Monterey Auctions 2025: 12 months on from a ‘challenging’ season of sales, in less than a month’s time the biggest week in the classic car auction calender kicks off again. It’s the place where the biggest deals are made, the most storied cars come to light and the attention of buyers, sellers and auctioneers are focused.
Last year saw a sharp decline at the top end of the market, as reported here. There was just a 52 percent sell-through rate on cars costing $1 million or more, a significant drop from 63 percent in 2023 and way below the highs of 80 percent in the years prior to that. However, that was only part of the story – a lot of cars missed their pre-sale estimate by a huge margin. Time will tell if sellers and auctioneers have been more realistic this year.
After all, the world has changed in so many ways over the past 12 months, both in the classic car domain and in a wider sense. Whatever your political views of the US, any market doesn’t like instability – and even though classic cars appear to have gotten off from tariffs relatively unscathed, the wider economic outlook, and even domestic policy, could play a part. On the other hand, the crypto market appears to be booming (well, at the time of writing) with further absorption into the mainstream financial world – could some cold wallets be getting somewhat warm in the pursuit of modern classics?
Then there’s the goings-on in the classic car world. Gooding has partnered with Christie’s, Bonhams appears to have regrouped and Broad Arrow continues to expand, while RM Sotheby’s produces an ongoing conveyor belt of very important cars. However, the Monterey Auctions 2025 will be a fascinating set of events in terms of approach: while many point to last year’s actual results being in line with a growth line, removing the ‘mad boom’ years, these events involve huge amounts of capital expenditure in terms of transport, insurance, staffing and marketing; some auction companies were hit far worse than others in 2024 simply through staging costs.
However, the Monterey Auctions 2025 will still revolve around the important bit – the cars. We’ve already brought you an early preview here, but as the commission deadlines start to close across Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding Christie’s, Mecum and RM Sotheby’s, let’s take a look at some of the most tantalising lots from across all five players.
Bonhams
Bonhams had an absolute shocker of a sale last year, especially in the $1m-plus domain. At the time of writing the auction house had revealed just 32 lots, of which it had announced only four pre-sale estimates (and one of those was for a bar made out of an old boat). However, Bonhams has just had a very successful Goodwood Festival of Speed sale, with several estimate-busting results that put the grand old name back into mainstream news circulation thanks to its Veyron and Fast & Furious Mazda RX-7 results. Last year’s sale was largely saved by the presence of American metal, and this year’s there are several home-grown heroes in the auction. However, there are some Group B rallying monsters to savour, too.
But first, let’s look at the above 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom Derby Speedster. First owned by California sugar heir Howard Spreckels, it’s being offered from the Robert M and Anne Brockinton Lee collection. Bodied by Brewster in New York, it is unusual in featuring a rear seat cowl with a fixed vee windshield. It appeared in the Ginger Rogers film Chance at Heaven in 1933, although after Spreckels subsequently passed away its history was unknown until Sam Ornstein sold it to Robert M Lee in 1990. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
Bonhams had yet to go into precise details on a number of cars at the time of writing, but Magneto has been able to piece together some of the history for this 1983 Porsche/Fabcar 935/84. It was campaigned by Bob Akin through the 1984 season, even though it made its debut at the Daytona Finale three-hour race in October 1983; its second-place finish for Akin and John O’Steen would be the car’s best result. It featured a Kremer K4 nose, Kremer K3 front suspension and a Moby Dick rear set-up. Over the season, Akin and O’Steen shared driving duties with Bobby Rahal and Hans-Joachim Stuck, with the latter aiding a fifth-place finish at the Sebring 12 Hours.
In 1985 Jim Mullen, Kees Nierop and Ray McIntyre took fifth place at the Daytona 24 Hours in silver Polo Ralph Lauren colours. Its last known outing was at the Sebring 12 Hours in 1986, with entrant Jerry Kendall teaming up with Dave White and Werner Frank, although it failed to finish. In more recent years it was driven by Patrick Long at the Rennsport Reunion VI.
