Paris Goes Classic, Monaco Goes Record-Breaking, and Why Now Might Be the Best Time to Buy

Paris Goes Classic, Monaco Goes Record-Breaking, and Why Now Might Be the Best Time to Buy

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What a week it was for those of us who live and breathe classic cars. From a landmark auction in Monaco that shattered European records, to over 230 vintage machines gathering beneath the glass dome of the Grand Palais in Paris, to a concours on the Southern California coast that reminded us why we fell in love with these machines in the first place — there was no shortage of moments to make your heart race. Let's dig in.

The Ferrari That Rewrote the Record Books

It's not every day that a single car makes auction history twice at once — but that's exactly what happened on April 25th at the RM Sotheby's Monaco Sale, held at the iconic Grimaldi Forum.

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider by Scaglietti crossed the block and sold for €16,655,000 (approximately $19.5 million USD), setting a new record for the model at RM Sotheby's Monaco — the first time the California Spider's model record has risen in over a decade. That alone would be remarkable. But the full story of this particular car makes the result even more meaningful.

This Spider is the 26th of just 56 short-wheelbase California Spiders ever built, and one of only 39 originally delivered with covered headlamps — a detail that collectors and Ferrari historians consider particularly desirable. It was originally delivered to Auto-Becker in Düsseldorf and made its debut on the world stage at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. It was sympathetically restored after 2019 and refinished in a striking Blu Scuro over a red interior, complete with a silver hardtop.

The sale of this car was the headline moment in what became the most successful multi-car collector auction ever held in Europe. The 2026 Monaco Sale totaled €87,967,385 — yes, nearly €88 million — with an extraordinary 90% sell-through rate. At least twenty vehicles crossed the €1 million mark. For those keeping score, RM Sotheby's just set a new bar for European collector car auctions, and it happened in one of the most fitting cities on earth.

If you've ever wondered what separates a truly great classic from a merely expensive one, this California Spider is the answer. It is provenance, rarity, presentation, and history — all wrapped in Italian coachwork that still, after 64 years, looks like it was drawn by someone trying to define beauty itself.

230 Classics Beneath the Glass Roof of Paris

Just days later, on May 3rd and 4th, the city of Paris gave the world something equally special: Tour Auto 2026, and the extraordinary public exhibition that preceded it at the Grand Palais.

More than 230 classic competition and road cars gathered under the Grand Palais's famous iron-and-glass vaulted ceiling — one of the most architecturally stunning venues imaginable for a classic car gathering. On the morning of May 3rd, over 160 vintage machines rolled in a parade from the Place de la Concorde down the Champs-Élysées to the Grand Palais, escorted by the Republican Guard. If you've seen footage of this, you know: it's the kind of spectacle that makes you feel like the world still gets things right sometimes.

The exhibition itself was open to the public through May 4th, giving enthusiasts rare up-close access to competition machinery before the cars set off on Tour Auto 2026's five-day, Paris-to-Biarritz route — one of the most celebrated vintage rallies in the world. The route takes competitors across the full breadth of France, from the boulevards of the capital to the Atlantic coast.

Tour Auto 2026 is among the most prestigious events on the European classic motorsport calendar, and seeing these cars gathered in a single venue before the rally begins is, by all accounts, a privilege. If you have the opportunity to attend in future years, do not hesitate.

La Jolla Crowns a 1937 Mercedes-Benz Its Best in Show

On the other side of the Atlantic — specifically, on the sun-drenched cliffs of La Jolla, California — the 20th Annual La Jolla Concours d'Elegance came to a close on April 26th with a Best in Show award that few will forget.

The Lyon Collection's 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster took the top honor, a fitting result for one of the most revered pre-war automobiles ever made. The 540K Special Roadster represents the absolute peak of 1930s German automotive engineering and coachwork — a supercharged straight-eight, sweeping bodywork, and a presence that commands any concours field.

This year's theme, "Icons of Speed: Historically Significant Super Cars," drew an exceptional range of machinery, with the Icons of Speed class won by Charles Wegner's 1959 Ferrari 250 LWB Competition TDF. The American Muscle class went to a beautifully presented 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, while a stunning 1955 Jaguar D-Type Roadster claimed the Jaguar class. The 20th anniversary celebration drew thousands of collectors and enthusiasts to the California coast — and from what those in attendance have described, it delivered on every front.

The Collector Car Market: A Buyer's Window Is Open

We'd be doing you a disservice if we only talked about the top of the market. Because right now, for buyers in the mid-range — and particularly for those eyeing cars from the 1990s through the mid-2000s — conditions are genuinely favorable.

Hagerty, the industry's most trusted voice on collector car market trends, has been candid in recent months: their Hagerty Market Rating has dipped to a 15-year low for mainstream collectibles. The "Hagerty Hundred" — a weighted average of the 100 most-insured collector vehicles — sits around $43,408, reflecting softness in the traditional bread-and-butter classic segment.

But here's what that actually means for enthusiasts: the cars that defined a generation of younger collectors — Nissan Skylines, Porsche Carrera GTs (now crossing the 20-year threshold), BMW M cars, C6 Corvette Z06s, clean early Mazda Miatas — are gaining attention and value, while traditionally popular pre-war and mid-century luxury cars are finding fewer bidders. The market isn't collapsing. It's shifting. And a shift is a window.

Online classic car sales reportedly surged 12% in the past year to an estimated $2.5 billion — a sign that the next generation of collectors is buying, just buying differently. If you've been sitting on the fence about a particular car, it may be worth taking a closer look at what the market is actually doing before you wait any longer.

As a side note: if you're looking for an accessible entry point into genuine performance and luxury, the Aston Martin DB9 is having a moment. The May 2026 issue of Classic & Sports Car magazine highlights how early examples can now be found for around £20,000 in the UK — a figure that would have seemed laughable when this car was new. A naturally aspirated 5.9-liter V12, 444 horsepower, a top speed of 186 mph, and hand-stitched British interior. At £20k, it's arguably the most car per pound available in today's market. (US pricing runs roughly $32,000–$85,000 depending on year and condition — still a remarkable value proposition for what you're getting.)

The Week's Notable Numbers

  • €87,967,385 — Total achieved at RM Sotheby's Monaco 2026, the highest-grossing multi-car collector auction ever held in Europe
  • €16,655,000 — The sale price of the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, a new model auction record
  • $47M+ — Total sales at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach (April 16–18), with a 100% sell-through rate across 610 vehicles
  • 230+ — Classic cars on display at the Grand Palais, Paris, for Tour Auto 2026
  • 1937 — The model year of the Mercedes-Benz 540K that won Best in Show at La Jolla

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