BEHIND THE SHADES: Steve Davis on the Fall Auction and the Return of the Barrett-Jackson Cup

October 12, 2020
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson President Steve Davis

STEVE DAVIS’ DARK GLASSES PROTECT HIS EYES FROM A LIGHT SENSITIVITY CONDITION – BUT THAT DOESN’T HINDER HIS VISION OF THE COLLECTOR CAR MARKET.

All of us at Barrett-Jackson, as a team – and me in particular, working with the consignments and building the docket – couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of live events again. We had so many hurdles to overcome initially, just contemplating whether we were going to postpone or not hold our events, through no fault of anyone, just by virtue of this virus and all the unknowns it caused.

But the Barrett-Jackson family put our heads together and came up with the idea that if we were going to put on a live event and be as effective as we could be, where better to do that than our home town? With home field advantage, we can stage this in a place we’re all familiar with – and we’re very, very conscious of all the things we’re going to need to do to make this successful.

Lot #749 at the 2020 Fall Auction is a 2012 Lexus LFA, which is being offered with No Reserve.

Those who join us in October will have the incredible opportunity to experience, for the first time ever, a second Scottsdale event – something that’s never been done before, and that’s really an exciting prospect. Scottsdale is that hallowed ground – the place where everybody comes to experience what you can only experience in Scottsdale. Granted, it will be a “scaled-down” version of our annual January event, but I think it will not, in any way, be less exciting or less fruitful for all our consignors and bidders.

Universally, across the board, the people we’ve been talking to – from a consignment standpoint particularly – have just been overjoyed. I think it really is a testament to the pent-up anxiety that we’re all experiencing, particularly in the car culture world, where everything’s been canceled. Now we’re coming back – very carefully – and to see the unprecedented acceptance and excitement as a result of that decision just reinforced that we’re going down the right path and are working hard to get everything in place while complying with city, state and federal guidelines.

The muscle car lineup at the 2020 Fall Auction is headlined by this 1970 Plymouth HEMI ‘Cuda (Lot #740) – selling with No Reserve.

There was unparalleled consignment activity from the day we announced the event. Early on we lined up virtually something for everybody, which is a signature of any Barrett-Jackson auction. Supercars? You bet – including an incredible Lexus LFA and a 2018 Ford GT. We’ve got a beautiful lineup of muscle cars, including an awesome 1970 HEMI ’Cuda and a ’70 Superbird. Resto-Mods – some of the finest we’ve ever seen at Barrett-Jackson. You name it, we have it. So there will be no lack of enthusiasm and no lack of quality going across the auction block – and I guarantee you there will be no lack of excitement that all this is going to generate.

To add to the excitement, and again reinforce why Scottsdale is Scottsdale, we are in the incredible position to announce something very near and dear to my heart – the return of the Barrett-Jackson Cup. First introduced in 2013, the Cup competition crowned three consecutive Ultimate Best of Show champions before taking a hiatus until the perfect opportunity for its return presented itself – and what better time than now! It will be an amazing opportunity for all the top builders in the country to showcase their masterful works of art and vie for what was and will again be one of the most coveted awards in the collector car hobby.

The Cup brings together a segment of the car culture Barrett-Jackson embraced long ago: customs and Resto-Mods, which today is one of the most successful segments in the auction world, particularly on our stage. We’re excited to not only involve the people who have long loved the custom car world, but – more importantly – also expand that community to people who potentially have never been involved in this segment of the hobby before.

Where, other than at Barrett-Jackson, are builders going to get the opportunity to showcase the fruits of their labor, their craftsmanship and their talent, to a fresh, new audience? Expanding the custom car segment to people around the world, who haven’t necessarily been involved before, is really the goal of the Barrett-Jackson Cup.

While our “Road to 50” has encountered a lot of detours, the Barrett-Jackson Cup competition at our flagship Scottsdale Auction in 2021 will set the stage for an incredible return of this prestigious award.
With the anticipation for our Fall Auction continuing to build, as well as adding the Cup to the calendar, I and the entire Barrett-Jackson family look forward to creating excitement not only for those in attendance and online – but also for our new television audience on FYI and History.

As we continue to carefully navigate this new world of live auctions, our passion and dedication to bringing you the finest and most exciting events in the world will only continue to intensify.