Moving on to another German icon of 1980s motor sport, the Monterey Auctions 2025 feature what could be a unique opportunity – one of 20 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2s, and one of only a handful ex-Works cars not kept by Audi itself. Details from Bonhams were scarce at the time of writing, but the chassis number reveals that this particular car was driven on the 1985 Lombard RAC Rally by Hannu Mikkola alongside Arne Hertz. Although it led the rally at one stage, it was forced to retire on stage 22 with engine gremlins – and that was the Audi’s sole competitive outing.
After being used as a test car for the 1986 Rallye de Portugal, it was sold to Berlin-based Michael Gabel in 1987. He had Audi adapt the car for road use with a fly-off handbrake, glass side windows and an opaque rear screen to avoid glare. It was acquired by Eckard Homan in 1998 and used in several Slowly Sideways events, before being bough by German rally driver Armin Schwarz. He continued to demonstrate the car, and had the engine overhauled by Lehmann Motoren-Technik AG, before selling it to Spaniard Teo Martin in 2012, after which it had a full restoration. It joined The Gran Turismo Collection in 2020, and last sold at auction in 2022 for £1,805,000 at the RM Sotheby’s London sale. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
If your tastes for Group B aren’t quite so extreme, Bonhams also has this road-going 1985 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16. Again, official auction details are scarce, but a search via the chassis number reveals it was sold by Bonhams at The Quail in 2017. Believed to be one of two sold to Germany, it was owned by Uwe Ohlsen Automobile in Heidelberg with 700km on the clock when the then vendor acquired it in 1997. When put up for sale in 2017 it had covered 1113km, and now in 2025 it wears 3216km. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
We return to Rolls-Royce with this 1965 Silver Cloud III LWB Saloon. Chassis LCEL61 was built to order for Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran with special items such as a division window, flagstaff mounted behind the radiator mascot, ‘tropicalised’ cooling system and manual windows. It eventually found its way to New Jersey once royal duties were terminated. It’s been lightly recommissioned after long-term storage, and is estimated at between $125k and $175k.
Other Bonhams highlights include a 1934 Delage D8-15 Conduite Intérieure Saloon, a 1984 Nissan Skyline RS Turbo ‘Type DR30’ Group A touring car that won the All Japan Touring Car Championship, a white 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, the final Ferrari 250 Europa GT built, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window and a 1969 Plymouth Hemi Roadrunner (no estimates released).
Broad Arrow
Broad Arrow returns to the Monterey Jet Center with a varied lot list that, at the time of writing, comprises 166 lots. It’s led by a US-market 1991 Ferrari F40 (est $3.35m-$3.5m) and a 2018 Bugatti Chiron (est $3m-$3.5m), but it is the third car on the list that could yet prompt the biggest upset – even at an estimate of $3m-$3.5m. This is one of only 14 Ruf CTR2s (out of 29 in total) to receive the Sport lightweight package – lighter, wider and with a 580bhp engine derived from the air-cooled flat-six of a Group C Porsche 962.
Ordered by Frank Beddor – of the Beddor family who took on Pikes Peak 1997 in prototype Ruf CTR2s – it is one of four with four-wheel drive. Beddor kept the car until 2007, selling it to Richard Gundeck of New Jersey. It was treated to upgrades and a cosmetic refresh after an incident in transport, including a green leather interior. Follwoing a spell in two more collections, it’s offered for sale with 16,679 miles on the clock and fresh from a service at Ruf North America.
Further Ruf highlights include a 2011 RT Roadster (est $900k-$1.2m) and a 1987 Carrera 3.4 ‘Goldfinger’ (est $850k-$1.1m), while other notable Porsches include a 1991 Singer DLS (est $2.9m-$3/2m), a 1983 Porsche-Kremer CK5 Group C endurance racer (est $800k-$950k), a 1997 993 Turbo S (est $650k-$750k) and a 1957 356 A Carrera GT/GT Lightweight (est $900k-$1.2m).
