A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The classic car auctions in Monterey could reach a record $500 million this week, as the tech boom and a wave of new collectors drive up the prices of modern supercars.
The auctions during Monterey Car Week, the annual extravaganza of classic car auctions, shows, races and awards, are expected to reach $470 million to $500 million, according to Hagerty. The total is likely to surpass the all-time record of $471 million, set in 2022, and would mark the continued rebound of a market that declined in 2023 and 2024 but snapped back during Monterey last year.
"With strong bidding, this could be the first half-billion-dollar auction week the collector world has ever seen," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty, the classic car insurance, auction and events company.
Like the stock market, however, the headline strength of the classic car market hides growing volatility and a massive market rotation below the surface. A new generation of millennials and Gen Zers is taking over the collecting market from baby boomers. Rather than buying the 1950s and 1960s cars favored by older generations, new buyers are bidding up modern supercars from their own youth.
Models like the Ferrari F40, F50 and Enzo, the Bugatti Veyron, Ruf Yellowbirds, Koenigseggs and Paganis are seeing parabolic price gains, with many doubling in price over the past two years, according to industry data.
The most expensive car coming up for sale in Monterey is a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, estimated to fetch $35 million at RM Sotheby's. A 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 could also be in the top 10 this year, estimated at more than $10 million at RM Sotheby's. In previous years, the vast majority the top 10 sellers in Monterey were models from the 1950s or '60s.
