Everybody’s going crazy over this weekend’s Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach sale, particularly about the high-level of cash the GNX, COPO and CT6 brought in. But what about the other cars that were in attendance, the lower-ticketed, less famous and more affordable iron?
We dig trough the B-J auction site just to see what crossed the block in terms of late-model GM hardware and we’ve featured all of them below. Yup, all of them!
Chevrolet
2015 Camaro COPO $300,00
If we’re going to kick this story off, we might as well do it with a bang, right? The highest-ticket item on this entire list is the 2015 COPO Camaro from Chevrolet Performance, but that’s not to take away from the there vehicles featured in this story. In fact, there’s a very good reason that it brought that kind of cash. Partly, because it’s the first of the last run of COPO 5th-gens ever to be produced. Secondly, all of the proceeds from the sale went to benefit the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans. Featuring a 350 ci. LSX with a Whipple supercharger, a solid-axles Strange rearend, TH400 transmission and a conservative 555 hp, this COPO is the 7-figure collectible of tomorrow.
2015 Colorado Dale Earnhardt Edition $48,400
We haven’t heard about the Earnhardt Edition Colorado until now. For this submission, we reverted to the official listing from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to get a better understanding of the vehicle; “To celebrate the introduction of the new Chevrolet Colorado, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., along with Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet have produced this one-of-a-kind customized 2015 Colorado. Never to be reproduced again, this special paint scheme and decal package was carefully selected in honor of the familiar black and silver cars Dale drove during his career. Signed by wife Teresa, daughter Taylor and mother Martha, this 2015 truck has only 70 actual miles on it.”
2006 Corvette coupe $35,200
Somebody must have really wanted this 2006, LS2-powered C6 Corvette, or there was something special about it that we aren’t aware of. Sure, it’s a one-owner, low miles (24,000) example that is equipped with the highest-level option package available (3LZ), but we think the $35,200 price was a little high. Especially when we’re seeing Z06 examples bring the same money.
2004 Corvette Z06 $28,050
Talk about a lot of car for the money! This C5Z showed up to the party with a Granatelli twin-turbo kit, a 427-stroker engine, every bolt-on you could throw at it, and a complete cosmetic makeover! It reportedly put down 972 horsepower to the rear tires and came complete with timeslips in its center console depicting a best quarter-mile pass of 9.76 at 154 mph. No pictures of the powerhouse were available, however. Dang it.
2004 Corvette $22,000
There were a few C5s at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach, and this Metallic Grey example didn’t disappoint. Just a simple, clean C5 coupe looking for a new home, someone plucked down 22-large for the 6-speed manual sports car. With a 350 hp LS1 and six forward gears in which to select from, a C5 Corvette is still an excellent car to hit the dragstrip or curvy roads.
2002 Camaro SS 35th-Anniversary convertible $24,200
There aren’t many clean, unmolested 4th-gen F-bodies around, anymore, and this particular example takes us back to the old days. Being an ultra-collectible 35th-Anniversary SS convertible with only 8,000 miles on the clock, we think it was well sold. Let’s just hope it stays in this condition for years to come!
2001 Corvette convetible $22,000
Although there wasn’t really anything particularly unique or special about this Millennium Yellow C5 convertible, it showed well. Being a completely stock example, other than a Borla exhaust, this Corvette droptop only depicted 52,000 “pampered miles” on the odometer and was otherwise stock. We think $22k is a little steep for what it is, but we’re sure whoever bought the car will enjoy it.
1996 Corvette Collector’s Edition convertible $22,000
The ’96 Corvette was the swan song for the C4, and Chevrolet sent the car off with a bang, offering the Grand Sport, Collector’s Edition and the LT4 engine package for the final year. This particular example is a Collector’s Edition convertible powered by the 300 hp LT1. One of only 1,381 examples built in such a combination, the automatic-equipped CE only showed 4,175 miles on the clock. The hammer dropped at $22,000.
