When you bring together billionaires, A-listers and high-rollers with deep pockets to check out and bid on some of the world’s most sought-after and unique cars — while guzzling down strong cocktails in the desert heat — rational decisions and millions of dollars are bound to go out the window.
Every year, Scottsdale, Arizona, hosts the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, a seven-day event where impulsive car collectors fly in, many on private jets, to bid on cars, trucks, bikes and automobilia, including quirky items like neon signs and old gas pumps.
This year’s desert event — a weeklong gathering that is a mixture of gawking at cars and rubbing elbows with elitists and ran from Saturday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Jan. 25 — nabbed a massive $195.2 million in sales, slightly trailing last year’s $198 million haul.
“It brings together some interesting people,” Shaun Semple, Canadian billionaire and owner of the Brandt Group of Companies, told The Post, optimistically adding that Scottsdale, with a population of nearly 245,000, “is becoming a real Beverly Hills” where the Barrett-Jackson has become a prime winter event.
“When you fly into the FBO,” he said of accessing the private terminal, “they give 15-minute slots to land. If you miss it, you’re up there for hours. There are so many private aircraft coming in.”
Some of the cars featured at this year’s auction included actor-comedian Tim Allen’s former 2017 Ford GT — which sold for $800,000 — and David Spade’s custom 1978 Ford F-250 Ranger XLT pickup, a near-bargain at $98,000. Spade successfully sold a restored 1968 Chevy Chevelle for $374,000 at the 2022 auction, so it’s no surprise he tried his luck again four years later.
Also up for grabs were Kevin Hart’s 2024 Ford Bronco Custom SUV, which sold for $260,000, and a 2010 Land Rover Range Rover HSE, formerly owned by “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, that brought $32,000.
The annual Barrett-Jackson event — with sister auctions held in Palm Beach, Florida (April 16-18), Columbus, Ohio (June 25-27), and Las Vegas (Sept. 10-12) — goes back 50 years and attracts serious money and collectors, like comedian Jay Leno and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, who sold his 2012 Venom GT Spyder here for a whopping $800,000 in 2017.
That same year, pop star Justin Bieber offloaded his custom-built Ferrari 458 Italia for $434,500. Even legendary car designer Carroll Shelby got in on the fun when he sold his 1968 triple-black Mustang for $451,000 at the 2023 auction.
This year, it was hard to predict which car would go for how much, a Barrett-Jackson spokesperson told The Post, because most of the cars were non-reserve, meaning they would sell to the highest bidder regardless of price.
Among the most coveted cars in 2026 was a 1955 Mercedes Gull Wing.
“[It] should go for $2 million to $2.5 million,” Semple predicted, joking with a laugh that he “probably will not bid on this car” because, while the not price tag wouldn’t hold him back, his wife would draw the line for him.
Semple, it appears, was smart to follow his instincts: the sleek auto sold for a stunning $2.53 million.
With so many big-bucks bidders, though, you’d think a bargain was impossible. However, day one’s rapid-fire auctioneer dropped the hammer on several astonishing deals, like a shiny, red 1975 Corvette that went for just $13,000.
“There seems to be a lot of bargains today,” an audience member with a rolling Southern accent told The Post. “It’s the economy; people are worried right now.”
But that stingy attitude didn’t last long. By Wednesday, a 1968 Chevy Camaro custom coupe went for $203,500.
And by Friday, three sales hit $330,000, and a 1972 Chevy C50 custom pickup in the charity auction nabbed $875,000. Then came Super Saturday, when bidders wore their big-boy pants, as a Corvette Stars & Steel limited edition ZR1X topped around a dozen million-plus sales at $2.6 million.
Bodacious bids aside, cars and memorabilia weren’t the only draw.
The week kicked off Friday night, Jan. 16, with a performance by country music star Cole Swindell, followed by a swanky invite-only opening night gala exclusively for big-bucks buyers and celeb sellers. Bop-worthy EDM filled the air at the historic Arizona Biltmore hotel’s Spire Bar, a martini cart made the rounds at the Sexy Roman restaurant, and the W Scottsdale hotel even offered guests a $20,000 two-night Barrett-Jackson package; it included VIP auction tickets and Champagne paired with “cowboy caviar” (no, not beans — that’s just a catchy name for expensive fish eggs).
As the week went on, attendees also headed to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess’s expansive Well & Being Spa, an all-day escape with an adults-only rooftop pool where Champagne (spot a trend here?) was poured in waterfall cascades.
Of course, the annual event isn’t just for moneybags who want to soak up sun and add a new toy to their collections — it’s also an opportunity for young car enthusiasts to learn a thing or two about the auto auction world.
Shine Hogan, a 13-year-old Phoenix resident, had two self-built vehicles up for sale at Barrett-Jackson: a mini sports car and a mini trike, the latter finding a new owner for $7,000.
Here, he was selling alongside some of the most expensive cars in the world — but was he hoping to be the next Carroll Shelby?
“Yeah, maybe — that would be pretty cool,” he humbly said.
His future wide open, Hogan seemed ready to embrace the words of Brandt Group billionaire Semple: “This auction is a great connector.”