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CNBC
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CNBC
Monterey classic car auctions kick off, and sales expectations are tepid
Up to $400 million worth of classic cars will roll across the auction block in Monterey and Pebble Beach this week, marking the biggest test of the year for the collectible car market and wealthy owners. An estimated 1,140 classic cars will come up for sale at Monterey Car Week, the annual gathering of classic car collectors from around the world. The sales total is estimated to come in between $367 million and $409 million, according to Hagerty. The midpoint of that range, at $388 million, would mark the third year of declines in sales, and an 18% drop from the recent peak of $471 million in 2022. The high end of the market is the weakest. The Monterey auctions – held by RM Sotheby's, Gooding & Co., Mecum, Bonhams and others – have traditionally featured at least a half-dozen cars priced at $10 million or more. This year there's only one – the fewest in over a decade. The average sale price has dropped to $473,000 this year from $477,000 last year. "Pebble Beach is the annual health check on the market," said Simon Kidston, a classic car advisor and dealer. "Everybody waits to see what happens at Pebble Beach before committing to a major decision the rest of the year." Like the art market and other types of collectibles, classic cars have been in slow decline since the pandemic rally in 2021 and 2022. Collectibles prices are down 2.7% over the past 12 months, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. Classic car prices are down 0.2% overall – better than the 20% drop in the art market but not as strong as jewelry (up 2.5%) or coins (up 13%). Classic car dealers and auctioneers blame global uncertainty, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with weakness in China. Higher interest rates are also a factor, raising the opportunity cost of buying a classic car, since risk-free cash still earns over 4% or more. Some also point to a surging stock market for the past three years, which makes collectibles relatively less attractive. The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them. Subscribe here to get access today. Yet experts say the biggest reason for the classic car slowdown is a generational shift. Baby boomers, who have powered the classic car market for decades, are aging out or downsizing. The new generation of millennials and Gen Zers, who are coming into wealth and collecting, want newer and fewer collectible cars. The shift is expected to accelerate as an estimated $100 trillion is passed from older to younger generations, giving fuel to the new breed of collector. "It's a big rotation," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty, the classic car insurance, auction and events company. "Some of the older-guard collectors are framing it, 'The market is soft at the top end.' But here's a lot of depth in this market. It's just rotating to younger buyers and newer cars." That rotation has left the market for 1950s and 1960s cars with oversupply and falling prices. Many baby boomers are trying to clear their garages and sell, while others are passing their cars on to their kids, who often don't share the same passion. Gooding & Co. is selling three Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders this week, including the most expensive lot of the week, a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider with an alloy body and original hardtop estimated at over $20 million. "Cal Spiders," as they're known, were made famous in the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," have long been a rare and special sighting at auctions. Seeing three at the same auction series is highly unusual. Kidston said the alloy body Cal Spider would have likely fetched $25 million to $30 million a few years ago. "It's one of the great road cars of all time," he said. "It has intrinsic value, with provenance, sophistication, beauty and usability." Prices and demand for many cars that are over 50 years old are down as much as 20% to 30% from the peaks, dealers and brokers say. "It's just the question of what clears the market, and can their egos handle it," Hagerty said. "If it's an $18 million car, and it becomes a $13 million car, it's still a multimillion-dollar car, which is pretty amazing." Hagerty said that falling prices have driven more sales to the private market, directly between buyer and seller, rather than to the auctions. Sellers with prominent cars don't want their discounted sales prices to be public, so they opt to sell privately. "That way nobody has to feel embarrassed," Hagerty said. "We're seeing a surprisingly large amount of private sales. Sometimes a car will hit the market and sell in a couple of hours and close by the end of the day." At