Monterey Car Week 2025: Baby on board

Every August, California’s Monterey Peninsula becomes the heartbeat of the automotive world. For one week, collectors, manufacturers, historians, and enthusiasts gather to celebrate the past, present, and future of the automobile.

Monterey Car Week isn’t just another car show — it’s the most prestigious stage in the automotive calendar, capped by the legendary Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

What makes the story remarkable is that Lauren raced this Cobra while pregnant with Paul Fix III. Few cars carry such a direct family connection to both racing and legacy.

It’s an event where everything matters: the way cars are presented, the records set at the auctions, the new models unveiled by global brands, and even the charitable contributions that flow back into the local community.

But beyond the headlines and the glamour, this year carried a special personal moment. We went to Monterey Car Week to see one car — a Shelby Cobra with a family story unlike any other.

Something for everyone

The week is structured around multiple events that together define the global automotive scene.

• Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance: The crown jewel, where the rarest and most historically significant automobiles in the world are judged with meticulous detail.
• Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion: Historic racing at Laguna Seca, where legendary cars aren’t just displayed — they compete at speed.
• Exotics on Broadway: A massive public showcase of modern supercars that turns the streets into rolling sculpture galleries.
• Motorlux: The kickoff celebration at the Monterey Jet Center, blending elite hospitality with a major collector car auction.

Each of these events appeals to a different audience, but together they define what Monterey Car Week has become: part automotive history lesson, part marketplace, and part celebration of innovation. This is the world's largest car week.

Revving up with Motorlux

Motorlux is the kind of event that sets the tone for the week. Hosted at the Monterey Jet Center, it combines high-stakes auctions with an immersive cultural experience.

The curated displays this year were divided into four themes:

• 200 MPH Club – From the Ferrari F40 to the new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.
• From Stuttgart with Love – A Porsche showcase anchored by the unique Penske 963 RSP prototype.
• America’s Wild Horse – Sixty years of the Mustang, ranging from early fastbacks to the all-new 2025 Mustang GTD.
• The Mercedes Maestro – A tribute to designer Bruno Sacco, with cars like the iconic 190E 2.3-16.

But Motorlux is also about hospitality. Guests were treated to culinary offerings from Michelin-starred chefs, regional wine houses, and luxury spirit tastings. It’s as much about lifestyle as it is about horsepower, a signal of how broad the appeal of Monterey Car Week has become.

It also hosts the Broad Arrow Auctions, which features some of the finest assemblies of collector cars across virtually every niche of collecting within the grounds of the Monterey Jet Center kicking off Monterey Car Week in grand style.

New kids in town

Carmakers have realized that Monterey offers a unique mix: prestige, media attention, and a passionate audience. So what better place to debut some of their biggest new models?

• Acura RSX: Revived as an electric crossover coupe, a departure from the affordable sports coupe that earned a loyal following decades ago.
• Rolls-Royce Phantom Centenary: All eight generations of the Phantom displayed together for the first time, marking 100 years of the model.
• Mercedes-Benz “Stargaze Theatre”: The U.S. premiere of the Concept AMG GT XX, Vision V luxury limousine concept, and a special-edition Maybach.
• BMW Heritage Debuts: The 2026 BMW 8-Series M Heritage edition (limited to 500 units) and the 2026 M2CS, a compact performance car boasting 523 horsepower.

These debuts highlight how Monterey has become as critical to automakers as traditional international auto shows.

Auctions: Ferrari races ahead

The auctions are more than just sales — they are a live barometer of the collector car market. In 2025, combined totals from all auction houses reached $414.2 million by Saturday, with an average sale price over $515,000 per car.

Once again, Ferrari dominated. The top sale was a 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 Coupe charity lot that sold for $26 million through RM Sotheby’s. A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Competizione brought in over $25 million at Gooding Christie’s. Ferrari claimed eight of the top 10 sales across all auctions.

Highlights by auction house

• Mecum: $45 million overall; top sale was a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S Coupe at $1.98 million.
• Broad Arrow: $49.8 million, highlighted by a 2005 Maserati MC12 Spyder at $5.2 million.
• Bonhams: $44.2 million; standout was a 2020 Bugatti Divo Coupe at $8.55 million.
• RM Sotheby’s: Nearly $111 million in sales, led by the 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 Coupe charity lot at $26 million, a 1993 Ferrari F40 LM GTC Coupe at $11 million, and a 1995 Ferrari F50 at $9.2 million.
• Gooding Christie’s: $163.8 million, with multiple world records, including the $25 million Ferrari California Spider Competizione.

These results confirm two things: Ferraris remain the most desirable investment cars, and modern supercars are beginning to command nearly the same attention as classics.

Overall top 10 auction sales (through Saturday)

1. 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 Coupe – $26,000,000
   (RM Sotheby’s, charity lot)
2. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Competizione Alloy Spider – $25,305,000
   (Gooding Christie’s)
3. 1993 Ferrari F40 LM GTC Coupe – $11,005,000
   (RM Sotheby’s)
4. 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe – $9,245,000
   (RM Sotheby’s)
5. 2020 Bugatti Divo Coupe – $8,557,500
   (Bonhams)
6. 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione – $8,145,000
   (Gooding Christie’s)
7. 1957 Ferrari 250 California Spider – $7,265,000
   (Gooding Christie’s)
8. 2017 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta Spider – $6,715,000
   (RM Sotheby’s)
9. 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Sindelfingen Special Roadster – $5,340,000
   (RM Sotheby’s)
10. 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari Coupe – $5,230,000
    (RM Sotheby’s)

Torpedo takes Pebble Beach

The 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance delivered its trademark blend of elegance and precision. The Best of Show went to a 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Nieuport-Astra Torpedo, a car that represents the artistry of early coach-built automobiles.

This year’s field included 229 cars, with 55 international entries from 22 countries. I had the honor of judging the 427 Cobra class, a category that resonates deeply with me both professionally and personally.

Yet, Pebble Beach isn’t only about recognition. It raised more than $4 million this year for nearly 100 nonprofits focused on youth education, directly benefiting over 10,000 children in Monterey County.

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GraphicaArtis/Getty Images

The one car that brought us back

For all the prestige of Pebble Beach, the spectacle of the auctions, and the global debuts, there was one car that drew us to Monterey more than any other: the Shelby Cobra CSX2051.

This particular Cobra has a history intertwined with our own. It was displayed at SAAC-18 at Watkins Glen in July 1993 and then raced by Lauren Fix at the Lime Rock Fall Vintage Festival in 1993. That same year, the car earned an SVRA Historic Medallion, recognizing its authenticity and period correctness.

What makes the story remarkable is that Lauren raced this Cobra while pregnant with Paul Fix III. Few cars carry such a direct family connection to both racing and legacy.

After 32 years, we were reunited with CSX2051 at Pebble Beach. It wasn’t just a reunion with a historic Shelby — it was a reunion with a moment in our own lives, one that made history and even found its way into the rule books.

Monterey Car Week 2025 once again proved why it is the pinnacle of the automotive world. It’s where collectors measure markets, automakers reveal the future, and enthusiasts celebrate the past.

For most attendees, the highlights were the record-setting Ferraris, the global debuts, or the Best of Show Hispano-Suiza. But for us, it was something more personal — the return of the Shelby Cobra CSX2051, a car that connected past and present in a way no auction result ever could.

It was a reminder that at the heart of Monterey Car Week are not just machines, but the stories they carry and the people they connect.

For the full story behind this remarkable Cobra and how it became part of racing history, listen to our latest podcast where we share the details firsthand.