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Gary Cooper's 1935 Duesenberg SSJ fetches record price at Pebble Beach

The 1935 Duesenberg SSJ formerly owned by Gary Cooper sold for a jaw-dropping $22 million over the weekend at the Gooding & Co. Pebble Beach auction, setting a record for the most valuable pre-war car ever sold at auction. It also appears to have become the most expensive American collector car ever sold at auction, eclipsing the very first Shelby Cobra ever made, which sold for $13.75 million in 2016. The Duesenberg was also the lone American-made entrant in the list of top 10 sellers, which was crowded with the names Ferrari and Porsche. You have to go all the way down the list to No. 21 to find the next American car: a 1930 Packard 734 Speedster Phaeton, which sold for a mere $1.127 million. All told, Gooding & Co. said it realized more than $116.5 million in auction sales over the weekend, with a whopping 25 cars sold for north of $1 million, an 84 percent sales rate and an average transaction price of $947,174. Clearly this is how the other half 1 percent lives. Gooding & Co. said there were five world-record sales at the auction. Joining the Duesenberg were a 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II, which sold for $5.005 million; a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta, $6.6 million; a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale, $3.41 million; and a one-of-two 1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT, $3.08 million. Oh, and that 1969 Ford Bronco test vehicle we told you about? The one that was rebadged by Holman & Moody as a Bronco Hunter? It sold for $121,000, which was well below the expected range of $180,000 to $220,000. Perhaps it was the presence of all those gorgeous Porsche Spyders and Ferraris that meant collectors weren't interested in boxy, utilitarian off-roaders. View 24 Photos Gooding and Co. had expected the convertible Duesenberg coupe to go for more than $10 million. It was one of only two of its kind built by Duesenberg — the other having gone to Clark Gable — with a specially shortened, 125-inch wheelbase and a supercharged straight-eight with double overhead cams, able to produce around 400 horsepower and a top speed of 140 miles per hour. It features a lightweight open-roadster bobtail body produced by LaGrande out of Connersville, Ind. The car was also owned at one point by race driver Briggs Cunningham.

Maserati showcasing opulent Levante options in New York

Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said last year that it was a mistake to pair Maserati with Alfa Romeo because it suggested Maserati was a mass-market brand. Now on its own, this year the house of the trident begins to unfurl its luxury wings. The Ghibli, Quattroporte, and GranTurismo Convertible will be on hand, but focus rests on the Levante SUV for the New York Auto Show. Maserati plans North American debuts of its One of One Customization Program and the brand-exclusive Pelletessuta interior designed by Ermenegildo Zegna. One of One ushers Maserati buyers into the same realm of possibilities that BMW's Individual or Porsche Exclusiv does for those German brands, the standard over the gateway reading, "Anything is Possible." Up to now, the GranTurismo - the carmaker's second-oldest offering - has offered the greatest range of customization. Yet those stock choices in hue and finish pale when compared to One of One's "thousands of interior and exterior options" wrought by "Italian artisanal craftsmanship." As Maserati did in Geneva when debuting the program, a celebrity will visit the New York show stand to take delivery of "their never seen before" One of One Levante GTS. The general population gets the keys to the One of One program "in the near future." The other show car will be a bronze Zegna Levante S Q4 GranSport with the new Pelletessuta woven Nappa leather interior. Said to be a lightweight material created by the Italian fashion house, both durable and comfortable, Pelletessuta will only be available in Maseratis. The carmaker seems to have done us a disservice by posting photos of the material in black, or perhaps they're trying to lure us to the show to see it for ourselves. The new leather won't be available in North America until spring of 2020, so if your mind had already begun considering a calico-cat-matched One of One interior in a Gattara-colored Ghibli, it's going to be a minute.

2014 Monterey Motorsports Reunion is a symphony of classic racers

With about 550 classic racecars lapping Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca over the course of the weekend, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion might be one of the largest vintage racing events in the country, maybe even the world. It was certainly one of the highlights of the lavish Monterey festivities last weekend. This year's featured marque was Maserati, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary, and plenty of trident logos could be found on track, ranging from the 250F grand prix car to some of the company's later sports cars. Of course, with 15 groups of classic racers, there was basically something for any motorsports fan. Among the highlights were the Trans-Am race that brought together rumbling hunks of American muscle to jostle for position on track. There was also a fantastic class from the '50s and '60s with Ferraris, Corvettes and even a Volvo P1800 and Toyota S800 racing together. Watching these iconic racers back on track at full pace was just a revelation to see, smell and hear. There were too many fantastic cars to list them all, but feel free to check out Autoblog's huge gallery from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to see if you spot your favorite racecars of yesteryear. Featured Gallery 2014 Monterey Motorsports Reunion View 40 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Motorsports Maserati Racing Vehicles Classics Pebble Beach Laguna Seca