Yahoo Finance Monterey Car Week 2023: The top 3 things to watch
Monterey Car Week — quite possibly the biggest week in the car 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 reveals, big spending, and a ton of automotive news.
Here are the three biggest things to watch this week from California:
Big auction action
Leading up the competition Sunday are a number of multi-day auctions held by the biggest auto auctioneers in the world. RM Sotheby's, Mecum, Bonham’s, and the official auctioneer of Pebble Beach, Gooding & Company, will sell off hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of classic and vintage automobiles in the days ahead.
Competition and class winners at Pebble Beach are often sold later at auction in Monterey.
Classic car insurer Hagerty (now an auction house operator, as well as classic car competition owner) estimates that the total amount from this weekend's Monterey auctions may reach the magical $400 million mark — with Hagerty seeing an estimated range of $392 million to $457 million in total sales. The high end of that range would be the second-highest ever on record, only behind last year’s whopping $469 million.
New car debuts making a mark
Despite Monterey Car Week being a celebration of mostly vintage and classic cars, some automakers see the opportunity to unveil many of their new models, especially those in the luxury or premium space. But that doesn’t always have to be the case.
Among the highly anticipated new car reveals: Lamborghini’s first fully electric vehicle, a new Aston Martin that will be celebrating the marque’s 110th anniversary, a new Infiniti SUV concept called the Monograph, a new Mercedes AMG GT coupe, and the Maserati MCXtrema track car.
Many of these cars will be unveiled during Friday’s The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering (yes, that is actually the name of the event), held at the exclusive Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
One of the more interesting reveals this week may be coming from Ford of all companies. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker is hinting at a very special — and expensive — edition of the Mustang. We will hear more about that when Yahoo Finance sits down tomorrow with Ford CEO Jim Farley (who, by the way, used to restore vintage cars as one of his first jobs out of college).
The most beautiful cars in the world
Why do thousands of car enthusiasts and the biggest collectors come to Monterey? To see the most exclusive, timeless, and beautiful cars in the world. It just so happens that they will all also be competing against one another.
The Concours on Sunday will have plenty of those cars on display across various classes this year, from 1900s-era Vanderbilt Cup cars to pre-war cars, classic Ferraris, and even cars celebrating the 60th anniversary of British racing team McLaren.
The Quail event will also feature its own classes of cars on display, from pre-war and post-war classes, in addition to a special class for Porsche celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary RS Carrera, and another focusing on the 1950s Bentley R-Type coupe.
Finally, the 18th green on Pebble Beach on Sunday is always a special place to be during Monterey Car Week, culminating with the Best of Show award. There, we’ll see what the judges say is the pinnacle of “automotive excellence.”
Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
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