Broad Arrow is bringing a host of Enzo-era Ferraris to the Monterey Auctions 2025 season: two 275 GTB/4s, two 250 GT Berlinetta Lussos, a 330 GTC, a white 365 GTB/4 Daytona and several Dino 246s – two in GTS form and one GT. In all there are 25 Ferraris of all kinds to choose from, but perhaps the most intriguing is this 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider. Chassis 14813, number 21 of 121 built, has had just three owners from new and was first delivered in Giallo Dino over beige Connolly leather via Bill Harrah’s Modern Classic Motors in Nevada. Its first owner was German-American record producer and SABA Electronics Company business agent Dr Baldhard G Falk.
He used it on several Ferrari Owners’ Club events at the Virginia City Hillclimb, Sears Point, and Laguna Seca, and it was at the latter in 1978 where Falk lost the right-front wheel and damaged the bodywork. Chris Hill restored the mechanicals, while Bill de Carr restored the bodywork alongside Crevier Imports. It was then painted in red, and Falk would only sell the car in 2003. It was acquired by Mohr Imported Cars, and restored mechanically and in the cockpit. It was then owned by Mike and Jan Freiburg of California, who maintained stewardship until 2023. It then joined a Texas-based collection in 2023, whereupon it was stripped back to the bare metal and repainted in Nero alongside other cosmetic refreshments. It’s estimated at between $2.5m and $2.8m.
Given Broad Arrow’s eye-popping result for a Honda NSX-R NA2 at Villa d’Este earlier this year, it’s unsurprising to see two of these rare, stripped-out icons appear during the Monterey Auctions 2025. However, it must be noted that both examples are the (slightly) more numerous NA1 models. The above 1993-94 car was registered in Niihama City, before moving to Matsuyama City in late 1996, where it stayed with the second owner for 14 years. A Honda dealership in Takamatsu acquired the car, and year later it passed to a private owner in Kobe City. It was last registered in the Gunma Prefecture in January of this year before coming to the US shortly afterwards; it has 43,625km on the clock and is estimated at between $375k and $425k.
If you fancy an NSX-R in black, Broad Arrow also has a 1995 model with 39,000km on the clock and an NA2 Type R-specification six-speed manual transmission; it’s estimated at between $375k and $425k. If your tastes are more towards the twin-turbocharged rather than the naturally aspirated, there’s also one-of-circa-20 Nissan Skyline Clubman Race Spec models created by NISMO, based on a 1999 R34 V-Spec model, estimated at between $700k and $850k.
This one-off concept, the Lotus Etna, was shown at the 1984 British International Motor Show, blending Giorgetto Giugiaro wedge styling with a 335bhp 4.0-litre V8. That was enough to get it to 60mph in 4.3 seconds and on to 180mph, aided by Formula 1-inspired active suspension, ABS, traction control and active noise cancelling. The Etna would remain in storage at Hethel until 1998 when it was sold off, eventually joining the Olav Glasius Collection. Glasius called up former Lotus engineer and restorer Ken Myers to recommission the Type 90 V8 and its transmission to working condition. The Etna also got a new Perspex canopy and an Esprit suspension system. It was displayed at the Lotus Festival at Donington Park in 2006 and the Goodwood Festival of Speed two years later. It joined a Southern Californian collection 2022; it’s now estimated at between $250k and $400k.
This 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 Series II was first delivered to the UK in Bianco with a Rosso interior for Prince Abdul Elah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. According to the original invoice it was fitted with a specially modified 380bhp engine, and research points to it being the car featured on the Lamborghini GB stand at the Earl’s Court show in October 1968. It was passed to a Mr Williams some time in the mid-1980s, and was then acquired by Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the former Prime Minister of Kuwait, and kept by him until his passing in 2024. During his time with the car, it was fully restored to original condition. It’s estimated at between $2m and $2.4m.
Gooding Christie’s
Taking star billing at Gooding Christies for the Monterey Auctions 2025 is this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione, one of just two alloy-bodied full-competition examples to be built. It was fitted with a competition-spec Tipo 168 engine, which was 40bhp more powerful than a standard car. Chassis 2383 GT was delivered new to gentleman racer Ernst Lautenschlager of Stuttgart, and competed on several German and Austrian hillclimbs, taking a couple of first places along the way. Its last competitive outing was at the Solitude GT race in 1962, where it finished fourth in class and 11th overall.
