These 18 beautiful, vintage cars are worth millions and are up for auction at Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company/Brian Henniker

• The 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance kicked off this week in California at the Pebble Beach Golf Club. 
• Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, is presenting a particularly impressive fleet of automobiles on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25. 
• Some of the cars in Gooding & Company's fleet include a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500, and a 1956 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing.

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The 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance kicked off this week in California with antique car enthusiasts and collectors the world over flocking to place bids and see some of the most expensive vehicles on Earth. 

Since it began in 1950, the Pebble Beach Concours has been the top-ranked car collector competition in the world. It has evolved over time, from its initial focus on collector cars in the 1950s to emphasizing sports racing and eventually preservation techniques in the 1990s. 

Those in attendance bid on some of the finest and rarest cars around, coined by Business Insider's Matthew DeBord as "rolling sculptures," to the tune of many millions of dollars. 

Aside from car aficionados and dealers, the event is primarily of interest to the investor class, who choose to park their money in vintage cars (along with fine art, expensive wine, antiques, and historical artifacts). 

Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, is presenting a particularly impressive fleet of automobiles this year. On Friday, August 24 at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, August 25 at 11:00 a.m., eighteen Gooding & Company vehicles will grace the auction stage. 

The public preview of the vehicles began on Wednesday and will last until Saturday, with general admission costing $40 and auction catalogs going for $100. Bidder registration is $200. 

Here's a preview of the cars that will be sold for auction this weekend by Gooding & Company. 

 

 

 

1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II (Estimate: $5,500,000-$7,500,000)

Gooding & Company/James Lipman

With only one owner since 1960, this superb 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial is in excellent condition despite being raced 35 times.  Noted Ferrari historian Marcel Massini says, "It also must be the best documented competition Ferrari ever."

1952 Bentley R Type Continental Fastback (Estimate: $1,500,000-$2,000,000)

Gooding & Company/Mathieu Heurtault

This classic 1952 Bentley R Type Fastback features alloy bumpers, lightweight bucket seats, a manual gearbox, and custom appointments. The car's Antelope brown exterior mixes well with its brown leather interior, signifying both a bygone world as well as a still essential luxury. 

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing: (Estimate: $1,100,000-$1,300,000 without reserve)

Gooding & Company/Mike Maez

This blue-chip collector car was previously owned by an original Hollywoodland developer, L. Milton Wolf, and remained in his family for six decades. The Gullwing is unrestored, keeping with it the original red-leather seats.  

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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