This year’s Bonhams|Cars Quail Auction at the 2025 Monterey Car Week set the tone for the weekend with a truly incredible lineup of some of the world’s most sought-after automobiles being offered for sale. As one of the top auctions to watch this year, over 700 enthusiastic bidders were in attendance at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California, where 109 cars crossed the block and racked up $44.7 million in total sales. With a 96% sell-through rate, this was one of Bonhams’ strongest Monterey showings in years.
The headline came from a 2020 Bugatti Divo that we featured last week with a pre-auction estimate of between $7.0-$9.0 million. The gavel finally dropped on this 1-of-40 Divo at $8.6 million, a new auction world record. That figure comfortably eclipses previous Divo results, showing how demand for modern Bugattis has surged. With fewer than 800 miles on the odometer and provenance that also included a display at the Petersen Museum’s “Hypercars: The Allure of the Extreme,” this particular example checked every box for collectors.
Other modern Bugattis followed closely. A 2021 Chiron Pur Sport achieved $3.96 million, while a 2023 Chiron Super Sport brought in $3.4 million. These results raise an interesting question for potential buyers: Is now the time to get into modern Pïech-era W16 Bugattis, as the French marque brings its century-long gas-powered lineage to a close, with the upcoming Hybridized V16 Tourbillon?
Beyond the Molsheim greats, the ‘Future Classics Collection’ of 24 Hypercars, offered entirely without reserve, proved to be a magnet for in-room bidders. The 2022 Apollo Intensa Emozione “Ocean Dragon” brought $3.5 million, setting a world auction record for the model. A 2017 Pagani Huayra Roadster, still showing only 800 miles, went for $3.3 million.
But not every top result came from hypercars. A 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2, which we also featured in our 10 Must-See Cars at the Bonhams|Cars Quail Auction. Long considered one of the ultimate expressions of Group B rallying, it achieved $1.76 million. Meanwhile, a 1956 Ferrari 250 Europa GT sold for $1.51 million, and a 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Mille Miglia Berlinetta fetched $687,000.
The auction also featured cars from Vic Edelbrock Jr.’s collection and a spread of pre-war classics. While those did well, it was clear that the appetite this year leaned heavily toward low-mileage, high-performance modern machines. So, where does this leave you as a collector or enthusiast? If you’re in the market, auctions like Quail are setting the benchmark. Pay attention to which hypercars consistently exceed estimates, and think about whether you want to chase that same trajectory.
On the flip side, if you already own something like a Huayra or Chiron, these results should give you confidence in where values are headed. They also confirm something you may already suspect: limited-run hypercars with minimal use remain one of the safest bets in today’s collector-car market. Equally important, Bonhams emphasized that most of the competitive action happened in the room, not online. At a time when digital platforms dominate collector-car sales, Monterey proved there’s still no substitute for being there in person, paddle in hand. Catch the entire auction
" title="YouTube video" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen>10. 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Mille Miglia Berlinetta
$687,000
9. 1956 Ferrari 250 Europa GT
$1,512,000
8. 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2
$1,765,000
7. 2021 Koenigsegg Regera
$2,700,000
6. 2022 Pagani Huayra R
$3,030,000
5. 2017 Pagani Huayra Roadster
$3,305,000
4. 2022 Apollo Intensa Emozione “Ocean Dragon”
$3,442,500
3. 2021 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport
$3,965,000
2. 2023 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport
$4,460,000
1. 2020 Bugatti Divo
$8,557,500
Source: Bonhams | Cars