Tha 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione would then pass through several German and Swiss owners before coming to the US in 1968 via Lee Wilson of Fort Wayne, Indiana. TV producer and noted Ferrari collector Greg Garrison acquired the car in mid-1980s, keeping it until 1999 when it was sold to the current owner. It was then restored by Dino Cognolato in Grigio Fumo. It’s been seen at the world’s leading concours events, and has Classiche certification. It’s estimated to reach in excess of $20m.
Other Ferrari highlights at the Monterey Auctions 2025 include a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider (est $8m-$10m), a 1957 250 GT LWB California Spider prototype (est $7.5m-$9m), a 1961 400 Superamerica Series 1 Cabriolet (est $5.5m-$6.5m) and a 1958 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta (est $4.5m-$5.25m).
The leading Bugatti for Gooding Christies at the Monterey Auctions 2025 is a 2024 Bolide, estimated at between $4.5m and $6m and one of ten examples of the marque up for grabs. The above 1927 Type 35B comes from the Mitchell Rasansky Collection, and was originally sold to Marius Giraud and listed under Hoffman’s Société Nerka spark plug business. It was driven by Louis Chiron in ten races and hillclimbs in 1927 and 1928, winning or achieving fastest times in all but one, where he finished second.
The 1927 Type 35B was then acquired to Guy Bouriat and subsequently passed to Louis Decaroli. It then passed through several owners in France before being hidden during World War Two. It joined the collection of Pierre Bardinon in 1951, but was crashed prior to his wedding in January 1952. It was sold to François Guerineau, who then passed it on to Francis Mortarini and Armand Beressi. It would later come to the US via Dr Milton Roth and then Bob Hammel, who restored the car. It was then sold to Peter Williamson of Lyme, New Hampshire, who kept it for 44 years, with two restorations being carried out during this time. Following his 2008 passing it was acquired by Mitchell Rasansky, who would reunite the car with its original engine. It’s estimated at between $2.5m and $3m.
Other notable pre-war Bugattis include a 1927 Type 43 Grand Sport ($1.5m-$2.25m), a 1926 Type 37 Grand Prix ($750k-$950k) and a 1925 Type 35 Supercharged Grand Prix ($625k-$850k).
This 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Torpédo, bodied by Joseph Figoni with a Monza cowl, one of seven Figoni-bodied cars.Chassis 2311207 was originally ordered for Alfa Romeo’s first owner, Louis Jeantet, for use in Paris. It remained in France throughout WW2 and was then exported to the UK in 1953, under the stewardship of Henry Simms Norman Adams. Adams sold the car to the US, where it was acquired by Joel Finn, who then sold it General Motors executive Standord Landell. Landell had the car restored, and kept it until the early 1980s.
The 8C 2300 Torpédo then passed through several owners: Bill Serri, Peter Agg, David Cohen and Karl Eric Fröjd. Since 1988 it’s been owned by Henry W Pertonis of Maryland, who kept it until 2010. The vendor has displayed the car at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2013 and 2022. During the Monterey Auctions 2025 it’s estimated at between $4m and $5.5m.
Francis Ford Coppola has several cars in Gooding Christie’s lot list at the Monterey Auctions 2025. In 1988 the acclaimed director released 1988 film, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, having been sufficiently enamoured with the marque to buy one of the 50 examples built. This 1948 Tucker 48, number 14 out of the production cars built, was originally bought new by Charles DeCosta, before passing to marque enthusiast William Hamlin of Ontario in 1952. He kept it until 1979, when it was acquired by Coppola via Tucker specialist Beverly Ferreira. It appeared several times in his film on the marque, in disassembled form for the factory sequences. Following the film Coppola continued to drive the car occasionally, before putting it on public display at the family’s winery in the Napa Valley.
This 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione is one of five Series III models and 15 Competiziones in total. Chassis 16407 was acquired by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (NART) for use at the 1973 Le Mans 24 Hours. Despite Milt Minter and Sam Posey running as high as sixth, a cracked piston ended their run in the 21st hour. Posey and François Migault then took sixth in class and 14th overall at Watkins Glen.
