Superlative horsepower show: These were the highlights of Monterey Car Week 2022
While the automotive industry in large parts of the world is groaning under the consequences of digital transformation, electrification, inflation and supply bottlenecks, a superlative horsepower festival was celebrated in California: Monterey Car Week, which attracts everyone's attention every year in August. Although traditional trade fairs such as the Geneva Motor Show were completely canceled or at least saw a significant decline in exhibitors, the organizers of Monterey Car Week were barely able to save themselves from inquiries. On the one hand, this is due to the ambiance, as Monterey Car Week is not held in a dusty exhibition hall, but includes almost 30 events throughout the region in California. These include car shows, races, auctions, art and lectures and, of course, the world-famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, in which countless, remarkable blue chip collector cars compete for class and overall victories. On the other hand, there is the high-class exhibitor program, which caters to a wide variety of tastes.
Highlight for fans of classic cars and new products
Monterey offers classic cars of all price and ages, super sports cars, dazzling luxury limousines and prototypes, as well as quirky and dented automobiles. This mix gives Monterey Car Week its very special charm.
The superclass PS event essentially consists of the following individual events:
- The Quail
The Quail is a motor show limited to 200 cars that takes place at Quail Lodge & Golf Club. Admission costs 1500 dollars euros, the waiting list is long and access is strictly limited. Supposedly, only 3500 visitors are allowed to set foot on the exclusive green. In contrast to the Pebble Beach Contest, The Quail vehicles are not rated.
- Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is the final event of the Automobile Week. A good 200 examples of the top international collector cars from 21 countries and 32 US states gathered at the last Monterey Car Week to win the coveted title of “Best of Show” at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2022. After starting in Pebble Beach, the route takes you along the legendary 17-Mile Drive and the breathtaking Highway 1 along the Pacific coast towards Big Sur. The parade then returns to Pebble Beach to pass the Rolex destination portal. That year, a 1932 Duesenberg J Figoni Sports Torpedo, exhibited by Lee R. Anderson Sr., was named “Best of Show.”
- Concours d'Lemons
The Concours d'Lemons is the relaxed but equally interesting counterevent to Pebble Beach. Some scrap-ready but definitely bizarre, beloved and drivable cars are pitted against each other.
- New presentations
At Monterey Car Week, however, not only exclusive blue chip collector vehicles but also pioneering electric models are now being unveiled: In 2022, for example, Polestar delighted automotive fans with its future convertible - the Polestar 6. Lucid Motors is showing the top model Sapphire with over 1,000 hp. And on the occasion of the 103-year anniversary of the company, Bentley was right there 103 top vehicles represented in Monterey - including the Mulliner Batur ultra luxury model for just under two million euros each.
- auctions
In view of the numerous, well-off visitors, auction houses such as Sothebys, Goodings or Bonhams are of course also starting in Monterey - and even set a new record in 2022. The The total turnover of the auctions in Monterey was almost half a billion dollars and thus exceeded the previous record set in 2015, which was 395 million dollars.
These were the top 5 classic cars of Monterey Car Week 2022
In total, more than 790 vehicles changed hands during Monterey Car Week 2022 at an average price of 590,000 dollars. More than 110 cars were sold in a single weekend for more than a million dollars each. While the classics from the 30s and 50s achieved the highest sales, the super sports cars of the 80s and 90s continued to soar at a slightly lower level.
In the end, the hit list of the five most expensive collector vehicles looked like this:
- 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider, 22,005,000 dollars
It was and is a racing sports car with an impressive history and the same design. Only four examples of this type were built, and the car auctioned off in Monterey is by far the most successful of the quartet. The car competed in just under 40 races between 1956 and 1958, taking eleven victories and 19 podium finishes. The legendary US racing driver Carroll Shelby achieved his breakthrough with this Ferrari.
- 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coupé, 10,345,000 dollars
Only four examples of this model were also built between 1936 and 1938. Three of the unusual coupes still exist. They are considered to be the most expensive cars in the world. The fourth Atlantic is still being searched for - but it could have been scrapped before the Second World War.
- 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Roadster, 9,905,000 dollars
Of the 419s built in Sindelfingen, only a handful left the factory in the “Special Roadster” version. The papers of the Mercedes-Benz auctioned off in Monterey also included a noble first owner: King Mohammed Zahir, Shah of Afghanistan.
- 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Torpedo, 9,245,000 dollars
With its planned timber structure, the Hispano-Suiza H6C Torpedo, once made for racing driver André Dubonnet, is still a fascinating piece of automotive history today. The ultralight body was handmade from tulip wood by Nieuport, the manufacturer of fighter 28 used in air combat during World War I. It was built on an H6C Boulogne chassis powered by an 8-liter H6C engine with 45 hp.
- 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC Spider, 7,815,000 dollars
At least around 19 units of this model were built. The legendary in-line four-cylinder racing car took home trophies at several events in Europe - including a class win at Le Mans in 1957. In the 500 TRC, the number “500” still stands for the (up) rounded engine capacity per single cylinder, “TR” stands for “Testa Rossa” and the attached “C” means “Appendix C” of the FIA sports car regulations or for the word “clienti” (Italian for “customer”). This was an indication that the 500 TRC was developed specifically for the needs of small racing teams and private drivers.
Blue chip cars: Prestige property and portfolio component
The auctions in Monterey are regarded worldwide as the most important test for the classic vehicle market and this time showed more than clearly that wealthy classic car collectors have money loose despite (or because of) inflation, fear of recession and stock market bear market.
That is more obvious than it seems at first glance. Because classic cars as collector's property and investment are coveted, scarce and therefore expensive tangible assets that are not only subject to slight price fluctuations, but are even subject to slight price fluctuations high increases in value can have.
Of course, very few investors have millions worth of money for blue chip vehicles “on the high edge.” That is why offers FINEXITY Classic car fans and interested investors now have low-threshold access to this attractive market. Using digital shares, investors can put together a diversified portfolio of tangible assets starting at just 500 euros, which, in addition to automotive legends, can also include art, collectibles, musical instruments and real estate.
