In the automotive world , there are auction sale ( trader - to - dealer auction , eBay , etc . ) … and then , there areauctions . This weekend , a bona fide quite a little of the human race ’s finest cars are gathered in Monterey , CA , doom to go under the hammer for monstrous prices that are expect to stretch all the way into the eight - figure zona .

These are   the most drop - dead gorgeous cars at the Monterey auction bridge this weekend , andRM Sotheby’shappens to employ some of the hunky-dory automotive photographers out there . That some of these cars have as much historical relevance as beauty is just icing on the automotive bar .

Carroll. Shelby’s. Cobra. aka Genesis

reckon price : Your conjecture is as dependable as anyone’sIt ’s rare that you could point to a exclusive gondola and say , " That ’s one of the most important vehicle of all time . Thatexactone , correctly over there . " This is one of those occasion . You ’re depend at the original Cobra . Notanoriginal . The .

Carroll Shelby bought this car as an AC Ace , worked with his team of hot rodders , and shoehorn a Ford V8 into the lilliputian English runabout . It ’s not just some paradigm developed by a multinational pot using an U. S. Army of investigator . It ’s a small group of admirer that fundamentally built a street effectual slipstream car in a garage , and blitzed the self-propelled existence with it . Were it not for this precise car , the GT350s and GT500s would n’t have been born . The GT40 projection would n’t have been the dramatic achiever that it was . There would be no Viper . The list goes on .

Even more incredible ? This elevator car has never get up for sale before . Shelby ’s eponymous automobile party owned it until the twenty-four hour period he died , and the vendor is officially The Carroll Hall Shelby Trust . You merely do not get more authentic .

Mercedes 300SL Roadster

Robin Adams ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

1966 Ford GT40 “P/1061”

guess price:$3,750,000 - $ 4,250,000With all of the racing achiever of the GT40 , it ’s a bit promiscuous to forget that Ford legitimately produced it as a road car back in the ' sixty , albeit in circumscribed amount . They were hardlytame , but they did at least have niceties like carpeting . As you might expect , the favorable few who catch their hands on them had a tendency to take these street - legal race cars and … run them in vintage races . That ’s been the bequest of this one after a stint doing selling work for Ford , and that ’s a good thing . This GT40 , as with all of them , is a beautiful beast , and as such it belong on the automotive wildlife preserve that is the race track .

1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi

Estimated price : No one knowsStop and look at this car for a second and take in its shape . The bodywork ’s sole purpose was to help the car go faster on a race track , visuals - be - damn . That did n’t intercept it from being one of the most striking racers ever to represent Maranello . Regardless , it ’s what ’s beneath the skin that counts , and this elevator car certainly has beautiful components . The 268 SP is a thoroughbred racer , and as such was built with no expense spar . It ’s an super close descendant of the very first mid - rear engined Ferrari – change included very underage tweak here and there , plus the increase of a 2.6 liter V8 engine ( hence the 268 moniker ) . This car , and its offspring , were at the fore of Ferrari ’s rise to racing superpower , and the terms it will overlook is pretty much on par with such importance .

1961 Chaparral 1 Prototype

Estimated price:$900,000 - $ 1,400,000There were two Texans in the sixties who call for on the best that Europe had to offer in the world of motorsport . Jim Hall is the one everyone forgets about in lieu of Shelby . Nevertheless , the Chaparral racing team – it ’s bring up after a flightless bird that runs quickly in west Texas – fix a terrific legacy for engineering , with innovative sleek solutions that were at times so in advance they quickly became illicit . This is the very first Chaparral , which was really build to specification in California . It stood toe - to - toe with the Lotuses and Maseratis of the cosmos , and while this accurate car did n’t gain , it ’s the paterfamilias of one of America ’s most outside - the - box racing legacies .

1955 Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type

reckon price:$20,000,000 - $ 25,000,000Eighteen - twelvemonth - quondam single malt . Sean Connery . The Ecurie Ecosse D - Type . That ’s how significant this car is to the history of Scotland . When Ecurie Ecosse – that ’s French for Scotland Stable – won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1956 , it was with this precise car . It ’s hands down the most significant single Jaguar in universe today , and it ’s a vast part of the exceptionally copious legacy that is Ecurie Ecosse . The rudder - like annex behind the driver ’s head is for gamey f number constancy – just a tick under 170 miles per hour in the mid-1950s was no small effort – and the automobile ’s advanced material body dynamics ultimately determine the also - fabled E - Type .

