If you’re a die-hard gear head, chances are good you’ll be tuned in to the annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction on SPEED. Even if you’re not lucky enough to be bidding by phone from the comfort of your yacht anchored in Monaco, it’s still entertaining enough to drool over the cars coming across the block, and to test your knowledge of collector car prizes.
If you’ve watched previous auctions, you know that Hagerty Insurance sponsors something called “Fantasy Bid,” which allows us unwashed masses to win prizes by guessing the correct selling price of selected cars as they cross the stage. It’s not your garden variety swag, either, since this year’s grand prizes include a 60-inch Samsung 3D television, a $500 Amazon gift card and a Kindle Fire Touch. And a tuned Shelby GT500 Mustang.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
Here’s the good news: the winner of the Mustang will be chosen at random from the pool of registered Hagerty Fantasy Bid players, so you don’t need the same in-depth knowledge of car prices that you would to win the other prizes. That’s a good thing, because even those of us who work in the industry and know a thing or two about car prices don’t stand a chance of beating the ringers who can usually guess the exact price of a car by its description.
The Shelby GT500 up for grabs comes packing an upgraded Ford Racing supercharger, which boosts output from 550 to 750 horsepower. There’s a Ford Racing exhaust, a Ford Racing handling pack, a Wilwood braking system with added cooling ducts, a beefed-up cooling system from C&R Racing, a 3.5-inch aluminum driveshaft and assorted aero and body parts from the Shelby catalog. The car was designed with the help of 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne and 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., both of whom know a thing or two about going fast.
To get more details on how to enter, head on over to the SPEED website.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
