Eighties Vehicles at the 2015 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale

As always, the January auction at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale provided much interesting fodder for commentary. I’ll concentrate on the 1980s cars (and a few trucks) that sold (a 1989 red Ferrari F40 coupe was bid up to $975,000 but did not meet reserve) and add some of my opinions.

Monday:

• 1984 white Cadillac Seville sedan—$4,500 hammer price.
• 1981 yellow tan AMC Spirit coupe—$4,500
• 1984 blue silver Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with 115,000 mile—$9,500
• 1982 gold metallic Chevrolet Corvette coupe with 77,000 miles—$10,500
• 1989 desert taupe Mercedes-Benz 560SEC mild custom coupe—an ouch! at $5,000.
• 1987 blue Volkswagen Vanagon camper—$7,000
• 1985 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with 30,000 miles—$10,000
• 1987 dark red Callaway Chevrolet Corvette coupe with 14,000 miles—$16,000
• 1989 black Ford Aerostar custom van with 47,000 miles—$5,000

Tuesday:

• 1986 black Buick Grand National coupe—at $14,500 the first car in this auction to meet my criteria for serious 1980s collectability of original cars: selling for equal to or above its original list price. I’ll mark these cars in bold green
• 1986 white Zimmer Golden Spirit coupe—$17,000
• 1987 root beer Chevrolet C-10  custom pickup truck—$10,500
• 1980 white Toyota Land Cruiser SUV with 57,000 miles—$36,000
• 1981 charcoal metallic Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 coupe with 19,000 miles—$15,000
• 1980 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am coupe with 10,000 miles—$34,000

Wednesday:

• 1984 tan Alfa Romeo Veloce convertible—$8,000
• 1980 brown Chevrolet Corvette coupe with 29,000 miles—$14,000
• 1989 silver blue/flint gray two-tone Chevrolet K-10 Blazer mild custom SUV—$13,500
• 1986 blue Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with 84,000 miles—$16,000
• 1985 red Porsche 928 coupe—$15,000
• 1984 bronze/gold two-tone Chevrolet K-10 pickup truck—$9,500
• 1981 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am coupe with 29,000 miles—$23,000
• 1982 red Jeep CJ-7 custom SUV—$16,000
• 1985 yellow Ford F-150 custom pickup—$24,000
• 1989 silver Jeep Grand Wagoneer Limited SUV with 57,000 miles—$35,000
• 1981 blue Chevrolet El Camino mild custom pickup truck—being Buster Crabbe’s last vehicle didn’t help this model get more than $9,000.
• 1982 red Porsche 928 very custom roadster—$30,000

Thursday:

• 1985 red GMC C-15 custom pickup truck—$12,500
• 1980 black Chevrolet Corvette coupe driven by Zora Arkus-Duntov for a few months in 1980—$14,000
• 1984 red Jeep CJ-7 custom SUV—$15,000
• 1987 black Buick Grand National coupe—$21,500
• 1982 guards red Porsche 911 Carrera coupe with 80,000 miles—$34,500
• 1984 dolomite Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with 2,750  miles—at $40,000, still less than the original price paid
• 1981 black Chevrolet Corvette Greenwood GTO coupe with 4,400 miles—$31,000 for something very much of its time
• 1989 red Ferrari 348 TB coupe—$40,000
• 1981 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am coupe—$19,000
• 1981 blue Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 custom coupe—$20,000

Friday:

• 1983 black Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 custom coupe—$15,000
• 1985 blue/silver two-tone Chevrolet C-10 custom pickup truck—$16,000
• 1981 stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 coupe—$27,000
• 1984 white Cadillac DeVille custom pickup truck—$19,000
• 1981 black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am coupe with 80 miles—$50,000
• 1981 white Pontiac Firebird Trans Am very custom coupe—$92,000
• 1988 guards red Porsche 911 Turbo coupe with 29,000 miles—$105,000

Saturday:

• 1986 red Porsche 930 Turbo R69 Rinnspeed coupe with 9,500 miles—$150,000
• 1988 red Ferrari Testarossa coupe with 280 miles—at $245,000, by far the top 1980s sale. It looks like the era of the relatively inexpensive Testarossa is over.

Sunday:

• 1989 black BMW 635CSi mild custom coupe—$7,500
• 1982 white Chevrolet C-10 pickup truck—$11,000
• 1986 white Chevrolet Crew Cab custom pickup truck—$11,000
• 1988 blue Oldsmobile Cutlass very custom coupe—$7,000
• 1981 tan Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler custom pickup truck—$10,000
• 1989 candy red Jaguar XJ-S very custom (LS2 engine) coupe—$17,000
• 1980 red/black two-tone Datsun 280ZX mild custom coupe with 58,000 miles—$9,000

Looks like a lot of Mercedes-Benz SLs, turbo Buicks, Chevrolet trucks, and Jeeps. What do you think of this year’s results?