For those ground , Jaguar D - Types in universal are a big deal , but the Flag Blue Metallic livery of Ecurie Ecosse remain one of the most iconic legal transfer in motorsport 60 years after . Say hello to the most expensive Jaguar ever made .

1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Trans Am

Estimated price:$1,000,000 - $ 1,300,000In 1969 , Mustang and Camaro waged a titanic duel for the Trans Am Championship . Peter Revson – inheritor to the Revlon portion and a Formula One driver – rush this exact car against   fellow Formula One man Mark Donohue ’s Camaro . For the first half of the time of year , the Mustang dominated before being roundly beaten to the rubric by the Camaro . This is the lone surviving Mustang out of three that Carroll Shelby prepared for the ' 69 season – the other two did n’t make it through the year . essentially , look at any classical Trans Am backwash with a Mustang in it , and you ’ve catch a reasonably good chance that this is the car in the photo .

2005 Maserati MC12

Estimated price:$1,300,000-$1,600,000You acknowledge the Ferrari Enzo , of course , and if you did n’t already recognize it ’s even - fancy Maserati sibling , now you do . Take an Enzo , give it a svelte coachwork that somehow hit the wild Ferrari of the 2000s seemtame , and make 50 of ‘em . The result is the MC12 , a 630hp monster - gash - rolling - nontextual matter that can hold its own against today ’s supercars in almost any respect .

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

gauge price:$12,000,000 - $ 14,000,000No , this is not theFerris Buellercar … but you ’d be forgive for thinking it is . That was the unforesightful wheel nucleotide , orSWB version . This one ’s its longer direct predecessor . Interestingly , it only be because a few Ferrari insider saw a market for a drop - top Ferrari for wealthy clientele that would rather drive along the PCH than go racing – hence the name . Some still rush it anyway , and did so successfully , too . It ’s consider by many to be the pinnacle of Ferrari design , and the damage … well , they reflect that .

1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider

Estimated price:$20,000,000-$25,000,000Take a expert , solid look at this railcar . chance are you ’ve never heard of it and ca n’t imagine that monetary value tag is anything but a literal error . That ’s OK – the accuracy is that it ’s one of the most incredible cars ever built , when compare to others of its time . Powered by a twin - supercharged double overhead cam V8 – that would still be a headliner on a brand new engine today , for the record – the 8C 2900B was moderately straightaway , especially considering the exceptionally humiliated exponent by other cars of the day . That ’s not why this car ’s of import , though . This was the first cable car work up by Carrozzeria Touring using the " superleggera , " or super - light method – which would in the end lead to the troupe changing its name to Touring Superleggera . Why does that count ? From Ferrari to James Bond ’s Aston Martin of choice – the DB5 – Touring Superleggera ’s reputation for build the in force , most beautiful , and lightweight car bodies is unique .

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

Estimated price:$1,300,000 - $ 1,650,000There are those that reckon the 300 SL , with its Gullwing threshold and then cosmos - amaze carrying into action , to be the original supercar … then there are those that look at the 300 SLRoadsterto be an even better performance railroad car … despitehaving an open - aura roof . The reasons for this are technical , and candidly moot , considering the performance of today ’s railway car . None of that changes the fact that today , the 300 SL Roadster is every bite as desirable a aggregator ’s car as its more noted Gullwing variant . Can you honestly look at this stunner of a auto and not think what it must have been like to drive it down the autobahn in the belated 1950s ?

Bonus:2016 Aston Martin Vulcan

calculate price:$2,300,000-$3,300,000Technically , this one ’s at theMecumauction , not RM . But who cares ? It ’s utterly sensational , and the symphony emanating from the honeyed V12 sounds every bit as good as the Vulcan feel . Aston Martin produce just 24 of these carbon - fibre monster , and with over 800hp to back up the nonrational appeal , the Vulcan is much , much more than mere speech sound and Eumenides . It signifies the very best of Aston Martin . For a caller with over 100 year of nothing but the finest fomite , that ’s say a lot .

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Carroll Shelby’s Cobra

Darin Schnabel ©2016 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

GT40 Road Car

Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari 268 SP

Tim Scott ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Chapparal prototype

Darin Schnabel ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type

Patrick Ernzen ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Trans Am Boss Mustang

Courtesy RM Sotheby’s

Maserati MC12 For Sale

Karissa Hosek ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Ferrari 250 GT California Spider LWB

Robin Adams ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Alfa Romeo 8C

Darin Schnabel ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Mercedes 300SL Roadster

Robin Adams ©2016 RM Sotheby’s

Aston Martin Vulcan

Courtesy of Mecum Auctions