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Monterey Car Week always produces one number everybody remembers. In 2026, that number is $42,905,000 — the all-in price paid for a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe once owned by Carroll Shelby himself, and now the most valuable American car ever sold at auction.
The car headlined Gooding Christie's 22nd Pebble Beach Auctions on August 14 and 15, a two-day sale that closed above $159 million and became the highest-grossing auction in the firm's history. It was also the single biggest result of 2026 Car Week across every auction house on the Peninsula.
A Record Broken by More Than $20 Million
The previous benchmark for an American car at auction was the ex-Gary Cooper 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, which Gooding sold at this same venue in 2018 for $22 million. The Daytona Coupe did not nudge that figure. It nearly doubled it — a 95 percent increase and a margin of better than $20 million.
It is now also the most valuable car Gooding Christie's has ever sold, taking that title from the Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that brought over $25 million at Pebble Beach in 2025. Only six Daytona Coupes were ever built, and the model's purpose-built mission to beat Ferrari on the world stage is why the badge carries the weight it does.
"The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe became the most valuable American car of all time by a 95% increase over the previous record, which we so memorably set at this same venue eight years prior," said Gooding Christie's President David Gooding.
Ferrari and Maserati Set Records of Their Own
Behind the Shelby, a run of postwar European race cars did the heavy lifting. A 1963 Ferrari 250 P brought $18,705,000, a world record for the model. A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione followed at $8,090,000, and a 1968 Porsche 907 Langheck sold for $3,305,000.
Two more world records fell along the way: the 1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage at $4,240,000 and the 1952 Ferrari 225 Sport 'Tuboscocca' Spider at $4,295,000. The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing we previewed before the sale hit its estimate as Lot 52 at $2,975,000, rounding out the top 10 alongside a 1966 Ferrari Dino 206 S Berlinetta at the same figure.
Both Featured Collections Sold Out
Estate offerings performed exceptionally. The Brian Brunkhorst Collection and the Mullin Collection both went 100 percent sold. A 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Lungo Spider led the Brunkhorst cars at $3,305,000, while a 1930 Bugatti Type 43A Roadster topped the Mullin group at $1,270,000.
Modern metal held up too, with a 2020 Bugatti Chiron Sport 'Edition Noire' at $3,442,500, a 2024 Ferrari 812 Competizione at $2,535,000, and a 1989 Porsche 911 Classic Turbo Reimagined by Singer at $1,902,500. Gooding's deep Porsche catalog was a theme all weekend.
The Numbers Behind the Weekend
158 lots sold at a 94 percent sell-through rate. Twenty-eight lots cleared $1 million, and the average price per lot landed at $1,005,681, up 19 percent year over year. Total sales rose 24 percent over 2025.
"The results at Pebble Beach demonstrated that the market rewards substance," said senior specialist David Brynan. "At this uppermost level of quality and significance, the cars do not need to be over-sold; their histories speak for themselves, and the results they garner confirm their lasting value."
Elsewhere on the Peninsula
Best of Show at the 75th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance went to a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster originally owned by Clark Gable, shown by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati. The event passed $50 million in lifetime charitable giving, with 218 cars from 14 countries and 30 states competing on the fairways at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
What Comes Next
Gooding Christie's heads to New York in November as the official auction house of Retromobile New York, with sales on November 21 and 22 at the Javits Center. Paris follows in early 2027, then the annual Amelia Island Auctions in March.
Source: Gooding Christie's press release, August 17, 2026. All photography copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company, LLC.
