Monterey Car Week — basically the Super Bowl week of the auto world — is upon us.
Though it culminates with what is widely considered the most prestigious car competition, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, on Sunday, the days leading up to the event are jam-packed with big classic car auctions, new luxury auto reveals, and a ton of automotive news and CEO talk.
Here are the three biggest things to watch this week from California:
Auction action and priceless vehicles
Classic and vintage car aficionados with big eyes and even bigger bank accounts flock to Monterey Car Week like the swallows of San Juan Capistrano.
The biggest auto auctioneers in the world — RM Sotheby's, Mecum, Bonhams, and the official auctioneer of Pebble Beach, Gooding & Company — will sell off hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of classic and vintage automobiles.
Classic car insurer Hagerty, which has gotten into the auction game with its purchase of Broad Arrow Auctions, sees a lucrative weekend ahead for the auction houses.
Read more: What classic car insurance covers — and doesn’t
“Hagerty estimates between $430 million and $488 million (or an average of $459 million) could be sold at the upcoming sales at the five auctions including Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Co., Mecum, and RM Sotheby’s,” Hagerty CEO McKeel Hagerty said to Yahoo Finance. “Last year, those five houses sold just over $403 million. The previous record was $471.2 million in 2022.”
By Monday evening, the industry will have a total dollar figure in hand — a key barometer of where the classic car market is headed for those in the alternative investment world. The competition and class winners at Pebble Beach are often sold later at auction in Monterey.
Splashy reveals
Of course, it’s not just old, priceless autos that will be on display this week on Pebble Beach’s 18th green. A number of luxury and exotic automakers leverage the publicity — and, of course, the high-net-worth buyers milling about Monterey — to unveil their latest and greatest creations.
Among the highly anticipated new car reveals are Lamborghini’s successor to the Huracan, Lincoln's new Navigator SUV, and a few of Mercedes' ultra-luxury Maybach creations. Also: Cadillac with its Sollei EV convertible (A $300K-plus price tag, kids!), and the North American debut of Bentley’s stunning Continental GT, powered by a hybrid V8 (Notice a trend here?).
In the EV world, Pininfarina will show off its just-launched Battista Targamerica — a gorgeous one-off drop-top supercar that will cost around $2.2 million. In the more modestly priced world, Lucid will show Monterey attendees the new Gravity EV SUV at the Concept Lawn at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
Many of these cars will be unveiled at private events over the week or at "The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering," held at the exclusive Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel-by-the-Sea on Friday.
Big names in the auto world
Many CEOs are number crunchers and/or adherents of arcane management philosophies like Six Sigma. In the auto world? Well, most of them are car people.
And they're here to show off their new wares.
Ford CEO Jim Farley not only used to restore classic cars, but he also raced them at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca Raceway. He'll unveil the new Lincoln Navigator, an uber-important vehicle for Ford’s premium mark.
Lamborghini’s Stephan Winkelmann will also be on hand to debut the Huracan successor. Winkelmann was responsible for the Italian automaker’s big splash into SUVs with the Urus. The continued electrification of the brand through hybrids and, eventually, fully electric vehicles will be closely watched.
McLaren CEO Michael Leiters, meanwhile, has his hands full taking the British supercar maker to the next level as it takes on Ferrari. We'll hear from him on what’s next in customer racing and how his company's new models will compete with its Italian rival based in Maranello.
Then there's GM president Mark Reuss. He'll be in attendance to talk about the Sollei and all things Cadillac. Reuss, who many suspect may succeed GM CEO Mary Barra, has had a hand in pushing the boundaries of many innovative GM creations. A little bird tells Yahoo Finance that Corvette’s new “king of the hill” will be in Monterey: the 1000 HP ZR1, another special vehicle Reuss helped get to production.
Of course, notable execs from Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley will also be on the grounds. So, stick to Yahoo Finance for all the coverage this weekend in Monterey — and interviews with big-name CEOs.
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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