NART returned to Le Mans in 1974 with Jean-Claude Guitteny and Jean-Pierre Ethuin, who finished fifth in class and 11th overall. Actor Robert Reed Carradine acquired the car and, alongside Dan Ward, entered the Daytona 24 Hours with Carradine and John Morton. The Ferrari didn’t start the race after being damaged in practice, but it would finish 17th and tenth in class at the Sebring 12 Hours. Carradine and Morton returned to Daytona in 1978 and took third in class and eighth overall. Carradine sold the 365 GTB/4 to Bill Nicholas and Jim McRoberts, who had the car completely overhauled for an assault on the 1979 Daytona 24 Hours, to be run by Otto Zipper’s Modena Sports Cars and driven by Tony Adamowicz and John Morton. On the morning of the race Zipper was found dead in his hotel room, but the team opted to race, finishing second overall and first in class.
The Ferrari would have another crack at Daytona in 1980, finishing 14th overall and fourth in class, before being sold to John Giordano. He kept the car for 40 years, racing it in Historic events, before selling it to the vendor several years ago. It was then restored to 1973 Le Mans configuration by Motion Products, and promptly won the Enzo Ferrari Trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It is estimated at between $8m and $10m.
Mecum
Mecum takes another tilt at Monterey, bringing with it a familiar set of European exotics that struggled at the year-opening Kissimmee sale. The Monterey Auctions 2025 have plenty of the homegrown American heroes, too, spread out over three days and 600 lots.
One of the most intriguing lots is the above 1958 Chrysler California Ghia Hardtop. Designed by Ghia alongside Virgil Exner, the Chrysler Idea Cars helped reshape automotive language. This particular model was originally just a sketch, until Harry Dundore of Baltimore, Maryland, saw it. He supplied parts to Ghia, but then decided he could do much more: armed with the chassis of a 1957 Chrysler 300C and 392ci Hemi V8, it turned the car over to Gordon Vann’s Body Shop in California to bring the vehicle to life in aluminium, rather than the steel Ghia usually used. The sketch was only a side profile, so Vann was able to freestyle to a certain extent; Dundore wanted a supercharger, Stewart-Warner gauges, and four bucket seats in white leather. George Annerau created the interior using five different hides. It is offered fresh from restoration, and has done 25 miles since. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
On the subject of Ghia bodies, this 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter 2+2 Berlina is one of the aforementioned Mecum regulars, which has been bid to a maximum of $550k at Monterey 2023 and Kissimmee 2024, but only $400k at Monterey last year. One of four four-passenger 2+2 Berlina bodies built by Ghia, it was the 23rd out of 35 bodied by the carrozzeria. It was first delivered to Robert Braunschweig of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the editor of Swiss magazine Automobil Revue between 1952 and 1980. In 1977 it was found in Portland, Oregon, and it then had several owners until 1985, when it was acquired by Fred Peters and Charles Betz of Santa Ana, California. In 1994 it was sold to David Letterman and restored by Sport Auto LTD of Ridgefield, Connecticut, with upholstery by East Coast Auto Trim of New Rochelle, New York. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
This 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 is one of 200 M471 Lightweight editions built and was first delivered to Italy. It was then resident in Switzerland before coming to the US, and now sits at 15,941km. It failed to sell with a high bid of $1.1m at Monterey last year, and was bid to $950k at Glendale earlier in March this year.
Other Porsche highlights at the Monterey Auctions 2025 include one of six 718 RSK Centre Seat models, a 1970 914-6 Targa in special-order green metallic, a 1955 356 Pre-A Speedster and a 1994 Strosek Mega Widebody.
This 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS was the winner of the 1975 Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. Jack May and co-driver Rick Cline established a world record time at the Cannonball, racing from New York to Los Angeles in 35 hours and 53 minutes, averaging 83mph. May, a national champion SCCA racer, and Cline, also a national champion and engine builder, achieved the feat despite a fouled spark plug, a fuel leak, several Arizona jack rabbits and an arrest by an Ohio State Patrol officer who would subsequently take pity on the duo.
