Barrett-Jackson Auction, West Palm BeachAttending a Barrett-Jackson collector car auction brings to mind the expression, "feeling like a kid in a candy store." Rows and rows of immaculate classics, along with dozens of booths of collectibles and memorabilia, can make any enthusiast feel like a kid again-even if that kid can't afford a stick of gum.
Barrett-Jackson is hot-its annual Scottsdale event brought in an astounding $61.7 million in sales this year, setting records in every category. To put that number in perspective, that's about a $23 million increase over 2004. Like it or not,Barrett-Jackson is changing the face of the collector-car market.
Fueled by this success, the company expanded into South Florida three years ago. This year's West Palm Beach auction, held April 1-3 at the South Florida Expo Center, saw some 400 cars change hands-50 of them Corvettes.
"Corvettes are in high demand among collectors," said Craig Jackson, president. "The red-blooded American sports car stole the show at our Scottsdale auction in January this year, where we sold quite a collection of pristine Corvettes, one-of-a-kind concepts, and customs."
Thanks to Speed Channel television coverage, celebrity cars, and headline-making sales, Barrett-Jackson events have achieved a kind of rock-star status. This has enabled the auction house to become extremely selective; it was said as few as one of four cars offered made the cut, meaning that some of the nicest Corvettes anywhere were displayed for buyers or window-shoppers.
Models ranged from an immaculate '54 to an '04 Daytona Pace Car. While most years were represented, the '63-'67 C2 cars were most popular: big- and small-blocks, restored and original, stock, and even a few truly terrifying customs.
One '67 427/400 convertible showing just 22,000 miles and said to be a numbers-matching original right down to redline tires, sold for $127,440. It was one of several offered by Arizona collector Barry Mudryk, who says he has seen a 20 percent increase in prices this year. Mudryk said his only reason for selling the 400hp car was to get a 427/435. "There's only one engine better." He added that low-production-number cars with well-documented histories are the way to go. "The ones that are breaking the bank are the pedigree cars. I relate it to dogs: not everybody has papers."
If the bank was broken at the Expo Center, it wasn't by one of Mudryk's cars, though he might have helped bend it. As evidence of his theory of documentation and rarity, another '67 convertible, a beautifully restored and documented 427/435 four-speed car, brought $249,000.
For C3 fans, a matching '72 LT-1 coupe and convertible were offered as a pair. Both were sub-50,000-mile, heavily optioned cars, finished in Elkhart Green. The two could have been yours for $156,600. A '68 427/390 coupe with an interesting history sold for $70,200. Said to have been pulled from the assembly line and retrofitted to appear as a '69 for the new catalog, the car was displayed with a detailed history.
While bids for some Corvettes escalated past the $100,000 mark, other cars changed hands in the $50,000-$80,000 range, and a few sold for less. Complete results are available at www.barrett-jackson.com. Auctioneers, perhaps accustomed to the white-hot market of the January Scottsdale event, seemed frustrated by some of the prices, with comments like, "Somebody got a deal," as cars left the stage.
Whether all the hype and rising prices of high-profile auctions is a good or a bad thing depends on your point of view: whether you're a buyer, a seller, a dreamer, or an investor. The bottom line is, prices are going up either way. But the spectacle of a Barrett-Jackson auction, from the hundreds of immaculate cars to the aisles full of memorabilia and collectibles, is something every enthusiast should see. There's even candy for sale.