Stay up to date on the latest news about the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction. Every year we cover the Scottsdale Auction with photos and information.
In the US market the Porsche 968 has much less notoriety than it’s other front-engine/rear-drive, water-cooled brethren. It is essentially a final hurrah to the 924/944 platform, but with an updated exterior sharing a lot of design cues from the 928.
The 968’s naturally-aspirated 3.0L inline four was good for an impressive 237hp thanks to a variable cam timing system and some tuning, a 30hp increase over the 944 S2. Keep in mind you were still paying for a Porsche and this car would set you back nearly $40k in the economy of the early 90s, about 3x the cost of a Ford Mustang Cobra.
This particular example seen at BJA Scottsdale came with the desirable 6-speed manual, good for a 0-60 of 6.5 seconds. It was also equipped with power driver’s seat, power windows and air conditioning as well as Moton Clubsport adjustable suspension.
What does all of this add up to in 2023 money? This entry level Amazon Green N/A 4-cylinder that could straight-line with the best of it’s era’s pony cars crossed the auction block at $25,850.
Palazzi Motorcars in Kingsville, Ontario (Canada) is a custom car shop headed by Tony Palazzi. Over the years, Palazzi has given the “Godfather” treatment to an eclectic mix of late-model automobiles, transforming them to look like a classic car.
Rather than mass-producing a neoclassic style automobile such as Excalibur, Zimmer, and other manufacturers, all of Palazzi’s cars are hand-built one-offs. They have done a Lexus SC430 coupe, a 10th-generation Ford Thunderbird, and a Lincoln Towncar in the past.
One of Palazzi’s most unusual creations is the Godfather Roadster, which began as a 2008 Cadillac XLR roadster and was highly customized to resemble a classic automobile.
The XLR roadster was a one-generation car produced by General Motors between 2004-2009 as a retractable hardtop 2-door sports/luxury car. It was offered as a base model with the 4.6L Northstar V8 producing 320 hp, and as a V-model with a supercharger making 443 hp.
The high cost of the car didn’t make sense to many buyers, who preferred the Corvette and its smaller price tag. Production of the Cadillac XLR ended in 2009 with a little more than 15,000 vehicles produced.
The XLR has distinct, angular body lines with hard edges from the grille to the taillights. While it is an interesting car, it is in my opinion perhaps the worst platform to start with for trying to make a gracious and curving neoclassic automobile.
The wide fender flares, white wall tires, and combination of curved bodywork with the angular roofline really looks bizarre. Confusingly, the car wears the hood ornament from an Excalibur, which is a competing brand of neoclassic automobile.
This car was offered at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale 2023 no-reserve collector car auction. The seller description says that the “Palazzi package cost $79,000” on top of the purchase price of the car. It says the car was built with a retro look that resembles a Mercedes 540K from the late 1930s. The car shows just 10,866 miles on the odometer.
I was surprised to see this car sell for $44,000 at auction! What are your thoughts on the custom “Godfather Roadster?”
The 1970s saw a surge of interest in fiberglass kit cars built on a Volkswagen chassis. Cars such as the Bradley GT and Fiberfab were popular at the time.
The Puma GT is based on the chassis of a Volkswagen Brasilia chassis. The Brasilia was a 3-door economy hatchback, but here it has been reimagined as a 2-door, rear engine sports car.
This car is titled as a 1979 Puma GTE and features a 1600cc engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. The car has a leather interior, air conditioning, power windows, alarm system, and touchscreen audio system.
The Puma 1500 GT was first revealed at the 1970 Ibero-American Exhibition in Seville, Spain. Later that same year, the engine capacity increased to 1600cc and the car evolved to the 1600GTE.
The Puma GTE, the most famous sports car made in Brazil at the time, was produced with a fiberglass body and Volkswagen boxer engine from 1970 through 1980. This model was based on the Puma GT; the letter “E” added to the nomenclature means “export” or “Europe” according to other sources. This was the more successful Puma model with a higher-volume production.
I see a little bit of Porsche, Datsun, and other cars in the design and styling of the car.
This car sold for $23,650 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2023 collector car auction. What do you think about the Puma GTE?
The 2023 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction featured a record 1,907 vehicles on the docket. The bread and butter of the auction has always been American muscle cars from the 1950s-1970s, and this year was no exception.
Here are some numbers showing a partial analysis of Makes/Models in the 2023 auction:
154 Chevrolet Corvette
113 Chevrolet Camaro
102 Ford Mustang
64 Pontiac
58 Chevrolet Chevelle
58 Mercedes-Benz
46 Plymouth
45 Jeep
45 Cadillac
43 Porsche
36 GMC
29 Volkswagen
24 Buick
23 Oldsmobile
21 Ford Thunderbird
21 Bentley
20 Chevrolet Nova
18 BMW
16 Mercury
15 Lincoln
13 Jaguar
12 Ferrari
10 Maserati
9 Rolls-Royce
8 Lamborghini
7 Nissan
4 AMC
3 Volvo
As you can see, American cars such as Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Jeep, and others dominate the auction catalog by a wide margin. There were only a handful of exotic cars with 12 Ferraris and 8 Lamborghinis, which says a lot about the customer base that both sells and bids at this auction. These are blue-jean wearing, bona-fide muscle car guys.
