Pebble Beach and Monterey Car Week 2022

The ‘Best of Show’ confetti has settled on the luscious green grass of the Pebble Beach Golf Links and what was one of the best Monterey Car Weeks I can remember has sadly drawn to a close. You only have to glance at the Pebble Beach entry list, both in terms of the cars and their custodians, to see that it remains the most important classic car event in the world. The volume, breadth and quality are peerless.

The mood on the Monterey Peninsula was electric, especially as the incredible results continued to roll in from the numerous collector-car auctions throughout the week. Any initial doubts about the sheer volume of cars offered last week were quickly dispelled. Almost 90-percent found new homes – everything from a 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Tulipwood’ Torpedo to a brand new Porsche 911 992 Carrera. And while trends were clear to see, there is vibrance and real depth to the market at the moment.

If last year’s Monterey collector-car auctions lit the touchpaper for the interest in rare low-mileage modern-era supercars, in 2022 the inferno well and truly blazed, telling of the increasingly younger generation of collectors which continues to enter the market. In fact, we’ve never seen prices like it for these cars – which is why it’s perhaps unsurprising that they – rightly or wrongly – stole all the headlines.

I’ve never seen so many sneakers, ripped jeans and smartphone-wielding influencers. This is also a reflection of the fact that Car Week has turned from a predominantly classic car-oriented series of events into a stage on which the world’s biggest manufacturers choose to reveal their latest and greatest creations.

Let’s not be mistaken – the modern cars made the headlines, but it’s the pre- and post-War classics which remain the most valuable cars in the world…

People might not think they’re selling well because, generally, they fell a touch short or only just met their pre-sale estimates. But that’s just because they used to be flavour of the month so people expect them to be selling for more and more. In reality, they’ve reached their happy place. In reality, it’s telling of the more focused nature of the market – a car with so much as a sniff of a story signals a red flag for collectors – and the auction houses’ obligation to appease sellers. Where the cars sell in relation to their estimates is a great reflection of the market.

Let’s not forget the 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider still sold for 22m dollars. A 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C still sold for 7.595m dollars. A 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 1 still sold for 6.825m dollars. They are incredible sums of money paid for the very best cars.

At this point it’s fair to say we can dispel the myth that the heyday for the pre-War sports car is over. Four of the top 10 cars sold by value in Monterey this year were built before World War Two. Three of them – the 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante, 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Roadster and the 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C ‘Tulipwood’ Torpedo broke the 9m-dollar barrier. And on the concours lawn on Sunday, it was a traditional pre-War winner of the ‘Best of Show’ gong in the shape of the 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo – the most prestigious prize in the collector car world, full-stop. Will that change any time soon? I highly doubt it…

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