The five most expensive cars on auction at Pebble Beach

The Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach — the Super Bowl of classic-car collecting — kicks off this week, with more than $290 million worth of cars expected to cross the auction block.

While the total is down from last year and would mark the third-straight year of declines, a handful of auto masterpieces are expected to sell for records for their class.

Here are the top trophies that rich car collectors will be bidding on this week.

Auctioned by: RM Sotheby's
Estimated price: $20 million or more

RM Sotheby's will be auctioning one of the holy grails of the car world — the first of only five Aston Martin DBR1's ever built. The DBR1 was the model that won the 1959 Le Mans title and has a royal racing history. This particular car was driven by legends like Carroll Shelby and Stirling Moss. This is the first DBR1 to be publicly auctioned. The DBR1 could easily become one of the five most expensive cars ever sold.

Auctioned by: Bonhams
Estimated price: $10 million to $14.5 million

The McLaren F1 is considered the original — and to this day possibly the best — of the new class of "supercars." It's essentially a Formula One car for the road. And they have soared in value. Only 106 were ever built between 1994 and 1998, and they originally sold for $1 million.

Auctioned by: Gooding & Co.
Estimated price: $12 million to $16 million

Steve McQueen has become one of the gods of car collecting. Any car that the actor-racer owned, drove or starred with has soared in value because of the "McQueen Premium."

Gooding & Co. has what could be the ultimate McQueen trophy — the 1970 racing Porsche that was used in McQueen's racing flick "Le Mans." It wasn't driven by McQueen in the film, but it was used for filming and did appear in the movie. If it sells for its estimate, it will be the most expensive Porsche ever sold.

Auctioned by: Gooding & Co.
Estimated price: $12 million to $16 million

It's rare that the top three cars selling at Pebble are not Ferraris. But one special Prancing Horse could clock in at number four or higher: a 1966 275 GTB/C "Competizione." It is only one of 12 built, and this particular car participated in more than 20 races, winning its class multiple times.

Auctioned by: Bonhams
Estimated price: $4 million to $7 million

The Jaguar E-Type is considered by many to be the most beautiful car ever built, and the Lightweight made several improvements, becoming a legend for its more aerodynamic tail, aluminum bodywork and amped up engine and suspension. Only 12 were ever made and this was number 10.