2026 RM Sotheby’s Monterey Sale (Top Prewar Cars Preview)

A 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe and Clark Gable’s 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz are the headline prewar cars on sale at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week 2026 classic car auction.

Around a quarter of the almost 200 cars on sale at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 classic car auction were made before the Second World War. Of these prewar cars, eight have presale upper estimates of more than $5 million. The 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi and Clark Gable’s customized 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz are expected to be the most expensive prewar cars at the 2026 Monterey Car Week collector car auction.

Top Prewar Cars on Offer at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026

The most expensive prewar cars on offer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 classic car auction, based on presale estimates, are:

R	Year	Car	Estimate (USD)
1	1938	Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi	$7,000,000 – $8,000,000
2	1935	Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz	$5,750,000 – $8,000,000
3	1928	Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo-Sport “Cannes” by Saoutchik	$5,000,000 – $6,500,000
4	1937	Delage D8-120 S Aerodynamic Coupe by Pourtout	$5,000,000 – $6,000,000
5	1904	Mercedes Simplex 40 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau	$5,000,000 – $6,000,000
6	1937	Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante	$4,500,000 – $6,000,000
7	1937	Delahaye 145 Cabriolet by Franay	$4,500,000 – $6,000,000
8	1934	Packard 1108 Twelve Individual Custom Sport Phaeton by LeBaron	$4,000,000 – $5,000,000

Note. Include all cars built before 1945 with upper presale estimates of $5 million or more.

Top Prewar Cars at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026

Eight of the $5-million-plus cars on offer at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 were produced before the Second World War. Owners keen on exhibiting at Pebble Beach should focus on this category — only two post-war cars have been selected as Best of Show in the past seven decades. Several of the cars on sale at RM Sotheby’s were class winners at Pebble Beach, with the Delage and Bugatti Best of Show.

1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe

The 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi, chassis 90117, is one of only 11 New York-style teardrop coupes built.

This was the only Teardrop Coupe commissioned specifically for competition, which gave it a longer and lower body, as well as some engine-bay reinforcements and a larger fuel tank. It retired from 9th place on the 88th lap of the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Talbot-Lago ended up behind the Iron Curtain and only re-emerged on the international market in the 1990s. It was part of the Oscar Davis Collection and sold for $7,265,000 at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2022 auction.

1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz

The 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz was one of just four Rollston-bodied convertible coupes built on the final JN-series.

Chassis J-560 was ordered new by Clark Gable and extensively customized to his personal specifications. The car received numerous bespoke modifications, including an extended hoodline, sharply raked windshield, rear fender skirts, and dual rear-mounted spares. Closely associated with Gable throughout his ownership, it appeared in studio promotional photography and the 1938 film Merrily We Live, while also serving as the automobile in which he courted actress Carole Lombard.

Acquired by Sam and Emily Mann in 2005, the car was comprehensively restored by Stone Barn to its original 1935 configuration and debuted at the 2007 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it received the Gwenn Graham Trophy for Most Elegant Convertible, later earning Best of Show honors at Meadow Brook and Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. 

1928 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo-Sport “Cannes” by Saoutchik

The 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo-Sport wears a unique open “Cannes” coachwork by Saoutchik. It was built for aristocratic sportsman and art collector Oliver de Rivaud, the Comte de la Raffinièr, and remained for 55 years in the collection of H. Dieter Holterbosch. The meticulously restored car was a class award-winner at the 2025 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The record price for a Mercedes-Benz 680S Torpedo is $8,250,000 paid for a 1928 Roadster by Carrosserie J. Saoutchik over a decade ago at RM Monterey 2013, a year after being awarded Best of Show at Pebble Beach.

1937 Delage D8-120 S Aerodynamic Coupe by Pourtout

The 1937 Delage D8-120 S Aerodynamic Coupe by Pourtout, chassis 51620, was commissioned as Louis Delage’s personal automobile and clothed by Marcel Pourtout in an advanced aerodynamic design by Georges Paulin. The car has wind tunnel-tested coachwork, frameless window glass, and sweeping aluminum body panels of remarkable technical sophistication for the era. Built on the lowered and performance-focused D8-120 S chassis, the car debuted outside the 1937 Paris Salon and was praised in period French press for its avant-garde design.

Following ownership in France and the United States, including by industrial designer Robert Muelke, the Delage was acquired by Sam and Emily Mann and meticulously restored by Stone Barn and Contour Metalshaping to its original configuration, preserving nearly all of its original bodywork and fitted luggage. Debuting at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, it completed the Tour d’Elegance, won its class, earned a Best of Show nomination, and was ultimately awarded Best of Show.

The sale will also include two further Delage D8-120 models by Letourneur et Marchand: a 1937 Coach Aérosport and a 1939 S Coupe with estimates around $2 million.

1904 Mercedes Simplex 40 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau

The 1904 Mercedes Simplex 40 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau is the oldest car in this group. It is offered from the collection of the Owls Head Transportation Museum, where it has been since 1977. The Mercedes Simplex carried a massive 6.7-liter T-head four but, more importantly, an industry-first H-pattern gearshift that allowed easy gear selection.

1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante

The 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante, chassis 57551, is one of just 42 Type 57S examples built and among only 17 bodied as an Atalante. Furthermore, it is one of only four fitted with lowered headlights on the competition-style chassis.

Delivered new to Jean Lévy of Strasbourg, the car carries exceptional provenance, later joining the famed Harrah’s Automobile Collection, where it was restored to 57SC specification and achieved Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 1976. Under the ownership of Dr. Herbert Boyer and Jim Patterson, RM Auto Restoration returned the Atalante to its original configuration to earn the J.B. Nethercutt Trophy at Pebble Beach in 2014.

1937 Delahaye 145 Cabriolet by Franay

The 1937 Delahaye 145 Cabriolet by Franay is one of five competition 12-cylinder 145 chassis produced. It is believed to be the car that won the Prix du Million in 1937 at Montlhéry for beating the Mercedes-Benz speed record. René Dreyfus raced to several Grand Prix victories.

After the Second World War, the car was modified for road use with unique coachwork by Franay. As part of the Sam and Emily Mann Collection, the restored car debuted at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it was awarded First in Class and a Nomination for Best of Show. In 2024, the Delahaye was named Rolex Circle of Champions Best of Show at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, and was nominated for the Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award.

1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Individual Custom Sport Phaeton by LeBaron

The 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Individual Custom Sport Phaeton by LeBaron is one of the four surviving Sport Phaetons built. (The fifth was lost in Europe during the Second World War.) The Packard was restored in the 1970s while part of the Harrah collection.

The last time one of the four was sold at public auction was in 1981, and only two have sold privately since, including this Packard in 1995.

Monterey Car Week Auctions 2026