Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction is a prestigious collector car auction and exposition company, started in 1960. It is known today as "The Greatest Car Show on Earth."[1]
One of the world's most prestigious and anticipated collector car auctions and expositions, the Barrett-Jackson auction began small. The prestigious car show was first introduced by Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett at the original auction at Scottsdale, Arizona. Jackson met Barrett through an interest in Barrett's 1933 Cadillac V-16 Town Car. In 1967, Barrett and Jackson presented a car show called "Fiesta del los Auto Elegance", a fund-raiser for local charities, including the Scottsdale Library. Then, in 1971, the two combined their talents to present a classic car auction. Barrett's Mercedes 770 Phaeton sold for $153,000 at this event and the Barrett-Jackson name soon became internationally prominent, becoming the richest and most prestigious automobile auction in the world.
Russ Jackson died in 1993, and Tom Barrett died in April, 2004. Craig Jackson, who had worked actively on a daily basis throughout the year and on-site at the event, took over the reins and led Barrett-Jackson to even greater successes with an aggressive plan of growth, expansion and hi-tech innovations. Internet live bidding was also introduced that same year.
Starting at 3rd annual Palm Beach auction in 2005, the show was renamed from "Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction" to "Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction", followed by the name change in the Scottsdale, Arizona auction in 2006.
Although it is labeled as a collector car event, other items including trucks, motorcycles, and engines are sold at the auction. It is widely believed that the high visibility of the auction has caused the prices of vintage cars to skyrocket in the last several years. In a fashion similar to the popularity of poker, people often believe that their car will sell for a large sum because they saw the auction on TV, even if the car in question is worth very little.[citation needed]
Organizer charges 8% premium over final bidding cost from successful bidder and consigner for any item sold in the auction.
The 2006 auction broke many records and set many new precedents for Barrett-Jackson's future, seeing more than 225,000 spectators. This recent event was viewed on the Speed Channel for 33 hours. There were more than 4,500 registered bidders, coming from all 50 states and 14 countries.
The Saturday auction is commonly known as 'Shatterday', referring to the frequent record breaking sales happened during that day.
Prices for collector cars ranged from about $10,000 to well into the millions:
The auction had over $100 million in sales.
Many celebrities attended the event, putting their own possessions up for auction. They included Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Billy Corgan of the former Smashing Pumpkins, legendary baseball player Reggie Jackson, Randy Johnson, DMX, Carroll Shelby, Bill Goldberg.
Speedvision has started live brocasting the auction since 1997, produced by Lingner Group Productions, Inc. In addition, there are other derivative programmes based on the auction.
During auction broadcast, SPEED Channel also offers Hagerty Fantasy Bid, a game which involves viewers closely matching the price of the upcoming fantasy car without going over, before the actual bidding of the car. Tie breakers are determined by the the time of the bids. Points are awarded after each Fantasy Bid, prizes are given to the point leader for each fantasy car, each day, and the entire auction.
| Year | Item | Cost (in US dollars, before buyer premium) |
| 2005 | 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 General Motors concept car | $3,000,000 |
| 2006 | 1950 General Motors Futurliner "Parade of Progress" tour bus | $4,000,000 |
| 2007 | 1966 Shelby Cobra "Supersnake" 800 hp, 0-60 in 3 seconds, Caroll Shelby's Personal Car | $5,000,000 |
| Year | Item | Cost (in US dollars, before buyer premium) |
| 2005 | 1953 Buick Roadmaster 4 door sedan owned by Howard Hughes |
$1,500,000 |
| 2006 | 1947 Bentley Mark VI coachworksbyFranay |
$1,600,000 |
