For Bonhams, RM Auctions and Gooding, it is one of the most important dates of the year: Monterey week, part of the prestigious concours d'elegance in Pebble Beach on California’s west coast. Nowhere else will you see so many multi-million-dollar Ferrari classics in pristine condition, surrounded by buyers with the wealth to acquire them.

Bonhams will be serving up a special feast to the well-heeled Ferrari community this year at its traditional Quail Lodge sale, when the varied classics on offer include 10 hugely desirable Ferraris from the Maranello Rosso Collection: an ensemble of Prancing Horses from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. As Bonhams co-chairman Robert Brooks commented, “At Bonhams, we’ve had the privilege to present our clients with some very special motor cars and collections, but this is without doubt our most astounding collection.”

Ferrari 250 MM with Californian history

In addition to the authentic Ferrari 250 GTO which, if sold, is expected to deliver a new auction record (we are talking $50 million or more), there is also this beautiful Ferrari 250 Mille Miglia Berlinetta on offer. Styled by Pinin Farina, this Ferrari is considered a predecessor of such major icons as the 250 Tour de France, the 250 GT Short Wheelbase and the 250 GTO. The car was delivered new to California in 1953, by Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti, for its first owner – racing driver Bill Devin. In his first race, Devin promptly took third place with this powerful 3-litre V12 GT. He then handed it over to aspiring young driver Phil Hill, for the car’s second race – in which it swept to first place. Only in the 1980s did the Ferrari return to its homeland, to be owned by the Italian Count Vittorio Zanon di Valgiurata. It didn’t reside there long, however (though long enough to complete the Mille Miglia retrospective – twice), and by the late 1980s the Ferrari found itself in the custody of the Maranello Rosso Museum. Chassis number 0312 MM is expected to realise between 9 and 12 million U.S. dollars.