Deutsch 
Français RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale generated more than $165 million with 87 percent of lots sold. These are the 10 cars that led the auction, shown in descending order with their official results and the details that made each example significant.
Official auction results
The complete Monterey top 10
-
#1 $26,000,0002025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 Tailor Made
Ferrari created this additional 599+1 example outside the original 599-car allocation. Its exposed carbon and Giallo Modena livery, charity provenance and unique factory status made it the most valuable new car ever sold at auction.
-
#2 $11,005,0001993 Ferrari F40 LM by Michelotto
The 14th of 19 F40 LMs built, upgraded to GTC specification and rated at 760 horsepower. Its Ferrari Classiche certification and competition-focused Michelotto engineering helped set a new model record.
-
#3 $9,245,0001995 Ferrari F50
One of only two US-market F50s finished in Giallo Modena, originally ordered by Ralph Lauren. It had fewer than 5,400 miles and had remained with one enthusiast owner for 22 years.
-
#4 $6,715,0002017 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
One of 210 open-top examples, finished in Nero Daytona with Rosso stripes and showing fewer than 2,300 miles. The specification included its removable carbon-fibre hardtop.
-
#5 $5,340,0001935 Mercedes-Benz 500 K Special Roadster
One of seven surviving original short-tail, low-door Special Roadsters on this chassis. The car won Best of Show at Pebble Beach in 1982 and had remained in the same ownership since 1988.
-
#6 $5,230,0002015 Ferrari LaFerrari
A 54-mile time-capsule example from the Ming Collection. Its Rosso Corsa specification included more than $127,000 in factory options and a front boot lid signed by Ferrari craftspeople.
-
#7 $4,405,0001935 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton
One of five Torpedo Phaetons built to Gordon Buehrig’s design. It retains its original chassis, engine, firewall and Walker-LaGrande coachwork, and appeared at the 1936 Los Angeles Auto Show.
-
#8 $4,295,0001989 RUF CTR1 Yellowbird Lightweight
Known as Redbird, this was the only CTR painted Bordeaux Red and one of six Lightweight examples. It had also served as Alois Ruf’s personal car and retained its matching-numbers twin-turbo engine.
-
#9 $3,855,0001990 Ferrari F40
A one-owner, non-cat and non-adjust F40 showing only 360 kilometres. It emerged after 35 years in static storage with assembly markings, original tyres and remarkable factory originality intact.
-
#10 $3,525,0001960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder by Wendler
One of six customer cars supplied to US privateers. It retains its original Wendler body and matching-numbers four-cam engine, supported by a racing history spanning 1960 to 1964.
A $165 million auction shaped by exceptional examples
The sale attracted bidders from 46 countries, placed 37 cars above $1 million and produced 14 auction records. Six of the top 10 were Ferraris, but the list stretched from a 1935 Duesenberg to a 2025 Daytona SP3.
The strongest results were attached to precise stories rather than rarity alone: factory provenance, exceptional mileage, distinctive specifications, important former owners and documented competition history.
Why the Daytona SP3 result was different
The Daytona SP3 was not a normal secondary-market sale. Ferrari commissioned the Tailor Made car as an additional example beyond the original 599-unit production run, and the proceeds went to The Ferrari Foundation. Its exposed carbon and Giallo Modena treatment also made it instantly identifiable.
At $26 million, it became the most valuable new car sold at auction according to RM Sotheby’s. The result should therefore be read as a combination of rarity, charitable context, factory provenance and the theatre of Monterey, rather than a direct valuation reference for every Daytona SP3.
Ferrari controlled the top of the market
Six of the 10 highest results were Ferraris. More importantly, the group crossed several collecting eras: a new Daytona SP3, the analogue F40 and F50 generation, a competition-developed F40 LM and two LaFerrari variants.
That spread suggests buyers were not pursuing a single decade. They rewarded low production, distinctive specification, documented history and strong identity. The $9.245 million F50 and $11.005 million F40 LM both established major model benchmarks.
What the non-Ferrari sales reveal
The Mercedes-Benz 500 K and Duesenberg kept pre-war coachbuilt cars firmly in the top 10. At the same time, the RUF CTR1 and Porsche 718 RS 60 showed demand for German performance cars with a clear competition or engineering narrative.
For collectors, the lesson is not that every rare car rose equally. Monterey concentrated attention on examples with a defensible reason to be exceptional. Specification, originality, provenance and public freshness remained central to the strongest prices.