May had modified the car, fitting flaps to the windscreen wipers for more downforce to keep them down at high speeds, plus an altered tachometer so May could keep the revs at the right place (he couldn’t see it in its original position). Cline would care for the car for the rest of its life, and it is offered in original, unrestored condition with 50,819 miles on the clock. No estimate had been released at the time of writing.
This 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona NASCAR has quite a story – it was driven in period by Bobby Allison, in particular on August 24, 1969. It crossed the 200mph barrier for four laps, as denoted in a laptime sheet that comes with the car. It also has Allison’s signature on the dashboard. It was discovered in a barn by Pat McKinney, and then inspected by Allison who confirmed its identity in a hand-written letter. The original Hemi 426 had long gone, but the Daytona now has a Dick Landy-built Hemi on a Chrysler-supplied block, and has the correct NASCAR rods, a dry-sump oil assembly and a period-correct four-speed manual gearbox.
RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s 161-strong lot list at the Monterey Auctions 2025 is led by the 14th Ferrari F40 LM built by Michelotto, pictured above.
Specced to the more powerful GTC specifications, it featured such options as cloth upholstery and Lexan plexiglass sliding side windows. Its first owner was Walter Hagmann of Switzerland, who swiftly crashed it during private testing at Mugello three months into ownership. Michelotto repaired the car in time for its appearance in the July 1993 issue of Auto Illustrierte, and Hagmann sold the car in 2002, only to swiftly buy it back again. He eventually relinquished the F40 LM in 2007 to a Munich financier who worked for Ferrari Financial Services. It took part in several events across Europe, and was certified by Ferrari Classiche in 2009.
Five years later Michelotto refreshed the car mechanically and cosmetically, and in 2015 it was sold to Las Vegas. It stayed there for five years before passing to an Austrian collector via a German dealer. It was shown at the 2025 ModaMiami concours held at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida and won the Ferrari: Passion and Performance Collection class award. It has since had new fuel bladders, timing and accessory belts, spark plugs and fuel filters, plus a fresh battery and new Michelins. It’s estimated at between $8.5m and $9.5m.
There are also two other F40s in the RM Sotheby’s Monterey Auction 2025 sale – a one-owner, 360km, non-cat, non-adjust example that’s in need of restoration; it’s estimated at between $2.4m and $2.6m. The other is the Blue Chip F40, a unique creation in Azzurro Hyperion over blue Alcantara trim that’s been modified with Brembo brakes, a Tubi exhaust, improved waste gates, KW adjustable suspension and an F40 LM gearbox; it’s estimated at between $2.5m and $2.8m.
Another racing Ferrari of note is the 1955 Ferrari 375 Plus Spyder built for Scuderia Parravano, and driven by the likes of Carroll Shelby, Dan Gurney, Jack McAfee and Ken Miles. One of two Tipo 102 Plus chassis built and the only one made for racing, it is one of eight fitted with the Tipo 113 4.9-litre 375 Plus engine. It was rebodied by Jack Sutton in period and would later join the collection of casino magnate William Harrah. He would keep the car in the National Automobile Museum until 1984, at which point it was sold to the vendor – who has kept it in the same collection for the past 30 years. It’s estimated at between $5.5m and $7.5m.
This 1967 Porsche 911 R is one of 20 production Rs built, and was first sold to French racing driver Fernand Schligler via Parisian dealership Porsche Sonauto. Just four days later he and co-driver Gérard Couzian took on the 1967 Tour de Corse, although this effort ended early – something that happened again at the Critérium des Cévennes alongside co-driver Jacques Larbot, for driving the wrong way down the stage. In 1968 Schligler entered five rallies, his best result being first in class and fourth overall on the Rally Lorraine alongside co-driver Gilbert Janvre.
In 1969 he sold the car to Michel Martinache, but after two DNFs the engine and gearbox were sold separately to the crash-damaged 911 R. Later that year Marcel Balsa acquired the car and rebuilt it, fitting a 2.3-litre ST engine, and in 1971 he sold it to French racer and future Paris-Dakar found Thierry Sabine. In 190 it was passed to Bertrand Lenoir of Paris, who fitted a 2.0-litre engine from a 911 T. In the mid-1980s it was bought by Mr Noirot of La Châtre and disassembled with a view to a restoration that didn’t happen, so the parts were bought a collector in 2002 and dispatched to Scuderia Classica to work on the car.
