Monterey 2014: Muscle Replaces Elegance, Musclecars Invade The Show

Text and Photos by John Wells

Caviar and lobster tail are standard fair in Monterey for the annual Motor Week. One of the highest concentrations of wealth in the automotive world come to the west coast to attend the prestigious Pebble Beach Concors D’Elegance. But that is just the big jewel in the crown of all that goes on during the week.

There is also the Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, auctions at Russo & Steele, Bonham’s Quail Lodge (where the Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta sold for $38,115,000), RM Auctions, and Mecum Auto Auction. It was not hard to find the typical rides associated with this segment of the car culture.

Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls Royce, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar, etc. are all represented at the auction houses, but little by little some good old fashioned American muscle is starting to make its way into this elite club of car enthusiasts. Mecum says it holds the title for reigning champ on selling the most muscle. This has been their bread and butter for the past 25 years. And checking out the Mecum sale in Monterey it was easy to see Mecum was making its mark on the Motor Week.

Of course Mecum had some of the typical cars that are thought of when Motor Week is mentioned, but they could not step too far away from their roots. Mustang, Camaro, GTO, Challenger, 442, were all represented and sold to these Motor Week attendees.

So, the question is…. are the upper crust realizing the long term value of these blue chip muscle cars? Or are these just drivers for the those that were trying to revive their high school dreams? Either way, the muscle is selling and the value of these cars maintains.

It will be interesting to see how the future of Motor Week pans out. Will they eventually start to include this class of car more and more? It remains to be seen, but if the past few years is any indication, it wont be long before Shelby, L88, and Hemi Cuda will be mentioned right along with the Lamborghini, Maybach, and Testarossa.

Highlights of Mecum Monterey:
1970 Hemi Cuda – $235,000
1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner – $72,000
1970 Dodge Challenger – $62,000
1968 Shelby GT350H Fastback – $105,000
1967 Shelby GT500 – $147,500
1968 Camaro Z28 – $62,000
1970 Ford Torino GT – $72,500
1966 Olds 442 – $51,000
1966 GTO – $64,000
1968 Corvette L88 – $785,000
2006 Ford GT Heritage – $510,000
1966 Shelby Cobra – $1,000,000

More results can be found at Mecum’s web site, but in the meantime, be sure to check out some of the awesome musclecars that made their way to Monterey this year, and be sure to make plans for next year if you’re in the area and want to see some great musclecars on the lawn.