Mecum Monterey: Third Record of 2026
13 September 2025 9 min read 11 images
Photo credit: Mecum
Mecum Monterey: third record of 2026
Frankly, I am not happy to see that newspapers, websites, and the commentary of various experts, when discussing Monterey, cite only the "big three" – RM Sotheby’s, Gooding, Christie’s, and Broad Arrow. Nobody mentions Mecum, which has managed to hold its own against – and in some cases even surpass – its far more celebrated rivals.
Let us look at Mecum’s numbers: total sales came to a dazzling $112,158,750; 16 of the top 20 most expensive cars were European; and the house placed two cars above $10 million each. 479 cars were offered, compared to 346 last year (+38%), and 295 lots sold – 29% more than before.
The growth in value is remarkable: +254%, from $31.7 million to $112,158,750.
The average price per car was $380,199 – lower than those of its competitors, but still a new record for the Wisconsin house.
Mecum, Monterey, 15 August 2026
Mecum’s top lot also set a model record: the 1996 Ferrari F50 was one of 31 produced in Giallo Modena, sold in Switzerland – hence the European specification and the 7,253 km on the odometer. It also came with Tubi Style exhausts (though the originals were included), luggage, the hardtop with its case, and Ferrari Classiche certification. It is worth recalling that the most celebrated yellow F50 is Ralph Lauren’s, which reshaped the market last year at $9.25 million. The record of $12.21 million had belonged to a red example sold earlier this year with just 251 miles. At Monterey, however, the market struck again: this F50 sold for $14,575,000.
Second place on the leaderboard went to a 2003 Ferrari Enzo. Red, with just 595 miles from new, and the Red Book issued by the factory. This year the model bearing the name of Ferrari’s founder has also surged: two examples have exceeded $15 million. In this case the price was $12,100,000 – which almost seems like a bargain.
As at the other auctions, Mecum also set an industrial quantity of new records for contemporary Ferraris. The most striking examples are the "new" twelve-cylinders, which have consigned even the rosiest expectations to the attic. The 812 GTS, for instance – a 2021 example from the Tailor Made programme, finished in Azzurro La Plata with a Poltrona Frau Polare interior (that is to say, white) and all matching details plus exposed carbon fibre, with a list price of around $400,000 before options – achieved $1,650,000, a figure that leaves you dizzy.
The price for a 2023 Ferrari 812 Competizione then almost seems logical by comparison: also in Azzurro La Plata (the same collection, perhaps?), with a red interior, the French tricolour, shield badges on the wings, numerous carbon-fibre touches, and just 351 miles on the clock. It reached $3,355,000.
At the very top of the rankings, however, we find an "older" car – 2017, admittedly, but still a Ferrari F12 TdF. The configuration was nothing exceptional: Giallo Triplo Strato on the outside, black interior – the very colours in which it was presented at launch. No accessories that truly distinguished this example from others. Even the mileage remained something of a mystery. The price? $3,657,500. Remarkable – perhaps a new trend in its early stages.
The eight-cylinders of the same era also threw off sparks. A new record for a Ferrari 458 – a Speciale Aperta with a bold but winning livery: white with the Italian tricolour running the length of the bodywork. Just 311 miles from new and carbon fibre everywhere (from the door handles to the fuel filler flap). The model is living through its golden age: $2,750,000, beating the record set just two days earlier by $325,000.
Could its successor be absent? Certainly not – a 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista Spider was present to stake its own claim to the record books. The example was finished in dark metallic red with a black interior, where carbon fibre frequently gave way to leather. Here too the mileage was extremely low: the odometer read 701 miles. At $1,842,500 it surpassed the previous record by $300,000 – a record set just the day before.
The list also included three more accessible Ferraris: a 2013 458 Spider (red, 1,644 miles, sold for $671,000), a 2022 F8 Tributo (pastel grey, 3,101 miles, $616,000), and a 2003 360 Spider (manual gearbox, yellow, 19,000 miles, at $385,000). All new records.
But the stars did not shine on Maranello alone – in Stuttgart, too, the brightest star traced new records. At Mecum, three letters seemed almost magical: those of the Mercedes-Benz SLS.
A new record for a "standard" SLS: a 2011 white example with Designo Exclusive black leather, showing just 1,149 miles. The rare colour and low mileage drove it to $467,500, compared to the $456,000 achieved by an identical example at Broad Arrow. Then there was the Final Edition – one of 350 examples built to mark the end of the model. It differed from the standard version by its carbon-fibre bonnet and rear spoiler, and its limited-series status made it essentially a collector’s car from the moment it left the factory. The 676 miles on the clock come as no surprise, then; the price is rather more striking: $803,000.
And what of the Black Series? This was the flagship version of the model – more powerful, more sporting, more focused, and more collectable. This particular example was even more singular: just five cars had been produced in Mars Red, and this was arguably the finest of them, with only 179 miles from new. No Black Series had ever come close to the million-dollar mark, but this example was truly special and deserved a price to match: $1,815,000.
Amid these modern cars, a record for a "historic" 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet caused something of a stir. The 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet is one of the most sought-after Mercedes among collectors – set aside the pre-war cars (the 500K and 540K) and the various Gullwing derivatives, and this is the one everyone wants in the garage. It is no surprise that the record stands at $616,000. The Mecum example, however, was in all likelihood the finest in the world: fully restored by Brabus – the celebrated German specialist – to an exceptional standard, it had covered just six (and I repeat, six) miles since completion of the work. The name Brabus has never rhymed with "affordable," and this occasion was no exception: $770,000.
