In the same week that the 2014 Detroit Motor Show opened its doors, Barret-Jackson conducts an auction of very special cars. Among them, Simon Cowell's Bugatti Veyron and the Mitsubishi Evo that Paul Walker drove in 2 Fast 2 Furious, are just two examples.
The US has already got us used to their unique way of dealing with everything that involves cars: bigger is better. The auctions are no exception, they don't last an afternoon, they last a week and hundreds of cars are auctioned. In the state of Arizona, Barret-Jackson will be the service auctioneer, responsible for getting the most dollars for each car, something that won't be too difficult considering the list presented:
Purchased new by Simon Cowell in 2008, this Bugatti Veyron has 2100 km covered. Whoever wins the auction of these mythical 1001hp will also get an extra year of warranty and four new tyres, which at a price of €37 000 are a nice bonus.
This one Ferrari Testarossa Spyder made a splash in the 1987 Pepsi ad The Chopper, starring none other than the King of Pop: Michael Jackson. This Ferrari with only one rear view mirror was modified by Stratman for the ad.
After the Toyota Supra orange that was present in the first movie of the saga, this one Mitsubishi Evolution VII 2001 will be the most recognized car of all the films in the series. This was the car used in the filming and was driven by Paul Walker.
From Gas Monkey Garage presents the Chevrolet Camaro CUP , a car that cannot legally travel on the roads of America. The Camaro COPO is a factory version designed for drag racing tracks. With an extraordinary ability to make burnouts and capable of completing the quarter mile in 8.5 seconds, this copy is the fastest CUP of the 69 that were produced.
Also from Gas Monkey Garage comes a Ferrari F40 single. For some it will be sacrilege, for others an extraordinary example of a modified F40. The basis of the project was an F40 with a damaged front and 10 000 km covered. The guys at Gas Monkey Garage knew that this wasn't just any car and the restoration/modification aimed to make this Ferrari faster and more agile than the one that left the Modena factory. A new exhaust system, new internal turbo components, a Kevlar clutch and purpose-built shock absorbers were used for this purpose.
With around €300,000 invested, this Mercury Coupe owned by Matthew Fox has a Chevrolet 502 block with direct injection. Disc brakes, independent suspension and anti-roll bars at the front and rear are just a few of the additions this Mercury has been given. The bodywork required hundreds of hours of metalwork, and the interior was completely renovated to match the extraordinary appearance of this Hot Rod.
Finally, we have this Batmobile, built by Carl Casper for the films made between 1989 and 1991. The engine is a Chevrolet 350, a V8 with 5.7 liters capable of, let alone, 230hp. No wonder in the movie, the engine responsible for propelling the Batmobile was a turbine…
Camaros, Mustangs, Cadillacs, Corvettes, Shelbys and many, many more. There are hundreds of cars at auction. The complete list can be found here.
Images: Barret-Jackson
