Scottsdale, Arizona.
Every January I wait with anticipation to visit Westworld in Scottsdale, the site of the annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. The auction attracts bidders and spectators from all over the world. Don’t misunderstand, I am not there to buy. The vehicles that I might love to own and drive are well beyond my fiscal capabilities. Still, like thousands of others, it doesn’t cost a lot to look. And, if you are of a certain age, you can get a break on even the cost of looking… and earlier in the week-long extravaganza, the costs are even lower.
The beautiful Rolls-Royce in the opening image was apparently beyond even the highest bidder’s means. This beauty didn’t sell. In the parlance of the auction, it did not meet reserve, the minimum bid the owner required for sale.
The cars featured in this post were featured in the Salon Showcase. These high-end meticulously restored beauties are some of the finest examples of early automobile restoration. The Pierce-Arrow in the image above had no reserve, meaning it would go to the highest bidder and be sold at whatever that number reached. In this case, the winning bidder invested $104,500 USD for the privilege of driving away in this beauty… though I must mention that most of the cars in this class spend little, if any, time actually being driven.
This yellow convertible represents Packard’s best year ever, selling almost 110,000 cars in 1937. As is true of most high-end restorations, this beauty features a factory Packard radio, heater and clock, among other original accessories. The No Reserve status on this vehicle brought $95,700 USD to the table. If you have an interest in finding out more about any of these classic vehicles, you can look them up on Barrett-Jackson’s website. The Scottsdale 2016 Docket can be found here. All you need is the number on the windshield sticker. In this case, it’s 1336. Type that number in the search filter in the field labeled “Search the Docket.” You can also search by brand and model if you are curious about specific vehicle types. The engine is rather simplistic, so it only works on full text strings. For example, 1962 Impala gets you nowhere but 1962 Chevrolet Impala will get you five “hits.” Type Salon Collection to see the entire gallery of vehicles in that category. Click on the More Details link by each image to view full descriptions and details of each sale offer.
The gallery below represents a sampling of the 2016 Salon Showcase vehicles at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.
Flare Legend Adventures
Always look forward to the auction pics! It’s so anticlimactic when the reserve isn’t met… A lot of these cars I’ve never even heard of before, next year maybe you’ll include a couple pics of American muscle! Great post!
Good idea. I could do a whole post just on muscle cars.