This work paused in 2006, and the car was put into storage. It was discovered by Belgian Porsche lightweight restorer and dealer Kobus Cantraine in 2014, and after confirming its identity acquired in 2015 he had Scuderia Classica reassemble the car. It was then shipped to Belgium, and August SA would continue the build. A year later it joined a private collection in the US. At the Monterey Auctions 2025 it’s estimated at between $2.5m and $3m.
If there’s one corner of the market that’s noticeable by its absence at the Monterey Auctions 2025 then it’s the pre-merger AMGs. Perhaps the somewhat muted response the plethora of models unleashed at the Amelia auctions earlier this year has deterred vendors from consigning, and following the aforementioned Broad Arrow NSX-R result, Japanese modern classics from the big leagues appear to be on the rise again.
However, the above 1991 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC 6.0 AMG ‘Wide-Body’ is truly special, even in the rarefied atmosphere of pre-merger AMGs. This particular example is called the Marakaito Missile. Built for a Japanese customer, it was specified with a 6.0-litre DOHC engine conversion, a full aero kit, a staggered set of colour-matched Aero III wheels, and a rear wing-type decklid spoiler. So far, so normal, but the Carat Duchatelet interior takes things to another level, with black buffalo leather on the lower dashboard, green buffalo leather on the upper, with green leather-faced gauges and hand-painted indications. There are also burlwood trim pieces, a full Nakamichi sound system and a special engine.
Although the 6.0-litre engine conversion wasn’t a new thing by 1991, this particular motor uses the M119 block with the M117 AMG enhancements. It was refreshed by Jonathan Hodgman of Blue Ridge Mercedes in 2024 with a lot of replacement NLA parts; it has custom-spec engine mounts, new spark plugs, a factory-correct AMG torque converter and plenty more. It’s estimated at between $650k and $850k.
So, will Monterey 2025 be the year of the JDM modern classic? The scene is set with Honda NSX-Rs and the R34 Skyline at Broad Arrow, but perhaps the biggest talking point will be the above car. It’s one of 44 Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO 400Rs built to celebrate the marque’s efforts in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
For the uninitiated, the 400R was hand-built by NISMO, Nissan’s motor sport department, with a bored-out 2.8-litre version of the twin-turbo straight-six engine found in standard Skylines. The engine, now called the RB-X GT2, had boost wound up to 1.1 bar to produce 400PS (394bhp). To keep it all reined in, it had an ATTESA four-wheel-drive system, torque vectoring and Super-HICAS four-wheel steering. Carbonfibre was used for the rear wing, bonnet and driveshaft, and there was also a titanium strut brace, Bilstein dampers, a 30mm suspension drop and LM GT1-derived 18in three-piece alloy wheels. This particular car’s early life is unknown, but it was from Hong Kong in 2012 before moving to Japan in 2021, and came to the US in 2024.
Collecting Cars sold a 400R in the UK for £701,400 in 2023, but 400Rs are known to have changed hands for significantly more. In 2022 the HJA Group offered a one-of-one LM-based 400R (which we brought you details of here), which subsequently sold for $AU1.5m to Sydney businessman Lecha Khouri, setting a claimed world record price for a 400R. The RM Sotheby’s 400R is a ‘normal’ example, but two years on and perhaps the collector market hype swinging back to JDM classics, could we see another record set at the Monterey Auctions 2025?
Further details
Bonhams’ Quail auction takes place as the Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel on August 15. More details are available here.
Broad Arrow’s Motorlux sale takes place at the Monterey Jet Center on August 13-14. More details are available here.
Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach sale takes place at the Pebble Beach Parc du Concours on August 15-16. More details are available here.
Mecum’s Monterey sale takes place at the Del Monte Golf Course on August 14-16. More details are available here.
RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale takes place at the Monterey Conference Center on August 15-16. More details are available here.
