Monterey Car Week hits new heights in 2024

During the midweek, attendees were dazzled by car shows, concours and new launches. Monday August 12 saw the Classic Porsche event, followed by the Classic Motorsports happening the next day, where a multitude of classic sports cars and exotic automobiles lined-up on Lighthouse Avenue.

Viewing days for the Pebble Beach and the RM Sotheby’s auctions preceded the cars going under the hammer proper, with some stunning lots on show.

The Gooding & Co Pebble Beach Auctions saw over $100m worth of sales going through, the highlight being a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider which went for $14m (£10.5m), as well as a 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport Spider at $5.3m (£4m) and 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta selling for $5.2m.

Meanwhile Ferrari dominated the Sotheby’s auction, with the top seven lots all being Modena machines. The top sale was a stunning 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider by Scaglietti, which was snapped up for $17m (£12m).

At the Mecum sale, the top lot was a sensational 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight, while the Broad Arrow sale was headlined by a $7m (£5.3m) 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Rennversion.

As the racing gathered pace at Laguna Seca, Friday played host to Monterey Car Week’s crown jewel, ‘The Quail – A Motorsports Gathering’. Set amongst the green hills of Carmel Valley, the event shows off some of the rarest cars in the world while also acting as an industry hub for the latest high-end road cars.

The Bonhams Quail auction saw a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L ‘Lusso’ Berlinetta, designed by Pininfarina with coachwork by Scaglietti, as the highlight.

In the road car section there were riches on offer too, from the new Lamborghini Temerario to the boutique Tuthill GT One Porsche ‘retromod’.

Other launches included the electric Rimac Nevara R, which with 2,000bhp can reach 60mph in 1.7sec, and the Touring Superleggera Veloce12, a coachbuilder special based around the Ferrari 550 Maranello GT.

Another notable stand featured the Czinger 21C, which this year became the fastest ever road-going production car to take on the Goodwood Hillclimb, breaking it with an astounding 48.82sec effort.

It did similar at the Circuit of the Americas, setting the fastest road-legal car time there too with a 2min 10.7sec during the Monterey week.

The winner of the Quail Concours event was the stunning 1937 Delahaye Type 145, 12-cylinder Competition – a road car based on Rene Dreyfus’ racer of the same name, with an art deco style bodywork and magnesium V12 engine.

Saturday saw the Concours d’Lemons, celebrating the worst cars out there, with the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance the day after rounding off the brilliant week.

The winner was a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports. It was the first ever from the ‘Preservation’ class – i.e. one that has been unchanged from its original spec – to take overall honours.

It was a fitting end to a momentous Monterey Car Week, one that will no doubt be drawing in the crowds once again next year.