Monterey Car Week isn’t just about new car reveals and concept cars. It’s also where some of the world’s most desirable, rare and historically significant machines cross the auction block.
Every year collectors, investors and enthusiasts descend on California hoping to secure a piece of automotive history, whether that’s a Le Mans winner, a homologation hero, a one-off coachbuilt masterpiece or the supercar poster car they dreamed about as a kid.
This year’s auctions delivered everything from multi-million-dollar blue-chip classics to rare modern performance icons, with more automotive bucket-list material than most garages could handle. We’ve sifted through the catalogue and selected the ten cars that had us stopping, zooming in on photos and wondering how we’d explain the purchase to our accountant.
For the purposes of this exercise, USD figures have been converted to Australian dollars at approximately 1 USD = 1.53 AUD and do not include buyer’s premiums, taxes or import costs.
10. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 NART Le Mans
Sold: US$757,500 | Approx. A$1.16 Million
Any L88 Corvette is special. Built as Chevrolet’s thinly disguised race car for the road, only a tiny number left the factory, with the officially rated 430hp figure widely considered one of the greatest understatements in automotive history.
What makes this car truly cool is its link to Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) and its Le Mans history. It isn’t just a Corvette. It’s a Corvette with genuine pedigree from one of motorsport’s most fascinating eras.
Let’s be honest, we’d happily take this over many modern supercars and point it straight at the Phillip Island Classic each March.
9. 2006 Ferrari F430 Manual
Sold: US$841,000 | Approx. A$1.29 Million
There was a time when buyers couldn’t wait to tick the F1 paddle-shift option on their Ferrari order form.
Now those same buyers are probably kicking themselves.
Of the roughly 15,000 F430s produced, only around 10% were fitted with the glorious six-speed gated manual gearbox. Today, that polished metal shift gate is worth almost as much as some entire cars.
Finished with Challenge wheels and showing just 11,717 miles, this is peak analogue Ferrari. A naturally aspirated V8, no hybrid assistance, no touchscreens and one of the most satisfying gearshifts ever fitted to a production car.
The market has spoken. The gated Ferrari is king, with a sale price equivalent to an incredible A$1.3 million.
8. 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO
Sold: US$3.3 Million | Approx. A$5.05 Million
The 599 GTO was Ferrari’s first use of the legendary GTO badge on a road car since the 288 GTO.
That’s a pretty big deal.
Powered by a 6.0-litre V12 derived from the Enzo and producing 661 horsepower, the GTO was effectively Ferrari’s interpretation of a front-engined track weapon.
Even by modern standards it remains brutally fast, outrageously loud and impossibly dramatic.
We suspect plenty of enthusiasts would take a naturally aspirated V12 Ferrari with physical buttons over most modern hypercars, and a hammer price north of A$5 million shows just how special these cars are becoming.
7. 1989 Porsche 959 Sport
Sold: US$5.67 Million | Approx. A$8.68 Million
Before the Nissan GT-R, before the Audi R8 and before hypercars became technology showcases, there was the Porsche 959.
The Sport version is where things become really interesting.
Porsche removed luxury features, stripped weight, sharpened the driving experience and produced just 29 examples. In essence, it became the GT3 RS of the 1980s before anyone even knew what a GT3 RS was.
The 959 redefined performance cars forever and remains one of the most technologically important vehicles ever built.
This example is one of just 11 Sport models finished in Grand Prix White and one of only two known to have been specified with air conditioning. Showing just 4,788km from new and having had only three owners, it’s easy to see why bidding climbed into territory usually reserved for Ferrari F40s and other 1980s poster-car royalty.
6. 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series
Sold: US$1.815 Million | Approx. A$2.78 Million
Want to know what happens when AMG is given complete freedom?
This.
The SLS Black Series took the already spectacular gullwing SLS and transformed it into a snarling, naturally aspirated weapon.
Its hand-built 6.2-litre V8 became more powerful, lighter and louder. Wider guards, a massive rear wing and motorsport-inspired suspension made the Black Series look like it wanted to start a fight with everything around it.
This is one of just five examples finished in Mars Red and shows fewer than 200 miles from new. Essentially a time-capsule Black Series, it’s exactly the sort of car collectors chase and explains why the hammer price pushed towards A$3 million.
5. 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello
Sold: US$610,000 | Approx. A$933,000
Sometimes the coolest car isn’t the most expensive one.
The Ferrari 550 was the car that returned Ferrari to its traditional front-engine V12 GT layout after the Testarossa era.
Long bonnet.
Manual gearbox.
Naturally aspirated V12.
Rear-wheel drive.
That recipe sounds even better in 2026 than it did in 1999.
Compared with modern Ferrari values, the 550 still feels almost attainable. Almost. This particular example, showing just 5,443km from new and Ferrari Classiche certification, may well have set a benchmark for what enthusiasts would consider a “regular” 550 Maranello.
