8 Cars That Caught Our Eye at Mecum Monterey 2024

Mecum’s 2024 Monterey sale closed with more than $51M in total sales, the company’s biggest haul since 2021 despite a less than stellar sell-through rate of just 59 percent. Topping the week at Mecum were the third-most expensive Ford GT40 ever sold at auction, the most expensive Dodge Charger Daytona, and a Ferrari 275 GTB.

As the auctions around Monterey Car Week mostly feature the highest of high-dollar metal, other sales that cater to lower budgets that have tried to get established have simply come and gone. Mecum was the only one left in 2024, and though the average sale price was an expensive $175,613, the median sale price was just shy of 53 grand, and there were bargains along with the big results. We put eyes on some of the most interesting cars sold at Mecum Monterey this year, and examine them in detail below.

Lot F82: 1986 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S

Sold for $352,000

Chassis no. ZDT874000FA009414. Red with white graphics over black. Visually maintained, largely original, #2- condition.

Equipment: Ford 351-cid Cleveland V-8, 5-speed, Campagnolo alloy wheels, Pirelli Cinturato tires, wing, flares, Alpine cassette, power windows, air conditioning, books, tools, fire extinguisher.

Condition: One of 182 built in this trim. Good, lightly aged paint. Beautiful restored wheels. Lightly worn leather but mostly lovely interior. A rare, later Euro-spec Pantera that has gotten major mechanical and cosmetic attention when necessary, and carefully driven for 12,508 km (7772 miles).

Bottom line: In this country, the Pantera was a fondly remembered but short-lived Italo-American exotic sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers from 1972 to 1975. But while Ford held the rights to the car in the U.S., DeTomaso retained them in Europe and kept on building the car, albeit in small numbers, up until the early 1990s. Panteras got a little better, a little faster, and more aggressively styled during that time, and the small numbers that have made their way over here on an individual basis are quite desirable to American buyers.

This one was a $120,000 no-sale at Mecum’s Kissimmee summer sale in 2020 and then sold for $172,000 on Bring a Trailer later that year. Inflation since then has been bad but it hasn’t been that bad, and there hasn’t been the kind of explosion in the Pantera market that the difference between those numbers might suggest. There were nine Panteras at Mecum Monterey this year, which surely drew interested parties, but this result defies logic. It’s the most expensive of the Mecum Panteras by nearly a factor of two over the next-most expensive, another GT5-S sold for $180K. It’s very nearly the all-time record auction price for a Pantera, just a few grand shy of a later, rarer 1990 Si model that sold for $357K a few years back.

Lot S105: 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona

Sold for $264,000

Chassis no. XX29L9B358401. Hemi Orange and black over black vinyl. Unrestored original, #4- condition.

Equipment: 440cid/375hp V-8, automatic, console, AM radio, tach.

Condition: Represented with two owners since new. Featured in Hot Rod magazine, September 2015. Stored for decades on a family farm. In as-found condition. The paint is faded and worn throughout with too many scrapes and scratches to count. The engine compartment is old and grimy and the underbody is oxidized. The interior appears as if the seats and carpet have been redone; at least it doesn’t smell musty. An incredible barn-find car.

Bottom line: Definitely given a premium for its barn-find mystique, even if that mystique is a few years old now. Nobody got carried away, though, and the best thing for the car now would probably be to just enjoy it as-is, reveling in the originality and those charmingly redneck added period graphics.

Lot S99: 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi

Sold for $3,360,000

Chassis no. XX29J9B383276. Dark Green and black over black vinyl. Older restoration, #2- condition.

Equipment: 426cid/425hp Hemi V-8, 4-speed, 4.10 Super Track Pak, power steering and brakes, body-color wheels with hub caps and redline tires, power windows, center console, bucket seats, AM radio with 8-track player, includes broadcast sheet and Chrysler Registry Report. Represented as “the most highly optioned Hemi Daytona known to exist.”

Condition: One of 503 Daytonas built, just 70 Hemis, and just 22 Hemi 4-speeds. Previously restored. The paint is very good. Driver’s door is slightly saggy at the back. The windshield trim has some slight hazing. The engine compartment is clean and shows minimal use, and the underbody is a bit dusty but fully restored. The interior does not present significant wear or deterioration. An older restoration that has held up very well.

Bottom line: This Daytona’s sale was pure auction drama, as a fierce bidding war drew Dana Mecum down to the front row to inspire ever-higher bids while the television cameras were rolling. The result was a record price, which is all the more remarkable given this same car sold at Mecum Indy in 2022 for $1.32M, and the overall market has trended down since then.

Lot T143: 1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback

Sold for $27,500

Chassis no. RA29100437. Tan over tan vinyl. Visually maintained, largely original, #3+ condition.

Equipment: 2.0 inline-4, 5-speed, original Sylvania fog lights, rear window slats, factory cassette, factory air conditioning.

Condition: Sold new in Washington and represented as a one-owner car. Beautiful restored wheels. Decent paint and brightwork. A couple of pieces of the body side trim are missing. The interior looks pretty great other than a large chunk of plastic missing from the console trim. Showing 22,103 miles that are represented as actual, and although it certainly isn’t perfect, it has to be one of the nicest ’77 Celicas anywhere.

