2000 Chevrolet Corvette Avelate Z06 Custom Convertible

The Chevrolet Corvette is sort of like a ’32 Ford or a ’49 Mercury in that it has become a canvas for others to customize. It is a starting point where people they feel they can improve. Some companies like Callaway and Lingenfelter have used this formula to great success. It is still a Corvette, but with a little more power and a little more style.

Others have tried to follow the same path, but have not found commercial success. One such company was Avelate, which was formed by former GM designer Don Johnson and Dean Arnold.
According to the website CorvSport.com: “The Avelate borrowed some design inspiration from the previous Corvette generations and incorporated all of them into the C5 model. Initially, the plan was to make 100 cars per year, but throughout its production run, only 25 examples were only built.

The auction description says that this 2000 Chevrolet Corvette Avelate Z06 convertible is one of 27 builds produced between 2000 and 2002. It is finished in Copper Pearl with a black convertible top. The car has a 6-speed manual transmission. It was consigned to sell at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction in January 2024.

The car has the stock windshield and side glass, though it has a custom body including door skins, hood, trunk, and front and rear bumpers. Studying the car, I see a C3-styled front end and C1-style scallops on the doors.

This car has Avelate logo floor mats and retro-style Fuel Injection and Corvette badges on the fenders.
It’s got a lot of customizations that make it unique from the herd of production C5s, but do the cosmetic customizations make it any better than a regular Z06? Honestly…no, they do not.

That sentiment was reflected in the final hammer price of $29,700 which is exactly in line with the prices of a C5 Z06 on Bring A Trailer. Only super low mileage cars go for more, and this car had 31k miles at the time of auction.

The Avelate Corvette is a unique curiosity for the right buyer, and another notch in the belt of small production manufacturers who thought they could do better than the OEM.

Supercars Capture Top Auction Sales at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2023

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.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cars Sold at Barrett-Jackson 2023 Scottsdale Auction

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.

For more information on the Scottsdale auction and other events, visit https://www.barrett-jackson.com/