Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction 2013 - Part 1

Last Saturday a co-worker and I decided to go check out the Barrett-Jackson auto auction in Scottsdale Arizona.  The original plan was to ride our motorcycles there, but at the last minute we wussed out and decided to take Tim's nice Dodge truck.  It has heated seats and dual climate control. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the cup holders.

Anyway here we are nearing Pichaco Peak on our way up to Phoenix.  A well known landmark if you've traveled this stretch of highway.

Passed a couple of good looking cars on the way up.  The first one is a early ~50's Chevrolet Bel Air.  If you look in the back seat you can see an older woman, in a nice looking coat, reading the morning paper.  The whole scene made me feel like I had gone back in time for a second.

You can't go to the car show on an empty stomach.  So we stopped by The Iron Skillet for breakfast.  Meet Tim.  He's not as blurry in real life.

The auction had three public parking areas defined.  Each a few miles from the event.  We parked at a sports complex and there were tour buses waiting to take us to the show.  They were estimating upwards of ~200,000 visitors on Saturday.  That's what the bus driver said anyway.  Parking and buses were free.  The tickets to the show cost $55.00.

The auction was at Westworld of Scottsdale which normally hosts equestrian events.  As soon as we arrived we noticed a gigantic tent that we entered at one end, and it seemed to go on and on forever.  Probably the largest tent I've ever been in.

Ford had a large presence at the show.  The very first booth you run into as you enter is a mock drag race setup.  Two ford mustangs on dynos.  They were pulling people from the crowd and letting them run a mock quarter mile.  On the last day of the show, the person with the fastest time was going to win something.  I captured some video of a run.  You can't see the other car from my angle, but it was there.

This is the new Lexus LFA sports car.  Supposedly it costs $375,000.  From what I read I think you can only lease it though.

They had a nice gaming rig setup where you could play Gran Turismo 5.  The parents of this kid were watching him and the mom was so amazed at how well her son was doing.

The Aston Martin Vanquish.  It's got a V12 engine that pumps out 565 horse power.  That 500 more horses then my bonnie.  Or another way to look at it, there are 8.6 bonnies under that hood:)

Closest thing to a motorcycle at the show.  The Campagna Motor's T-Rex and it's sister the V13R.  The V13R, the white one below, has a Harley Davidson V-Twin motor and can go 0-100 in 4.8 seconds.

Tim, appearing on the set of the next American Graffiti movie.  No not really, but believe me, he'd make the movie.  George Lucas should sign him to a contract as soon as possible.

Two seriously rough looking Jeeps.  Both appeared to have been sprayed with Tough Skin bed liner.  I used to own a 92' Wrangler.  Had some good times in that vehicle!

Nitrous Oxide anyone?  I have some spare canisters in my trunk.

The 1963 Stingray was the only year with a split back window.  I learned that by watching Counting Cars on the History channel.  The History channel really knows how to put on some addicting shows.

A 2013 SRT Viper GTS.  $120,000 dollars gets you a V10 engine with 640 horse power.  When you really need to ramp up your daily commute to work.

A small mob of 16 year old girls got past security and bedazzled this poor engine. 

A custom 1969 Hemi Roadrunner.  One of two cars at this show that Tim really wanted to buy.

Once you get past the car vendors then you enter a strange mall-like area of art, sculpture, jewlery and anything else someone might want to sell you before finally making it to the actual auction.

The main bidding area was roped off and I imagine you had to sign some serious paper work before you could even get close to making an actual bid.

They had screens on either side of the stage.  As the bidding went up you could see the price in US, Canadian and Euro.  They even had a Estimated Monthly Payments price, which after some heavy calculus, I determined the number below would pay off this vehicle after 7.4 years.

Really bad picture of me, but it was a rush job, taken during a lull of the crowd passing by.

Once you passed the auction portion of the tent you arrived at the top of the line vehicles that had already been on the block or were still waiting to go up.  Hard to believe this Ferrari and I are the same age.

One of the rare times you can shout out, "Look at the size of those headlights!"  and not be judged by passing women.

I don't mind the purple, but the rims go a bit overboard.

The original 1960's TV Bat mobile.  This car sold later in the day for 4.2 million dollars.

"Look at the size of those headlights!"

So many cars to see! and these were just the heavy hitters.  There were still quite a few separate tents outside holding even more.

I believe this was a unrestored 1967 Shelby GT500 Fastback.  I really like the look of these GT500's.

I captured some video of another one being driven outside the tent on it's way to the auction block.  Good looking car!

Still more cars to go though!  Stay tuned for part 2!

See ya!