the same time, auctions of newer super cars are skyrocketing. Millennials and Gen Zers are bidding up prices for rare cars from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. They also prefer cars that are more affordable and practical. Rather than keeping a $10 million 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta locked up in a private Garage Mahal, the new breed wants post-1980s Porsches, BMWs and later-model Ferraris they can enjoy every day and not have to constantly repair. Along with affordable exotics, young collectors are also paying up for supercars, especially rare and highly specific Paganis, Bugattis and Rufs, the boutique German builder. A 1989 Ruf CTR "Yellowbird" sold in March for a record $6 million at Gooding & Co. at the Amelia Island sales. Two years ago, the average model year of the cars being sold at Pebble was 1964. This year it's 1974, which still underestimates the bar-bell distribution of cars from the 1950s at one end and the 1980s and 1990s cars at the other. Sales of modern supercars — defined as those from 1975 or later – will likely overtake sales of so-called "Enzo-era" Ferraris (made before 1988) at Monterey for the first time, according to Hagerty. Some experts even worry that the modern supercar segment has become over-inflated and speculative. Like momentum trades in the stock market, which retail investors buy on the basic premise that someone else will buy it for more, modern supercars seem to be rising indiscriminately. "If it's all solely reduced to what is more saleable, then collecting becomes very superficial," Kidston said. "I don't believe collecting should be ruled by investing. You should keep an eye on the financial implications of what you buy. But it should not be the be-all and end-all. Otherwise it just becomes like bitcoin." Here are the top lots from Monterey Car Week, compiled by Hagerty: Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at more than $20 million Sold by RM Sotheby's, estimated at $8.5 million to $9.5 million Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $8 million to $10 million Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $8 million to $10 million Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $7.5 million to $9 million Sold by Bonhams, estimated at $7 million to $9 million
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The 5 Most Exciting Cars Headed to Auction at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este
While it's commonly held that the collector-car microcosm revolves around Northern California's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, another exhibition has comparable gravitational pull when it comes to attracting the finest automobiles in the world: the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The latter, founded in 1929 at its namesake hotel flanking Italy's Lake Como, differs from its stateside counterpart in that it displays no more than 50 rarefied examples of the most prestigious classic models—and to a limited number of cognoscenti. This year, the four-wheel fete (running May 23 through 25) has brought Broad Arrow Auctions into its orbit for a two-day sale. 'Villa d'Este is the grandest of Concours d'Elegance and the oldest,' says Simon Kidston, renowned Geneva-based collector, market analyst, and purveyor of classic cars. 'Broad Arrow are the new kids on the auction block, so I think it's a cocktail which should produce some fireworks.' Here, his insights on five stellar lots—each promising its own moment of spectacle. More from Robb Report Two Former 'American Idol' Producers Are Auctioning Off Their 160-Acre Paso Robles Vineyard Estate This One-of-a-Kind Porsche Could Fetch Up to $1.7 Million at Auction Prime Living, Perfectly Presented: A London Square Showcase Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article. One of the first two Prancing Horses ever sold by Enzo Ferrari, this 166 Spyder Corsa—chassis No. 004 C—was originally purchased in 1948 by Soave Besana (his brother Gabriele got the other). Bodied by Carrozzeria Ansaloni and born to race, the roadster took sixth place at that year's Targa Florio, competed in consecutive Mille Miglia endurance contests, and was campaigned in numerous other motorsport events. Retaining its original body, engine, and gearbox, it's touted by the auction house as 'quite possibly the most original early Ferrari extant,' which easily explains its class win at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. 'The origin of the species, but not what the younger generation of collectors think when they hear 'Ferrari,' ' says Kidston. 