Kevin Wilson May 23, 2022 All Feature Vehicles
If there was ever an automotive event that should be on every auto enthusiast’s bucket list, it’s the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, held in January in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sure, you might have seen the action on TV, but nothing beats being there and enjoying one of the largest automotive circuses on the planet. In reality, it’s more than just an auction, it’s a lifestyle happening for the automotive faithful with pockets full of cash to spend on everything from multi-million-dollar collector cars to trinkets and trash, let alone drinks and cigars.
The venue sprawls over 120 acres, complete with huge tents and a new auction center, which also had a rodeo arena next door where those brave or drunk enough could try their hand at bull riding. Outside were more rows and rows of cars under cover and the food vendors. Other things on display outside included a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter and a Cessna fixed-wing aircraft, a giant off-shore racing boat and million-dollar motorhomes, just to hit the short list.
This year’s Barrett-Jackson Auction had more than 1,400 incredible domestic, foreign and racing machines on display throughout its enclosed halls and tents. Each vehicle would claim their moment of fame and glory as they were rolled across the famous auction block. Barrett-Jackson said the weeklong show attendance exceeded 300,000 and the celebrity turnout out was huge. This year’s Barrett-Jackson Auction total was a record at $113 million.
The company hosts four events across the country, but the granddaddy of them all is Scottsdale. Make sure you mark your calendar for next year’s happening. You won’t be disappointed, even if your budget only allows you to look at the cars and people watch.
Street Trucks Magazine’s February 2014 cover truck, the Snakebit F-100, was conceived, built and auctioned off at this year’s Barrett-Jackson event for charity. The one-off custom Shelby-inspired Effie not only helped raise $450,000 from the auction for the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan, but it also raised awareness about the need for a children’s hospital in that region, an area where there is currently no such hospital. The builders, Creative Concepts & Restorations and the Wheels of Dreams committee, were all at Barrett, and so was the president of Ford Canada and special guests Gene Simmons and his wife Shannon Tweed, a Saskatoon native. The purchaser of the truck also received a customized and autographed guitar. For more information on the build and charity, visit Wheelsofdreams.ca.
Drag racing icons Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen battled wheel to wheel down the quarter-mile during the ’60s and ’70s known as the golden era of drag racing. Their Mattel Hot Wheels Snake & Mongoose Funny Cars and ramp truck transporters went on the Barrett-Jackson auction block at Scottsdale. The Snake’s ’70 Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car and ’67 Dodge D-700 ramp truck, along with The Mongoose’s ’72 Plymouth Duster Funny Car and his ’67 Dodge D-700 ramp truck were offered as a package deal of American drag racing history.
Both The Snake and The Mongoose were on hand all week signing autographs and promoting the sale of their 1:1 scale Mattel Hot Wheels Funny Cars and ramp truck transporters. Both Funny Cars and matching Dodge D700 ramp trucks were purchased by NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevrolet team owner Rick Hendrick.
Chrysler built approximately 50 of these “race-only” ’68 Plymouth Barracudas that were assembled by Hurst Performance and equipped with 426-ci Hemi engines bolted up to stout A833 four-speed manual transmissions. The high-performance ’Cudas were lightened up by installing Lexan windows, fiberglass interior dashes and door panels along with exterior fiberglass front, rear bumpers, hood, trunk lid and other components. This ’Cuda was originally ordered from Midtown Plymouth dealership in Dayton, OH, in ’67 by Bill Vanway and was delivered on July 22, 1968.
Vanway partnered with Butch Ackman and campaigned the car through the ’69 racing season before selling it to Billy “The Kid” Stepp. Then it was eventually purchased by famous drag racer Ronnie Sox who teamed up with Buddy Martin. They raced the fastback bubble-windowed Sox & Martin ’Cuda in the NHRA Super Stock SS/AH (Super Stock A/Hemi) class, which made this red, white and blue ’Cuda one of the most dominant and famous 1320 rockets in NHRA history. The Sox & Martin ’68 Plymouth Barracuda was purchased by NASCAR Chevrolet team owner Rick Hendrick for $198,000.
What makes Barrett-Jackson more of an automotive experience rather than just a car auction is the vast variety of things on display for sale. You can find everything from a Steinway piano to traditional automobillia such as car art, neon signs and gas pumps, along with jewelry, collectibles, toys and even high-dollar custom cowboy boots.
April 11-13, 2014
Palm Beach, FL
July 31-Aug. 2, 2014
Reno/Tahoe
Sept. 25-27, 2014
Las Vegas, NV
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