GM will be "thinning the herd" of its Heritage Collection at this year's Barrett-Jackson auction, beginning January 13th in Scottsdale, AZ. As many as 250 historically significant cars, trucks and concepts are slated to go under the gavel, a few are bound to be sold well under their true value, and wise bidders are planning ahead for just such an occasion. It seems that the auction house will not be providing specific information on many of the models ahead of time, even if they may differ from the production cars they're based on in significant but unseen ways. This being the case, a few savvy shoppers have retained the services of Mark McPhail, the recently retired manager of GM Performance Engineering. Perhaps we should keep him on speed dial ourselves, ya know... just in case.
As has become the tradition in recent years, Barrett-Jackson will be auctioning off various "firsts" of upcoming production cars. Last year, the very first Corvette ZR1, Dodge Challenger, and Shelby GT500KR all went across the block, and earlier this month it was announced that the first retail 2010 Camaro would be available to the highest bidder. Not to be outdone, Ford has announced that a trio of their new offerings will be up for auction, the highlights of which will be the very first 2010 Mustang GT and Shelby GT500. This announcement all but confirms that the car will make its debut a few days earlier in Detroit. Also up for grabs will be the first 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Proceeds for the auctions will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, providing more justification for collectors to bid on the vehicles.
Thanks to your suggestions, last month we added a Google Calendar after the jump so you can bookmark it and constantly receive updates as we add them. We appreciate all of your input and hope you find our calendar a useful tool. We also appreciate your comments listing events we might have overlooked or that are just near-and-dear to your hearts. Highlights for January include the North American International Auto Show, which we will be covering extensively from Detroit; the Arizona collectible car auctions featuring Barrett-Jackson, RM Auctions, Russo and Steele and others; the La Jolla Motorcar Classic at The Cove; the Cavallino Classic from The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida; and the kickoff of the 2009 motorsports season with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. As always, we want to give a shoutout to our two favorite sources; The New York Times automotive calendar for national and international stuff, and for local stuff here in Southern California, our buddy Dave Lindsay's SoCalCarCulture pages. Dave's photographic coverage of these local events is fantastic.
While not necessarily to the same extent, Don Yenko was to Chevys what Carroll Shelby was to Ford. He may not have beaten Ferrari at Le Mans, but Yenko built some of the most powerful Bowtie muscle cars of the 1960s. With only a few hundred built, they're also some of the most valuable. At the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction in January, a private collector will be selling off his collection of five Yenkos, which are considered to be some of the best and most original in existence. Up for grabs will be a trio of 1969 Camaros, a 1981 Turbo Z Camaro, and a rare Yenko Nova. The highlight will be the Daytona Yellow Camaro that is one of three existing cars built by Yenko for NHRA drag racing. It features a COPO 427/425 V8, 3-speed automatic transmission, Hurst shifter, and more.
Bidding for the first retail production 2010 Chevy Camaro is set to begin in Prime Time on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at the Barret-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. A similar move was made last year when the first production Corvette ZR1 managed to rake in an astounding one-million dollars. Like that ZR1, all proceeds will be given to charity, in this case, the American Heart Association, so anything over the car's list MSRP will be tax deductible, which is nice. Regular production of Chevy's new pony car won't begin until a month after the auction takes place, so the Camaro on display in Scottsdale won't be the actual unit being bid on. We're still awaiting official details, like if the Camaro – lot number 1316 for those interested in bidding (go for it, it's for charity!) – is a base model (seems unlikely) or a fully loaded SS model, complete with a 422-hp small block V8. Of course, the big question is how much it'll bring, and we'll be sure to have that figure for you as soon as the gavel falls.
Hurst is at it again, breathing their 50th anniversary magic on a Dodge Viper. Fifty cars will be made, each featuring a number of details already seen on the Hurst Hemi Challenger, including the Hurst pistol-grip shifter and Hurst wheels. The interior will be stitched up by Katzkin leather, and sound effects will come via a Corsa exhaust. As for colors, you will be offered the usual two: black with gold stripes, and white with gold stripes. The car you see peeking through in the picture above is a 1-of-a-kind that will go under the gavel at next month's Barret-Jackson auction. That one is matte gold with matte black racing stripe and black chrome wheels. But we have a feeling that if you don't get the car at Barrett and you really want one just like it, Hurst will be happy to exchange some of your green for some of their gold.