'They should be worth more than they are: This will need someone small of stature but big of wallet,' he says of the diminutive car, which is being auctioned for the first time. Estimate: Approx. $6 million to $8.1 million Number build: Nine Engine: 2.0-liter Colombo V-12 Output: 108 hp Top Speed: 105 mph Debuted in 1947, French marque Talbot-Lago's short-wheelbase T26 Grand Sport was, for a fleeting span, the fastest production car on the planet. Only 32 chassis of the model were made, each mated to a six-cylinder power plant. Chassis No. 110102 was one of two dressed by coachbuilder Dubos Frères, and the only one still with us. An award-winner at the 1949 Concours d'Élégance du Bois de Boulogne, it was later bought and raced in period by sports-car dealer Otto Zipper before moving on to multiple owners and receiving a frame-off restoration in 1997. 'Dubos isn't Figoni & Falaschi, the most flamboyant and sought-after coachbuilder to body these cars, but it's a lot (literally) of car to get you on the lawn at the world's top-flight concours events,' says Kidston. Regarding the dashboard alone, he refers to it as 'Gallic eccentricity at its stylish best.' Estimate: Approx. $1.3 million to $1.6 million Number build: 32 Engine: 4.5-liter, six-cylinder twin cam Output: 190 hp Top Speed: 120+ mph Carrying on the legacy of Ford's GT40 race car, storied for its milestone podium sweep over Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, the Blue Oval marque reimagined the model as the first-generation Ford GT in 2004. A second generation was revealed 11 years later, then fittingly introduced as an entry in the 2016 edition of Le Mans, taking first and third in the LMGTE Pro class. Production of the street-legal iteration yielded 1,350 examples, and the one set to cross the auction block through Broad Arrow—consigned by the original owner—was specified for Italy and is pristine, with only 33 miles on it (at the time of cataloging). 'Another area Broad Arrow are making their own: modern hypercars,' says Kidston. 'This one has great colors and virtually negative mileage, the ultimate trump card amongst owners… and the price is keen. Don't tell anybody, but I actually quite like it.' Estimate: Approx. $569,000 to $678,000 Number build: 1,350 Engine: Twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 Output: 660 hp Top Speed: 216 mph Motorsport ventured gloriously off the beaten path in the 1970s with the introduction of the World Rally Championship series. Citroën's factory team campaigned this ZX Rallye Raid car—Citroën Sport No. C05—through four seasons. Highlights of its career include a fourth-place finish at the 1990 Pharaohs Rally, third place at the same race the following year, and finishes in three consecutive variations of the famed Paris-Dakar Rally, where sixth place in 1991 was its best result. After being sequestered by Citroën for nearly two decades, the car was acquired privately in 2011 and given a ground-up restoration. It has since competed in the Goodwood Festival of Speed and been presented at the Salon Privé Concours d'Elegance. 'Definitely one for the video-game generation,' says Kidston. 'Broad Arrow are strong in this niche, and it'll be interesting to see if this flies on the auction podium as it once did on gravel.' Estimate: Approx. $515,000 to $569,000 Number build: Believed to be 29 Engine: Turbocharged inline four Output: 320 hp Top Speed: 127 mph Rivaling the open-top Mercedes-Benz 300 SL in beauty if not brawn, BMW's 507 Series II Roadster is far more difficult to find, as only 252 were built from 1955 though 1959. Due to its ethereal styling (from prolific designer Albrecht Graf Goertz) manifested in hand-formed aluminum, the car was coveted—and acquired—by the glitterati of the day, including Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress, and the King of Belgium. Chassis No. 70127 was under the attentive stewardship of the same family for 46 years and has had just two owners since. Considered BMW's 'ultimate model,' by Kidston, he points out that it 'almost bankrupt the company as it went so far over budget.' As for the drive experience, it 'feels and sounds like a Riva speedboat behind the wheel, the ultimate 'Deutsche Vita' cruiser,' he says, further opining that 'adding non-original wheels is a small black mark, but one of the iconic models any collector would like to own.' Estimate: $2.1 million to $2.5 million Number build: 252 Engine: 3.2-liter overhead-valve V-8 Output: 148 hp Top Speed: 127 mph
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Ferrari 296 Speciale in Photos
More from Robb Report Classic-Car Expert Simon Kidston on U.S. Tariffs, Collecting, and Why the Mille Miglia Beats Le Mans Ferrari's First EV Might Have Synthetic Gears How the Mazda Miata Became the Best-Selling Roadster in History Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article. The Ferrari 296 Speciale from the rear. The Ferrari 296 Speciale from above. The Ferrari 296 Speciale's interior and racing seats. The Ferrari 296 Speciale from the rear left. The Ferrari 296 Speciale's interior and steering wheel.
