Monterey Car Week auctions could hit a record $500 million, with help from younger buyers

The classic car auctions in Monterey could reach a record $500 million this week, as the tech boom and a wave of new collectors drive up the prices of modern supercars.

The auctions during Monterey Car Week, the annual extravaganza of classic car auctions, shows, races and awards, are expected to reach $470 million to $500 million, according to Hagerty. The total is likely to surpass the all-time record of $471 million, set in 2022, and would mark the continued rebound of a market that declined in 2023 and 2024 but snapped back during Monterey last year.

"With strong bidding, this could be the first half-billion-dollar auction week the collector world has ever seen," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty, the classic car insurance, auction and events company.

Like the stock market, however, the headline strength of the classic car market hides growing volatility and a massive market rotation below the surface. A new generation of millennials and Gen Zers is taking over the collecting market from baby boomers. Rather than buying the 1950s and 1960s cars favored by older generations, new buyers are bidding up modern supercars from their own youth.

Models like the Ferrari F40, F50 and Enzo, the Bugatti Veyron, Ruf Yellowbirds, Koenigseggs and Paganis are seeing parabolic price gains, with many doubling in price over the past two years, according to industry data.

The most expensive car coming up for sale in Monterey is a 1996 McLaren F1 GTR, estimated to fetch $35 million at RM Sotheby's. A 2023 Ferrari Daytona SP3 could also be in the top 10 this year, estimated at more than $10 million at RM Sotheby's. In previous years, the vast majority the top 10 sellers in Monterey were models from the 1950s or '60s.

So-called "Boomer cars," which drove the market for decades, are now in decline. The Hagerty Blue Chip Index, which represents the top traditional collector cars, fell 2% over the past 12 months. The Hagerty Supercar Index, meanwhile, surged 30% over the same period.

The younger market has brought new risks. Some classic car experts and dealers say prices for modern supercars are unsustainable and defy traditional collecting metrics, such as proven race histories, scarcity, enduring value and global appeal.

Many millennial and Gen Z collectors also view collector cars as speculative trades rather than long-term stores of value. Young collectors rarely drive the cars, to avoid adding mileage, dealers say. And they often flip them for quick profits.

"There is a huge amount of speculation in that part of the market," said Simon Kidston, the classic car dealer and advisor. "It's been very frothy and created some inexplicable price imbalances to anyone who has long-term experience in the market."

In January, a 2003 yellow Ferrari Enzo sold at Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee for $17.9 million – nearly triple the previous record price for an Enzo. In March, at Broad Arrow's auction at Amelia Island, a 2003 black Enzo went for $15.2 million and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT sold for $6.7 million, more than doubling the previous auction record for a Carrera GT.

The Bugatti Veyron, Koenigsegg CC8S, Ford GT and Mercedes Benz SLS AMG Black Series are all seeing big price spikes. Ferrari F40s are among the most prized, despite the fact that Ferrari made more than 1,300 of them. An F40 LM went for $11 million at RM Sotheby's in Monterey last year.