4. 1995 BMW M3 Lightweight
Sold: US$257,600 | Approx. A$394,000
If the letters CSL existed before BMW officially revived them, this was it.
Built specifically for North America, the M3 Lightweight was BMW’s solution to the age-old question:
“What if we took stuff out instead of adding it?”
The answer included aluminium panels, reduced sound insulation, weight-saving measures and iconic Motorsport graphics.
Today it embodies everything enthusiasts love about classic BMW M cars: simplicity, balance and low weight.
No giant grilles required here, and a sale price nudging A$400,000 shows just how much even these once-obtainable track specials have appreciated.
3. Range Rover Matched Pair
2027 Range Rover SV Ultra LWB & 1993 Range Rover Classic
Sold: US$432,000 | Approx. A$661,000
This one wins the award for the coolest concept.
Rather than selling a single vehicle, Range Rover offered a matched pair featuring its latest flagship luxury SUV alongside an impeccably restored 1993 Range Rover Classic.
It’s essentially a rolling demonstration of how far the brand has come in three decades.
One provides every luxury imaginable.
The other reminds us why enthusiasts fell in love with Range Rovers in the first place.
Owning both feels a bit like parking a 992 GT3 next to a 1973 Carrera RS… if you’re a Range Rover enthusiast.
2. 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400
Sold: US$3.85 Million | Approx. A$5.89 Million
The Miura changed everything.
While many manufacturers were still figuring out where to put engines, Lamborghini casually decided to mount a V12 behind the seats and effectively created the modern supercar.
Nearly 60 years later the Miura remains breathtaking.
The eyelashes around the headlights. The impossibly low roofline. The transverse V12 soundtrack.
There are cars that become classics.
Then there are cars that redefine the entire industry.
The Miura sits comfortably in the second category.
This gorgeous P400, finished in period-correct Bleu Miura, ticks just about every box imaginable. It looks every bit the supercar poster that adorned bedroom walls around the world and carries a price tag to match. Then again, in today’s market, compared with an F40 or 959 Sport, it almost looks like value.
1. 1996 McLaren F1 GTR
Sold: US$29.65 Million | Approx. A$45.4 Million
Was it ever going to be anything else?
The McLaren F1 is already considered by many enthusiasts to be the greatest road car ever created.
The GTR takes that recipe and adds endurance racing history and a motorsport pedigree that needs little introduction.
This famous “Pop Art” example is one of just two F1 GTR Short Tail prototypes converted for road use by McLaren itself, making it one of the most significant F1s in existence.
There are rare cars, there are collectible cars, and then there are genuine grails. The McLaren F1 sits firmly in the final category.
At approximately A$45 million before buyer’s premiums, we’re fairly confident this one won’t be appearing at your local Cars & Coffee anytime soon.
Honourable Mentions
A few others narrowly missed our top ten but still had us reaching for the calculator:
1992 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
Sold: US$885,000 | Approx. A$1.35 Million
The purest expression of the 964 generation and a perennial dream garage candidate.
1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8
Sold: US$2.3 Million | Approx. A$3.52 Million
Wide-bodied, rare and one of the ultimate air-cooled Rennsport models.
1995 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8
Sold: US$2.1 Million | Approx. A$3.21 Million
Peak 993-era homologation special before Porsche went water-cooled.
2020 McLaren Speedtail
Sold: US$2.0 Million | Approx. A$3.06 Million
The spiritual successor to the F1, complete with central driving position and incredible top-speed capability.
1996 Ferrari F50
Sold: US$6.16 Million | Approx. A$9.42 Million
Formula One technology for the road and arguably the most underrated Ferrari halo car.
1991 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V
Sold: US$72,800 | Approx. A$111,000
Proof you don’t need twelve cylinders, carbon fibre or seven-figure values to be cool.
1979 Mercedes-Benz 280TE Wagon
Sold: US$78,400 | Approx. A$120,000
Because every enthusiast secretly wants an old European wagon, even if they won’t admit it.
Together, these ten cars represent almost every corner of enthusiast culture.
Le Mans legends. Homologation heroes. Analog Ferraris. Air-cooled Porsches. Hypercar royalty.
Some sold for more than the average Melbourne house.
Others sold for more than an entire Melbourne street.
Would we have found room in the Famous garage for every single one?
Absolutely.
Could we afford any of them?
Let’s just say we’ll keep buying Lotto tickets.
And that’s half the magic of Monterey Car Week. For one week every year, enthusiasts everywhere get to dream just a little bit bigger.
*Vehicle information, specifications, provenance details, imagery and sale results have been sourced from publicly available auction catalogues and results published by RM Sotheby’s, Mecum Auctions and Gooding Christie’s. Sale prices quoted represent reported hammer prices only and do not include buyer’s premiums, taxes, duties, shipping or import costs. Australian dollar figures are approximate and based on exchange rates at the time of publication. Information is believed to be accurate at the time of writing.