1996 SLP/MTI Camaro SS $23,100
Built by MTI from the ground up with all of the latest hardware and technology that was available at the time, this SLP/MTI Camaro SS was at the forefront of LT1-powered F-bodies back in the day. Packing a forged and fully-built LT1 with a ProCharger and basically every modification you can throw at a 4th-gn, this car is definitely a piece of GM EFI tuning history. Its been featured in numerous publications, is autographed by MTI’s very own Reese Cox, as well as other note-worthy automotive aficionados like Dennis Gage from My Classic Car and GM’s crack-team of Camaro fanatics, like Scott Settlemier, John Heinricy and Jon Moss.
1993 Vette 40th Anniversary $23,650
A simple, but clean and very presentable example, this 40th-Anniversary Edition Corvette convertible featured a 350ci. LT1 with 300hp/340 ft-lbs. of torque and a 10.5:1 compression ratio. With only 22,300 miles on the odometer, it came with all of the original documentation and a pair of pass keys. It drove off the auction block with a price of $23,650.
1985 Custom Corvette $23,650
If you were looking for a unique and interesting twist on a C4, this ’85 Corvette was for you. Powered by a 537 ci. big block, 635hp and 624 ft-lbs. of torque through a 6-speed manual transmission. All of that power and torque brought extra safety equipment Features a full roll cage and a custom body kit. This plastic powerhouse left Palm Beach for $23,650.
Pontiac
1998 SLP Firehawk $33,000
The lone late-model Pontiac at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach 2015 was this one-of-six ’98 SLP Firehawk. Although SLP (now SVE) never sold any ’98 ‘Hawks to the public, a handful of SLP prototype/pilot cars snuck out and found their way into private hands – this is one of them. Sporting only 43,000 miles, it ended up going for $33,000.
Buick
1986 Grand National $18,700
There were a few Turbo Buicks at Palm Beach, including this mildly modified ’86 Grand National. Featuring a GNX turbo and turbo shield, the Buick is reportedly good for 260 hp and 360 lb-ft. of torque with it otherwise all-original 3.8L V6. There are a few changes to the outward appearance, including black-out front parking lamps and true absence of the factory air dams. With subtle changes in the cockpit like aftermarket floor mats, horn cap and VDO gauges, the hammer dropped at $18.7k for this example.
1987 GNX $165,000
This is the Turbo Regal everyone was talking about. This ultra-clean, super-low mileage Buick GNX (#385/547) went for an astounding $165,000 over the weekend. Having once encountered the car in person myself, your author can attest to the well kept, immaculate condition of this car. Everything is as how is was when it left the ASC factory back in 1987, including all of the interior shipping plastics and the window sticker. Despite the 362 miles on the clock, the paint on the front and rear bumper fillers are quickly fading, which is common on all Turbo Buicks.
1987 GNX clone $25,300
If a $165,000 GNX is a little too rich for your blood, you could have drove off with this GNX clone a whole heckuva’ lot easier. Sporting a reported recent restoration, this ‘X lookalike went for $25,300 after the bidders had their way with it. Although the mileage is unreported in the description, it’s an overall nice driver that gives you the look and attitude of a GNX, without the cost and risk of devaluing a real example.
2004 Ranier GNX $19,250
No, this isn’t some hodgepodge vehicle thrown together by a custom shop nobody’s ever heard of. It is, in fact, a legit GM prototype vehicle that made its way around the Auto Show circuit over 11 years ago. When GM unloaded it out of its Heritage Collection back in 2009, it has floated around from collector car dealer to collector car dealer, until it found its way to Palm Beach. It features a Borla exhaust system and a Magnuson supercharger strapped to its 5.3L V8 (nope, no LS2 here), as well as a unique blacked-out treatment and AWD system. For $19,250 it seems like a pretty decent bargain – until you come to find out that you’ll never be able to title it or legally drive it anywhere in the country.
Cadillac
2016 Cadillac CT6 $200,000
While the CT6 isn’t currently offered in a hi-po V-series flavor just yet, that didn’t keep bidders from placing their bids on this 400 hp 3.0L TTV6 example, that is actually the first off the assembly line. Not only that, but its engine is the first of its type, combining twin-turbocharging with direct-injection, start-stop and cylinder deactivation. It brings several new technologies to the table that have never been seen before from General Motors. The hammer dropped at $200,000 for the brand new CT6, all of which, like the COPO Camaro, will be donated – in this case to the Karmanos Cancer Institute.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
