Scottsdale Preview: 2013 promises exciting week at the auctions
The classic car auction season wastes no time in getting on its feet for the new year — just fifteen days into the new year, to be exact, with Barrett-Jackson kicking things off on Tuesday, Jan. 15 (although technically, the doors open on Sunday 1/13, they don’t start auctioning cars until Tuesday).
Scottsdale differs from the other collector car mega-weekend in Pebble Beach in that it’s all about the auctions. No vintage races, no concours, no big tours. Just pure focused commerce in the form of six major sales.
Barrett-Jackson (Jan. 15-Jan. 20) continues its bid to serve the top of the market previously appropriated by Gooding, RM and Bonhams with its Salon Series of cars that includes the original George Barris-designed Batmobile from the 1966 TV series.
RM Auctions (Jan. 18) returns to its usual spot at the swank Arizona Biltmore and its lineup is certainly up to the surroundings. With the massive success of Ford GT40s in Pebble Beach, it’s not surprising that RM has one in its catalog for Arizona.
Gooding & Company (Jan. 18-Jan. 19) has yet to make its major announcements, but if the rank-and-file cars (which include a Lamborghini Miura and a Bugatti Type 57C Atalante) are any indication, they’ll once again be vying with RM and the Barrett-Jackson Salon Series cars for the top sale of the weekend.
Bonhams (Jan. 17) is back for its second year in Scottsdale and has also yet to release its full catalog, but featured lots include a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and a Bugatti Type 46 faux cabriolet.
Russo and Steele (Jan. 16-Jan. 20) is coming off a truly entertaining sale in Monterey. Its 360-degree auction ring format never gets boring and the always-interesting mix of cars (some quite affordable) adds to the excitement. In a test of how the Mopar muscle market is rebounding, Russo will offer a 1970 4-speed Hemi ‘Cuda coupe along with hundreds of other exciting cars.
Silver Auctions (Jan. 18-Jan. 19) will always be the home for the vast majority of us. The Ft. McDowell Casino location makes for a fine day of looking at cars and eating crab legs at the casino buffet. Silver usually has a little bit of everything. This year, a really fine looking example of the last of the big block Corvettes, a ’74 454, looks particularly attractive (appropriately in silver with black).
