Lucky guy!



Auction raises big bucks

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 27, 2008

Maybe politicians and greenies have no use for muscle cars, but collectors clearly still do. Last Sunday night at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., the first Corvette ZR1, the first Shelby Mustang GT 500 KR and the right to buy the first '08 Dodge Challenger sold for a total of nearly $2 million. All proceeds will be donated to charities.

The spectacular 200 mph ZR1 'Vette fetched $1 million, the highest bid of the new muscle car trio. The GT 500 pulled in $550,000, and the Challenger got $400,000. The Challenger, incidentally, was bought by Craig Jackson, a collector and chairman of Barrett-Jackson.
"The great American muscle cars are back," he said, to which I would add "for now."

"During the 1960s and early '70s, Detroit demonstrated its stronghold on automotive performance and power with cars like these," he said.

During the event, collector and Tonight Show host Jay Leno drove the ZR1 across the auction block. Automotive legend Carroll Shelby spoke during the auction of the GT 500 and was joined by Patrick Dempsey of Grey's Anatomy.

To see the complete list from the auction, visit www.barrett-jackson.com.