The first of anything always has historical significance, hence an increase in value as well. Last year Barrett-Jackson auctioned off a trio of modern firsts - the Shelby GT500KR, Corvette ZR1, and a Dodge Challenger SRT8 purchased by Craig Jackson himself - all of which went for well over the standard price of each car. For the upcoming auction this January, Barrett-Jackson will be offering the very first Ford Thunderbird, built on September 9, 1954 and featuring a 292 Y-block engine, automatic transmission, power windows, power seats, and Raven Black paint. It has been fully restored it its original condition, and comes with plenty of documentation regarding its history. Hit the jump for the PR from Barrett-Jackson.
The very first Corvette ZR1 has rolled off the assembly line at General Motors' assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the proud owner of the 638-horsepower hellraiser was there in person to claim his prize. Chevy dealer and Corvette aficionado Dave Ressler won his supercharged Vette at the Barrett Jackson auction back in January for the astronomical sum of $1 million dollars, which equals about 10 times the ZR1's base price of $103,300. Ressler was allowed to sit behind the wheel of his rarified Vette as it completed its assembly run and exited the factory, and let his granddaughter, Ayden Lynn, ride along shotgun. The special ZR1 is set apart from other Blue Devlis with a unique VIN number and a LeMans Blue paint job that will appear on no other car.
After being performance tested, the ZR1 was put in a trailer and carted back to Montana where it will be put in a museum with Ressler's 45 other Vettes, including his #003 1953 Corvette. We know, that's no way to treat a thoroughbred like the ZR1, but at least Ressler's million bucks went to a good cause.
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Four years after it first hit showrooms, the Scion tC will finally make a showing in a professional road racing series. And no, factory optioned and equipped vehicles being tossed around Long Beach by B-list celebrities cannot be considered professional. A tC has already been heavily modified to compete in the Formula Drift series, but the peppy compact's road race profile, outside the annual celebrity race of course, has been relatively low. This weekend though, Toyota's sporty little coupe will be moving up from amateur abuse to make its big time debut in Grand-Am's KONI Challenge Series. This week's race will take place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH and the tC will be part of the ST (Sport Touring) class.
The Scion's venture into the KONI series is being fueled by communications firm Jackson-Dawson, TRD and BGB Motorsports. Driver and team manager Dan (pronounced Don) Gardner has taken his Scion's setup through the NASA club ranks to prove its worth. Having already tackled that territory, moving onto a production-based national series is the next logical step for the team. In the KONI Challenge ST class, Dan and his tC will face formidable foes such as Mazda RX8s, BMW 330s and Acura TSXs. While Toyota may be competitive on the ovals, hopefully this one can do better on the curves than the company's F1 effort.
Woke up this morning and I bought myself Tony Soprano's Escalade. Those may not be the exact words to the theme song from the hit HBO drama, but that's all you'll be singing if you take the winning bid at Barrett-Jackson's upcoming auction in Florida.
Last summer we brought you news of Tony Soprano's Chevy Suburban being sold on eBay. This year, the white 2003 Cadillac sport-ute which the character drove on The Sopranos is one of seven cars from the television series being sold at auction with no reserve at the Collector Car Event in West Palm Beach, Florida, from March 26-30. Joining Tony's Cadillac will be Vito Spatafore's black DeVille and the champagne CTS that Paulie Walnuts drove across Chris Moltisanti's front yard, as well as the '97 Mercury Villager which Tony and Paulie drove in Florida and several of the cars from the shootout at Tony's club. Check out all the cars in the gallery below.
The cars will all be sold without reserve to benefit the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. Last year, Barrett-Jackson auctioned off Carmela Soprano's Porsche Cayenne for $90,000 to benefit the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. Nearly five hundred vehicles will be auctioned at this year's event, including the pair of KITT Mustangs from NBC's Knight Rider we brought you previously.
