Barrett-Jackson‘s signature annual Scottdale auction finished on January 26th. In the middle of 2021, I gave up trying to chronicle every eighties vehicle sold at any particular auction—there’s often an endless sameness to them. So, I now only write about the cars and trucks that are less seen at auction. Below are five of the 2,000 or so vehicles sold at Scottsdale that attracted my eye, described and discussed with a little more detail than usual.
image linked from Barrett-Jackson’s website
[Lot 113] 1982 Buick Riviera convertible Indianapolis 500 pace car. One of two custom-built for the 1983 Indy 500, with tan two-tone paint and brown leather/suede front bucket seats—a look that resembled, but did not precisely match the 1983 Riviera XX Anniversary coupe. 410 bhp (stock turbo Rivieras never got to half of that) 4.1 liter/252 ci V6 with sequential fuel injection and twin turbochargers, a three-speed automatic, and 12,000 miles—did someone actually daily drive this car at some point, or were most of these shakedown miles? The $47,000 hammer price has to represent an all-time high for a sixth-generation Riviera, though Bring a Trailer and Hagerty are now both showing values in the high $30k range for very nice stock examples.
image linked from Barrett-Jackson’s website
[140] 1980 Datsun 200SX SL coupe. Satin Blue Metallic with blue cloth/vinyl front bucket seats. Z20 100 bhp 2.0 liter/120 ci inline four with fuel injection, a three-speed automatic, and unstated mileage. $10,000 for a nice-looking example of a car I haven’t seen any examples of in about three decades—despite almost 93,000 being sold in the 1980 model year alone. I should probably write about the 200SX soon [update—I did].
image linked from Barrett-Jackson’s website
[151] 1980 Ford Pinto Squire two-door station wagon. White with woodgrain vinyl bodyside and liftgate paneling and Vaquero cloth front bucket seats. Lima 88 bhp 2.3 liter/135 ci inline four with a two-barrel carburetor, a three-speed automatic, and an indicated 9,500 miles. $6,500 for one of the last and most expensive of the star-crossed Pintos. Who saved this car?
image linked from Barrett-Jackson’s website
[1524.2] 1984 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 hatchback coupe. Dark Gold Metallic with Camel Custom cloth front bucket seats. L69 “H.O.” 190 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor paired with a five-speed manual (not the four-speed in the on-line listing—those went away after 1982). Eighties Camaros are far from rare at auction (Barrett-Jackson had seven this year), but I loved that this Z/28 had been preserved in its very 80s colors—no red or black here. $13,000 is right at Hagerty’s #3/Good condition money.
[1381] 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort coupe. Silver Metallic with burgundy leather front bucket seats with a silver stripe pattern. 260 bhp 2.8 liter/174 ci flat six with fuel injection, twin turbochargers, and twin intercoolers, a six-speed manual, and 4,000 miles. At $1,325,000, by far the highest eighties vehicle sale at this year’s Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale—almost half a million ahead of an admittedly gorgeous 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera Reimagined by Singer. According to Hagerty, this is merely #3/Good condition money for a Komfort—did someone get a (relative) bargain?
What eighties vehicles did you like at this year’s Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale?
Eighties Cars 