On the third Sunday of August each year, close to 200 of the most desired cars and motorcycles in the world are gathered together in an impressive display of steel and rubber at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This collector car show was originally a small social event with a road race through Pebble Beach, according to the event's page. Now, it is far more than that - it's an experience. Aficionados of two- and four-wheeled art forms gather to admire the vehicles and compete for the chance to own some of these beauties.
Collectors realize how rare some of these vehicles are and wait for them like an art piece or real estate, McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance, told Forbes.
"This is proving once again and more than ever that the world of people who are collectors who are well-heeled are realizing there is a limited number of these types of cars," he said.
Among the vehicles making collectors swoon and open their wallets wide were Jay Leno's Fiat 500, which sold for $385,000 in comparison to its valued price of between $25,000 and $35,000, the news provider reports. George Clooney's 2008 Tesla Roadster was also a featured item and sold for $99,000, benefitting Satellite Sentinel Project, a charity that monitors the borders in Sudan with the hope of preventing civil war.
The 1968 Ford GT40 that was modified to fit a camera to film "Le Mans" starring Steve McQueen broke the all-time record for an American-made car sold at an auction at $11 million. Andy Warhol's 1955 Ferrari 857 fetched $6.27 million.
Other notable appearances at the Concours are Steven Tyler's new Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, a 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta owned by Jay Kay of Jamiroquai and a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio owned by Prince Louis Napoleon, according to the news provider.
Sales broke records at the auction. The weekend totals approached $115 million in sales, about $78 more than last year. Post-sale deals on cars that didn’t sell during the actual auctions could push the weekend’s total above $300 million.
"This is proving once again and more than ever that the world of people who are collectors who are well-heeled are realizing there is a limited number of these types of cars," Hagerty told Forbes.
As with any vehicle purchased at auction, a car tune up should be completed.