In 2018, 7 of the top 10 sellers were mid-century cars with only two late-model supercars and one boat in the top 10. This year was a different story, with 7 of the top 10 most expensive sales going to late-model supercars.
This 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione in Nardo Grey was the top seller at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale 2023 collector car auction, with a final sale price of $2.75 million.
1. 1989 Ferrari F40 (Lot #1405.1) – $2,750,000
2. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (Lot #1405) – $1,595,000
3. 2019 Ford GT Lightweight Carbon Series (Lot #1419) – $1,320,000
4. 2020 Ford GT Carbon Series (Lot #1390) – $1,320,000
5. 1966 Shelby Group II Mustang – Built for Ken Miles (Lot #1396) – $770,000
6. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Custom Convertible (Lot #1367) – $770,000
7. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (Lot #1353) – $770,000
8. 2012 Lexus LFA (Lot #1382) – $748,000
9. 2021 Ferrari SF90 (Lot #1391) – $742,500
10. 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (Lot #1407) – $671,000
It was a similar situation in 2019 and 2020, with supercars dominating the Top 10 rankings. 2021 had an even split between vintage cars and late-model cars.
Is this signaling a change in the collector car market? I have to wonder if the sixties Camaros and Shelbys peaked in value few years ago before the pandemic, and if they will ever see those numbers again.
On the other hand, those vintage cars may be holding steady in their value. It could be the case that supercars are dominating the block just because there have been more of them offered for sale in recent years. A supercar is a highly liquid asset, one that can quickly be bought or sold relative to other investments.
Where do you think the collector car market is headed? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.
Barrett-Jackson returned to Scottsdale for their 51st annual collector car auction, which took place January 21-29, 2023 at Westworld of Scottsdale. The event drew more than 300,000 spectators and a record-breaking 1,907 vehicles consigned to sell at the no-reserve auction.
Here is a look at the Top 10 most expensive cars sold during Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale 2023 auction:
1. 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione in Nardo Grey (Lot #1405.1) – $2,750,000
2. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (Lot #1405) – $1,595,000
3. 2019 Ford GT Lightweight Carbon Series (Lot #1419) – $1,320,000
4. 2020 Ford GT Carbon Series (Lot #1390) – $1,320,000
5. 1966 Shelby Group II Mustang – Built for Ken Miles (Lot #1396) – $770,000
6. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Custom Convertible (Lot #1367) – $770,000
7. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (Lot #1353) – $770,000
8. 2012 Lexus LFA (Lot #1382) – $748,000
9. 2021 Ferrari SF90 (Lot #1391) – $742,500
10. 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (Lot #1407) – $671,000
Overall, the collectible vehicles totaled more than $184.2 million in auction sales and $6.41 million for 1,100 pieces of automobilia collectibles, bringing the total auction sales to $190.6 million.
Barrett-Jackson also had five special auctions with 100 percent of the hammer price of each vehicle benefiting a nonprofit organization. The five vehicles at this year’s auction raised $1.89 million for charity.
The charity vehicles that sold during the 2023 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction included:
1. 2021 Shelby Super Snake Count’s Kustoms Edition (Lot #3000) – $350,000 to benefit Camp Freedom
2. 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning 4×4 Super Crew Pickup (Lot #3001) – $275,000 to benefit Fighter Country Foundation
3. 2024 GMC Hummer EV Edition SUV VIN 001 First Retail Production (Lot #3002) – $500,000 to benefit Tread Lightly!
4. General Colin L. Powell’s 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (Lot #3003) – $200,000 to benefit America’s Promise Alliance
5. 2024 Ford Mustang GT Fastback VIN 001 (Lot #3004) – $565,000 to benefit JDRF. The Mustang hammered for $490,000 and received an additional $75,000 in donations from generous guests on the auction block.
Did you miss the Scottsdale 2023 Barrett-Jackson collector car auction? Or maybe you attended but were not able to view the entire offering of cars? Well don’t worry because we’ve got you covered. Check out this full walkthrough video of the entire event. You will see everything from classic cars to muscle cars of the 60s and 70s, resto-mods, hot rods, and even modern-day sports and exotic cars. Check out the video below:
In the US market the Porsche 968 has much less notoriety than it’s other front-engine/rear-drive, water-cooled brethren. It is essentially a final hurrah to the 924/944 platform, but with an updated exterior sharing a lot of design cues from the 928.
