In a year marked by extreme turmoil in the markets and looming fears of an economic crisis, the 2022 Monterey Car Week and Pebble Beach auction showed that for big spenders, there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
The auction, which typically represents the exclamation point on a week that features an incredible array of one-off masterpieces and competition cars, indicated that for the world's foremost collectors and investors, there's no time like the present to get into classic car ownership.
We're not talking about Chevrolet Bel Airs and Austin Healeys, however: no, we're looking at a 1969 Porsche 908/02 that sold for just over $4 million and a 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport that hammered home for $22 million. A 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C Transformable Torpedo sold for $9.245 million and a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sindelfingen Roadster found a new (temporary) owner at $9.9 million.
According to Hagerty, totals after the final auction on Aug. 21 reached $456.1 million, marking a 15.6% increase over the previous high of $394.48 million reached back in 2015. While overseas conflicts and rampant inflation may worry your average citizen at home, it's hardly a blip for the world's biggest spenders.