The annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona always brings out the big guns and the bigger bids. This is the type of auction where hardly anyone bats an eye when a million-dollar car crosses the block, or what a Batmobile might draw bids of more than $4 million. This weekend some heavy hitters were up for grabs, including several first-off production models like the 2015 Mustang.
Alas, it doesn’t appear as though Ford fans are either as enthusiastic or as well-heeled as Chevy fans, as the first production 2015 Mustang only brought a high-bid of $300,000. Motor Authority reports that a pair of 2014 Camaros brought in a combined $1.3 million, with the first production Z/28 more than doubling the high bid for the 2015 Mustang. Put that in your tailpipe and smoke it, Blue Oval fans!
Of course when you’ve got a guy in your corner like Rick Hendrick, who buys million-dollar cars with almost frightening frequency, then it shouldn’t be surprising when the bidding gets a bit nutty. Hendrick dropped $650,000 to add the first 2014 Camaro Z/28 to his collection, which is more than eight-times the $75,000 retail price of the most-expensive Camaro ever. That money benefits the Cornerstone Schools education group.
Yet this wasn’t even the most expensive new Chevy sold this weekend. Also up for grabs was the first production 2014 COPO Camaro, which brings the Bowtie brand back to its drag racing roots. When the hammer fell, the one-off Silver Ice COPO Camaro was sold for $700,000, with the proceeds going to the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.
It’s a jaw-dropping sum to pay for what is still, basically, a Camaro, but refreshing to know that all of that money goes to a couple of good causes.