Bottom line: With its mini-muscle-car styling and decent range of four-cylinder engines, the Celica was the first properly sporty Toyota sold in significant numbers in this country, and it was the first Toyota dubbed a “liftback” in 1973. Like a lot of cheap, fun Japanese cars from the 1970s, though, there are barely any clean ones left. That’s why this one sold for so much money. This price could just about buy you a faster, better-looking and more significant (but easier to find) Datsun 240Z.

F120: 1964 TVR Griffith 200

Sold for $68,200

Chassis no. 2005058. Silver over black. Competition restoration, #3 condition.

Equipment: 289cid/342hp V-8, 4-speed, Compomotive alloy wheels, Nanking tires, roll cage, fire bottle, OMP race seats with Willans harnesses, Smiths gauges, left-hand drive.

Condition: Track ready. Restored in the late 1990s and used in lots of historic events in Europe. In race-car condition with dull bumpers and battle scars in the paint. Uneven gaps, but that’s consistent with a fiberglass-bodied, overpowered British sports car. Mostly stripped interior with seats and a modern shift knob that stand out in a historic car. Reasonably tidy underneath. Fast, scary, awesome and likely not that expensive.

Bottom line: After failing to sell at a $70,000 high bid at Mecum Glendale earlier in the year, this car went for even less in Monterey and, all things considered, may be the best bargain of the week. The TVR Griffith packs Ford 289 power into a tiny British chassis, just like a Cobra, and offers similarly frightening speed. This one is also eligible for all sorts of historic FIA events in Europe or all manner of historic races in this country. The new owner will be able to mix it up on track with seven-figure Cobras, ’60s Ferraris, and Lightweight E-Types for a fraction of the price of entry, and they’ll mostly just need Ford and BMC parts to keep it running.

Lot F139: 1964 Jaguar E-Type SI 3.8 Roadster

Sold for $101,200

Chassis no. 88026. Blue Silver over gray leather. Older restoration, #2- condition.

Equipment: 3781cc/265hp inline-6, 4-speed, wire wheels, Michelin redline tires, dual mirrors, period radio, fire bottle, boot cover.

Condition: Not much history or documentation represented but the engine and chassis look somewhat freshly restored. The paint looks very good, but there is a scratch on the left front bumper and the headlight bezels aren’t flush. Cloudy gauges and lightly worn driver’s seat. Better than just a 20-footer. Very few needs and ideal for casual driving or events.

Bottom line: E-Types have been soft for the past couple of years, and this result shows a continuation of the trend. This is a solid 3.8-liter Series I roadster in a nice color, but the price is a mediocre one.

Lot F77: 2003 Ferrari Enzo

Sold for $2,860,000

Chassis no. ZFFCW56AX30131631. Rosso Corsa over Pella Nera. Visually maintained, largely original, #2- condition.

Equipment: 5999cc/660hp V-12, 6-speed F1 gearbox, books, luggage, Ferrari Classiche Red Book.

Condition: One of 111 Enzos imported to the U.S. Engine replaced under warranty. Repainted black by a previous owner, then repainted back to the proper Rosso Corsa by a subsequent one. Represented with 27,123 km (16,853 miles), which is pretty high for an Enzo. The bare carbon splitter in the front has a small scratch on it, and the central wheel locks show scuffs from use. The engine and interior look barely worn. A usable Enzo.

Bottom line: This car went to RM’s Monterey sale back in 2009 and was an $850,000 no-sale there. Bonhams offered it in Monterey last year, and it was a $2.675M no-sale there. Then, Mecum brought it to its Glendale auction earlier this year, where it was bid to $2.9M but again failed to meet reserve. It’s finally off to a new home, and for a price that makes it the cheapest U.S. auction for an Enzo in four years. Then again, it’s also the only Enzo we’ve seen with an engine replacement and two repaints.

S90: 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight

Sold for $7,865,000

Chassis no. GT40P1080. Cirrus White over black. Older restoration, #2 condition.

Equipment: 289cid/440hp Gurney Weslake V-8, 5-speed, BRM centerlock wheels, Firestone tires.

Condition: One of 10 factory-built lightweight GT40s, reported to retain the original body and chassis, authenticated by Ronnie Spain. Sold to privateer team A.F. Pires in Angola (then under Portuguese control), where it quickly sold on again to Emilio Marta in 1970 after Pires retired from racing. Marta campaigned it in the Angolan international sports car racing series to considerable success.

Following the outbreak of civil war in Angola in 1975, Marta went home to Portugal and took the GT40 with him, and raced it there. Sold again in 1979 and slowly restored over the next 20 years. Good body and paint with no signs of road rash or wear, the engine and mechanicals are beautifully restored and the interior does not appear to have been used much since restoration. A beautifully restored, late GT40.

Bottom line: Valuing a GT40 can be as much art as it is science given that much of it comes down to history. This one never competed at major races like Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona, or the Nürburgring, and never had big names behind the wheel. But, having the original body and running gear is a big plus, and its late production lightweight spec is another. In the end, this price was an impressive one that makes it the third-most expensive GT40 ever sold at auction. It also stands out against the numerous disappointing or mediocre results for Enzo-era Ferraris achieved the same week.