Monterey Car Week 2025-RM Sotheby's Preview
Our standouts from RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2025 preview.
By Motive Archive
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We’ve curated our standouts from RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2025 preview—high‑impact picks due to hit the block August 15–16, 2025.
The 911 Cup 3.8 RSR is the last, loud word in air‑cooled Porsche competition cars. This particular 1997 example (993‑generation) is the tenth built, a factory‑developed race car with real résumé: 3rd in class and 11th overall at the 1997 Daytona 24 Hours, then 2nd in class and 13th overall at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Restored by Freisinger Motorsport and accompanied by documentation from Jürgen Barth, it’s cataloged at $450,000–$600,000 as Lot 126 on Friday. It’s exactly the sort of RSR that begs to be exercised at vintage endurance events rather than entombed.
Few modern Ferraris carry more menace than the F40 LM, and the 1993 Michelotto‑built car on offer is the 14th of just 19. Prepared to ferocious GTC specification with as much as 760 hp, it’s Ferrari Classiche certified and fresh from a significant 2025 service. It even collected silverware this spring at ModaMiami. Offered as Lot 260 on Saturday with an $8.5M–$9.5M estimate, it distills the F40’s rawness into a sanctioned weapon.
Rarity and provenance converge in the 1995 Ferrari F50 finished in Giallo Modena—one of only two U.S.‑spec cars in this color and ordered new by Ralph Lauren. With fewer than 5,400 miles, Ferrari Classiche certification, and decades in fastidious long‑term ownership, it represents the F50 at its most complete: a carbon tub, a 4.7‑liter V‑12 derived from Ferrari’s F1 and 333 SP programs, and the sort of originality collectors chase for years. It appears as Lot 254 on Saturday at $6.5M–$7.5M.
Lamborghini’s Diablo GT is the road‑legal echo of its GT2 racer—lighter, angrier, and capped at just 80 units. Number 67, presented in Arancio Atlas, benefits from a 2017 factory engine rebuild and recent maintenance. The 6.0‑liter V‑12, extensive carbon, and pared‑back cabin underline its purpose; the spec sheet cites 575 hp and claimed 210‑mph capability. Crossing the block as Lot 266 on Saturday with a $1.3M–$1.6M estimate, it’s the brand’s pre‑Audi era at full roar. (Note: titled as a 1999 and subject to California sales restrictions.)
Track‑only Ferraris don’t get much more insider than the 2010 599XX Evo. One of fewer than 50 599XX examples and upgraded with the coveted Evo package, it pairs a 6.0‑liter V‑12 singing to 9,000 rpm (740 hp) with active aero, including a DRS‑style rear wing. Born for Corse Clienti’s curated events and sold with specialized flight cases, this Rosso Fuoco car is Lot 263 on Saturday at $3.0M–$3.5M—rolling proof of Maranello’s “laboratory car” philosophy.
The pre‑merger Mercedes‑AMG era produced some of the wildest one‑offs imaginable, and the 1991 560 SEC 6.0 AMG “Wide‑Body” nicknamed the “Marakaito Missile” might be the wildest. Finished in Malachite Green over an all‑buffalo‑leather interior executed by Carat Duchatelet—down to leather‑faced, hand‑painted gauges—it packs the rare “transitional” M117/9 6.0‑liter V‑8 (around 375 hp) and shows under 74,000 km. Offered Saturday as Lot 238 with a $650,000–$850,000 estimate, it’s a time‑capsule fantasy from Japan’s bubble‑era tastes and AMG’s anything‑goes catalog.
Finally, the jewel of nuance: a 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ‑1 “Double Bubble,” the only TZ‑1 delivered new with Zagato’s signature twin‑dome roof. Approximately the 61st of 117 built, it was owned and raced in period by Dmitri Nabokov, with entries including the 1965 1000 km of Monza and subsequent Australian competition. Coming from 34 years in enthusiast hands and offered without reserve from The Quadrifoglio Collection, it appears Friday as Lot 115 with a $700,000–$900,000 estimate—exactly the sort of historically textured lightweight that rewards close study.
Together, these seven lots map the full arc of our taste: factory‑born race cars with receipts, supercars sharpened by the right people (Michelotto, Zagato, Corse Clienti), and coachbuilt individuality turned up to eleven. Monterey 2025 looks especially rich in that regard—and these are the ones we’ll be watching.