It's Monterey, Jack: RM Sotheby's Hopes to Make Bank in California

Those of you who prefer wine and cheese over beer and burgers would probably find yourself at the Monterey Car Week 2022 & Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance rather than the Woodward Dream Cruise – both are held on the third weekend of August. While your author is firmly in the latter’s camp, he appreciates the bonkers amount of money being tossed around at the former.

As they often do, RM Sotheby’s will be using the occasion to hold a high-dollar auction. Lots include the likes of a 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider by Scaglietti allegedly raced by Fangio himself.

That particular car packs a 4.9L V12 engine, one which uses no fewer than 24 spark plugs to light its own fires, apparently just one of just two Factory-campaigned 410 Sports so equipped. Carrol Shelby is also said to have earned victories in this machine, purportedly winning more races as a driver in 0598 CM than any other car in his racing career: 8 wins and 10 podiums. While auction estimates are given for some other vehicles set to cross the block, such as the $9M – $11M projection for a ’58 Maserati, this particular Fezza is currently bereft of public assessment. In other words, its hammer price will likely go well into the eight figures.

Elsewhere on the docket are some more modern machines, including a vanishingly rare Lamborghini Reventón, a primo-grade 1992 Ferrari F40, and a 1991 JaguarSport XJR-15. Only fifty-three of the latter were produced, this being number 18, and they sold for half a million British pounds back in the day. Chances are strong it’ll fetch a much higher sum in August. Remember, it shares more than a few components with the famous ‘Silk Cut’ Jag of Le Mans fame, including some suspension gear. Also from the modern-day corner is a 1995 Porsche 928 GTS, arguably the finest example of that particular model.

A not-insignificant number of these cars are offered without reserve, including a 1925 Bugatti Type 30 Tourer and a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 190 SLR. So-called ‘no reserve’ vehicles are essential to an auction of this nature, lest operators end up with an embarrassingly large number of unsold machines. In this vein, there is a #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo seemingly from Hendrick Motorsports which appears to have been raced by Jeff Gordon in multiple Bud Shootouts. Perhaps there’s a connection to Woodward, after all.

RM’s auction will run from August 18 – 20, capping off the larger event of Monterey Car Week.

[Images: RM Sotheby’s]