I ever thought it would.
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Now Monterey was no different.
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Now while the results weren't shocking or record shattering they were telling.
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Porsches continued to perform with the same consistency they show on the auction block
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as they do on the track.
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Now with the exception of Meekum's 52.5% sell-through rate every other collector
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auction house posted stronger results with their sell-through ranging from 74.1%
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Once again ARM's Sotheby's and Gooding Christie's led to charge pushing beyond Haye
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estimates 14.3% for Sotheby's and 10.5% for Gooding.
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Now what does this tell us?
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Porsche continues to represent stability in a shifting market.
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Buyers know what they are getting engineering excellence racing pedigree and consistent
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Whether it's a rare air-cooled special, a modern halo car like the Carrera GT
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or even a roof-badged legend the Porsche name continues to inspire confidence and strong
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What's my advice to collectors?
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Modern halo cars, 918 Spyderic, Carrera GT and Ultra Rare variants think RS 4.0 GT2
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roofs show continued strength.
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There are stable performers.
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Late air-cooled and early water-cooled icons remain consistent with a few surprises
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such as a GT2 or GT3.
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And there are opportunities.
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Porsche remains one of the most reliable categories for both buyers and sellers offering liquidity
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and confidence in a shifting market.
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Now of course if we're talking Porsche's we need to move on to Ferrari's.
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This one is a very interesting one.
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As always they headline every year at Monterey.
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You don't need to look far to see that they had a standout year.
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The record prices I mentioned before speak for themselves but the proof is even clearer
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in the top 10 sales of the entire week where 8 of the cars wore the prancing horse badge.
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Number one as I mentioned was the $26 million Ferrari Daytona SP3 coupe right after that
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was Gooding's Cal Spyder.
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Third place was the F40 LM GTC coupe offered by RM at $11 million and then the F50
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just over $9 million.
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Number five was the Bugatti Devo coupe from Bonham's for $8.5 and that's the top five.
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Now clearly modern halo cars and rear competition Ferraris carry today but what about the golden
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age classics from the 1950s and the 1960s?
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I get this question a lot especially when I'm judging Ferraris at Hillsboro or at
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Cavalino and it's interesting because it goes right back to who the Ferrari buyers
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If you think about it when you see someone chasing a Ferrari nowadays it's not the older
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stuff it's not the stuff from the 50s and the 60s it's the 80s 90s and 2000s.
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So for the 1950s Ferraris just five of the 11 cars on offer sold and every one of them
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hammered below the low estimate.
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A clear sign that while blue chip names attract attention such as Ferrari the market
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is becoming increasingly selective in this segment.
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Now how about 1960s Ferraris I'm thinking GTO's short wheel bases.
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The results are more encouraging with 15 of 25 cars sold still 10 sold under the low estimate
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while only four exceeded their high estimates showing that even within Ferraris most celebrated
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decade buyers are exercising discipline.
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Now what are some collector takeaways?
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Modern icons think LaFraria Aperta's F50s F40LMs and rare competition Ferraris continue
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to command top dollar and drive bidding wars.
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1960s models are still moving but buyers are pickier only the very best examples are breaking
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Now quick caution flag here 1950s Ferraris are struggling with every sale below estimate
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signaling a cooling demand for this era.
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Now for sellers if you have a modern halo car or a rare competition Ferrari the market
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is primed for great results.
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These recollection leans towards the 1950s now may be the right time to consider selling
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before selectivity turns into market softness.
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I hate to see that because I love those Ferraris from the 1950s and 1960s those are by far
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my favorite Ferraris of all time.
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Now let's talk about muscle cars sports cars and pony cars this one really surprised
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On paper the overall sell through rate for the segment was a modest 66.3% but if
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you dig in a little deeper you'll see that the story is far more interesting.
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Both arms Sotheby's at 66.7% and broad arrow at 18.2% recorded double digit percentages
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of cars selling above their high estimates showing that select offerings had serious
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Now I was not working at Sotheby's this year I was there in person just taking
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it all in and I watched in disbelief as a 1968 Shelby GT500 King of the Road searched to $100,000
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over its $175,000 low estimate only to be followed by a world record result for a 1967 Chevrolet
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Yanco Camaro Super Camaro 450 which hammered for around $300,000 above its low estimate.
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Both were exceptional examples well documented beautifully presented and perfectly timed.
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The message is clear when it comes to American muscle buyers will pay a premium for perfection.
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Here's a few collector takeaways rare highly original or perfectly restored muscle icons
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think Yanco Camaro's Shelby KR's Hemi Mopars are achieving record breaking premiums.
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Now average or over restored examples are struggling keeping the overall sell through
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If you have a true standout car documented provenance top tier restoration or rarity now is an excellent
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time to sell especially with our Sotheby's proven track record in this category.
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Now for buyers the market is bifurcated what does that mean great cars are bringing
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big money while driver quality examples remain affordable relative to recent highs.
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Yeah I love the muscle cars you know I got an unrestored 66.8 GT owned a garage
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that one's super rare that one has great documentation but I am not selling it.
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Now what does this mean for you we just went through a bunch of the results for all the
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auction houses at RM Sotheby's what but what can you take from this the Monterey results
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show a market that is evolving quickly rewarding the best examples shifting momentum towards
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newer icons and reminding us that the right venue makes all the difference as always
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if you're considering selling now's the time to start playing in head.
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RM Sotheby's Scottsdale in Miami auctions in early 2026 will be prime opportunities to
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showcase your car to the right buyers in the right setting.
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So as always feel free to reach out to me directly I'll be glad to review your
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collection discuss timing and help position your car for maximum success.
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It really is a great time we have Hershey coming up here in a few weeks that that
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has locked and loaded not much else for rest of the year except to get ready for the big
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auctions in Q1 of next year.
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So as always thanks for watching thanks for listening thanks for sharing and I will talk
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to all of you next week.
