The Sam and Emily Mann Collection: Heading to RM Sotheby's Monterey 2026
One of the most celebrated private automobile collections in the world is coming to auction. RM Sotheby’s has announced that The Sam and Emily Mann Collection will be offered at The Monterey Auction, taking place August 13-15, 2026, at the Portola Hotel and Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California – the centerpiece event of Monterey Car Week 2026.
Who Are Sam and Emily Mann?
Sam and Emily Mann have spent more than four decades building one of the most extraordinary pre-war collector car collections ever assembled. Sam, an industrial designer and inventor with more than 80 U.S. and international patents, approaches every acquisition as both an engineer and an artist – seeking automobiles with exceptional beauty, provenance, and mechanical significance.
The results speak for themselves. The Manns have won Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance four times – more than any other individual collector. In 2024, their 1937 Delahaye Type 135 took Best of Show at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, during Monterey Car Week. They were also honored as Collectors of the Year at the Concours d’Elegance of America in 2018.
No car better embodies the magic of the Sam and Emily Mann Collection than the 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe by Rollston and Bohman & Schwartz – custom-built for Clark Gable, “The King of Hollywood”. Gable worked directly with Bohman & Schwartz designer W. Everett Miller, sketching his vision side-by-side before the car was hand-crafted to his personal specifications. The result – one of the last two-seater open Duesenbergs ever delivered – became inseparably linked to Gable and his great romance with actress Carole Lombard.
The car was acquired by Sam and Emily Mann in 2005 and restored to its original delivery specification by Stone Barn of Vienna, New Jersey. It has since won Best of Show at Amelia Island and Meadowbrook, and appeared at multiple Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance events. Estimated at $5,750,000-$8,000,000, it is among the most historically important and emotionally resonant automobiles ever to appear at a collector car auction.
More Highlights from the Mann Collection
The Sam and Emily Mann Collection at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 spans the full golden age of pre-war coachbuilt automobiles. Additional highlights include:
- 1913 Mercer Model 35-J Raceabout (Est. $2,750,000-$3,500,000) – Described as “America’s greatest and most legendary early sports car,” this late-production four-speed example has been in the Mann Collection since 1999 and is being offered at public auction for the first time in over 25 years
- 1934 Avions Voisin C23/24 Roadster by Saliot (Est. $2,500,000-$3,000,000) – A Pebble Beach Best of Show winner, called by RM Sotheby’s “one of the most beautiful objects ever to carry an engine”
- Delage Aero Coupe by Pourtout – A breathtaking Pebble Beach Best of Show winner, described as a car “with nary a straight edge to be found”
- Walter Chrysler’s Personal Speedster – The private automobile of the founder of the Chrysler Corporation, another Pebble Beach Concours victor from the collection
- 1937 Delahaye 145 Franay Cabriolet – A converted Grand Prix car powered by a 4.5L V12, one of the most flamboyant and celebrated pre-war automobiles in the world
- Du Pont and Cord – Two American classics representing “the height of advanced style at opposite ends of an era”
A Once-in-a-Generation Auction Event
Collections of this depth and concours pedigree rarely reach the open market. The Sam and Emily Mann Collection at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2026 represents a singular opportunity for serious collectors of pre-war automobiles, coachbuilt classics, and Pebble Beach Concours winners. Combined with the broader Monterey Car Week atmosphere – The Quail, Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and Laguna Seca – the August 2026 auction week promises to be one of the most significant in recent memory.