These Are the Five Coolest Retro Rides for Sale in Monterey This Year

In the late 1970s, German designer Eberhard Schulz was crestfallen when Mercedes-Benz didn't put his CW311 concept into production. Undeterred, Schulz bought some engines and put it into production himself as the Isdera Imperator 108i. It's a bonkers mid-engined V8 supercar with a futuristic pod-like design that's impossible to pin down to any one decade.

If you've got a million bucks and treat Cars and Coffee as a competitive sport, this is the car for you. The 300-horsepower gull-winged beast is one of just 30 ever built, and is up for sale with Broad Arrow Auctions.

Ferrari will always gladly sell you some kind of race-prepped version of its road-going supercars. If you want something with more of a vintage flair, though, you might consider this 1978 Ferrari 512 BB Competizione. Once you've learned how to pronounce the name properly, you'll want to start working out your arms and legs to muscle the steering and clutch at full race pace. This is no sticker-pack special, either—this car actually raced at the 1978 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It's been used little since then, and does need some mechanical issues solved. However, it's hard to imagine a cooler track car than a Ferrari with a proper 12-cylinder race engine. Rock up to the RM Sotheby's auction ready to spend seven figures if it's supposed to be yours.

I've loved these things ever since I spotted one under a sheet in an Australian warehouse back in 2012. When Ford set out to take on the rest of Group B, it built a rally car par excellance. In its final form, the RS200 Evolution was bespoke mid-engined monster unrestrained by any basis on an existing production car. The all-wheel-drive, fiberglass-bodied beast rocked over 600 horsepower from its 2.1-liter engine, courtesy of a dinnerplate-sized turbo and lashings of boost. It delivered a terrifying zero-to-60 mph time of just 3.07 seconds, all the way back in 1986.

Group B died in flames, and Ford never found the success it hoped for with the car. This example is one of just 24 ever built, and is rumored to have done less than 350 miles since new. It's also remarkably affordable with a price guide topping out at $650,000, per the auction listing at RM Sotheby's. Buy it and take it for a spin, won't you? This baby was born to run.

Maybe you're a car enthusiast of style and substance. Maybe you want to recreate The Hangover but you only have one friend, and so you only need a two-seater. Either way, this gorgeous roadster is probably one of the finest ways to enjoy top-down motoring on a sunny day. It's effortlessly beautiful in a way many newer roadsters could only dream of. It's also available in the best possible colorway—white with red interior—and it's a technological marvel of its time.

Such elegance doesn't come cheap. You'll be looking at spending around $2.5 million if Mecum Auctions has anything to say about it. Happy bidding.

This list wouldn't be complete without a good example of American excess. The Vector Avtech WX3 is just that. A creation of the enigmatic Gerald "Jerry" Wiegert, it features the bold lines and obnoxious performance that Vector became obscurely famous for. This prototype, intended as the successor to the Vector W8, was presented at the 1992 Geneva Motor Show. It would reappear again the next year in the glorious teal seen here, with a 7.0-liter turbocharged V8 in the back good for 1,000 horsepower. Sadly, it never went into production.

It's the perfect entry into the prestigious world of concours competition, having never been entered at the international level. We're told we should be "mindful of the car's limitations in modern traffic conditions," which sounds like code for "have a trailer bring it to the show, just in case." Up for sale at Broad Arrow Auctions, estimates have this car selling anywhere from $1.5 to $2 million.

If you're hunting the auction listings yourself, don't hesitate to share your picks in the comments below. The metal on offer is about as rich and varied as it gets, so there's plenty of good stuff to choose from, whether your tastes are restrained or ridiculous. If you do purchase one of the cars listed here, let me know if you appreciated the recommendation—or if I led you horribly, terribly astray.

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