The largest automotive auction kicks off this week when Barrett-Jackson holds its trademark Collector Car Auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. The auctioneers will put more than 1,400 cars up for sale and they expect the event to draw close to the 300,000 spectators it saw for the event last year. In addition to the usual auction fare of classic Americana and gorgeous Salon cars, the auction will feature some oddballs, some jaw-droppers, and some diamonds being auctioned for charity.

The event has already begun, although the auctions and live television coverage begins Tuesday, January 13. From Item No. 1 on the docket—a pristine 1981 Cadillac Seville with GM’s 8-6-4 V8—the auction block will see an array of cars from ex-SEMA show cars to restored muscle cars to numbers-matching supercars.

The auction atmosphere is “a lot of circus or carnival atmosphere,” said FOX television analyst Mike Joy, who will be part of the Barrett-Jackson broadcast team. “The real attraction for a first-timer is to walk through the tents and see the cars and share the memories of those cars with the people doing the same thing.”

The highest auction price is expected to come from the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88, a highly sought-after and rare iteration of the classic sportscar. GM engineers essentially built the L88 as a track-ready car, removing unnecessary weight like the radio. 

“In Corvette terms, this is the equivalent of a Ferrari 250GTO in that very few were built,” said Mike Joy, FOX analyst. “There will be two commas in the price.”

 On the block as well is the 1998 Ferrari F300 Formula One car that would have been driven by Michael Schumacher or his teammate Eddie Irvine. Ferrari didn’t win any championships that year, but the F300 is still a grand F1 car from its V10 era.

Also expected to fetch a handsome price is the Shelby Cooper Monaco King Cobra(above), which was a lightweight Cooper Monaco sportscar racer that got Carroll Shelby’s royal treatment: a 289-cubic inch V8 to give it more bite. Only seven were ever raced; this example was piloted primarily by the legendary Bob Holbert in the early 1960s.

“I was so fortunate to grow up and come of driving age in the late ‘60s during the muscle car era. I am a sportscar guy through and through,” Joy said. “It’s a lot of fun when the MGs, Austin-Healeys, and the Corvettes come through. A lot of those were the cars I dreamed of as a kid.”

Race cars and track packages don’t make up all of the auction. In fact, they make up a fairly small percentage. Many of the big-ticket, marquee items are being sold for charity. The Armed Forces Foundation will collect the proceeds from the sale of the restored Cessna L-19 Bird Dog and Dodge M37 military truck being sold as a pair.

“[The Armed Forces Foundation] wanted to come up with something military-related and unique to sell and I think they’ve done that,” Joy said.

Here are a smattering of interesting selections from the car list:

• 2008 Bugatti Veyron: Bugatti’s first certified pre-owned Veyron, owned by music producer and television personality Simon Cowell
• 2001 Mitsubishi EVO VI: Driven by Paul Walker’s character in 2 Fast 2 Furious
• 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Touring: A gorgeous salon car (above)
• 1956 Ford F-100: Built for Gene Simmons and customized with a Shelby-looking grille and a matching 5.4-liter supercharged Shelby V8
• 1963 Chevy Corvette Asteroid: Built by Barris Kustoms for boat racer Bob Norskog and featured on a Jan & Dean single cover
• 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing: Matching numbers and, well, it’s a Gullwing.
• 1953 Plymouth Belmont Convertible: One-off concept car built for 1954 Chicago and New York auto shows
• 1991 Chevy Camaro: One of the many great and interesting custom cars, this one a Star Trek tribute
• 1919 La Bestioni Torpedo Roadster: A 14-liter, straight-six behemoth from a bygone era of motoring

FOX and its affiliate channels will carry most of the auction action, including two hours Saturday on broadcast television, a first for an automotive auction. The television broadcast brings to the enthusiast the chance to learn about unique or even common cars and to see what comprises the prices cars on the block fetch, said Mike Joy.

 

Click here for the complete car list.
Click here for a listing of the cars on the block for charity.
Click here for the full event schedule, including television coverage.

[Images: Barrett-Jackson.com]