BUILDING ON A FIRM FOUNDATION: Charity cars crossing the block in Las Vegas continue a long tradition
October 6, 2017
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Charity cars always create a lot of excitement on the auction block. This 2017 Shelby GTE Fastback (Lot #3003) raised $150,000 for Grant A Gift Foundation at the 2016 Las Vegas Auction.
For many, the highlights of any Barrett-Jackson auction are the exciting and often emotional moments when vehicles come up on the auction block with a noble purpose: to help others. The auctioneers pause as a video describing the benefiting charity is played to the packed arena, or a representative of the organization explains what their cause is all about. Often the bidding is fast and furious, with prospective buyers knowing they will be writing a check directly to the featured charity, as Barrett-Jackson waives all fees for the auction of these special cars.
The charitable element of Barrett-Jackson has been woven into the very fabric of the company from day one, when the very first Scottsdale event benefited the local library. “I’m proud we’ve kept alive the legacy of charitable giving my father Russ Jackson and his business partner Tom Barrett started nearly half a century ago,” says Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson. To date, more than 130 different charitable organizations – large and small, local and national – have benefited from this unique fundraising effort, made possible largely through the generous consignors and bidders in the collector car community.
A number of charity cars will once again be crossing the block as we celebrate the 10th Annual Las Vegas Auction. Just as each person who will be helped through these remarkable sales has a tale to tell, so, too, do the cars themselves. Here are just a few of their stories.
Lot #3000 – 2016 Jeep Wrangler Red Rock Edition to benefit the NASCAR Foundation.
THE NASCAR FOUNDATION’S 2016 JEEP WRANGLER RED ROCK EDITION (LOT #3000)
Donated by Mike Helton, Vice Chairman of NASCAR and President and Chairman of The NASCAR Foundation, this is one of 50 Red Rock Edition production vehicles built by Jeep. This version was inspired by Moab and the celebration of the 50th annual Easter Safari gathering of Jeep enthusiasts from all over the world. Said to be the most capable Jeep ever built, its unique performance items include next-generation Dana 44 solid front and rear axles, Tru-Lok front and rear locking differentials, Rock Trac transfer case with 4.10 axle ratio and premium off-road rails. To enhance power, the vehicle was carefully delivered to Petty’s Garage and treated to an engine performance upgrade. The Jeep was personally supervised by “The King” Richard Petty himself while it was treated to a supercharger addition. For a finishing touch, Petty put his famous signature on the passenger-side portion of the dash. The entire amount from the sale of this Jeep will benefit The NASCAR Foundation and the many causes it serves.
Lot #3001, a 2017 Chevrolet Crew Cab Custom Pick to benefit the YMCA of Southern Nevada, will be unveiled at the Las Vegas Auction before it crosses the block.
COUNT’S KUSTOMS 2017 CHEVROLET CREW CAB PICKUP (LOT #3001)
A special-edition Count’s Kustoms truck – to be unveiled at the 2017 Las Vegas Auction – will include a Count’s Kustoms special-edition motorcycle. This lowered truck features a 5.3-liter engine, automatic transmission, custom paint and special wheels. It’s presented by Chevrolet, Count’s Kustoms and Fairway Chevrolet, and its sale will benefit the YMCA of Southern Nevada.
THE CLARION BUILDS 1991 ACURA NSX CUSTOM COUPE (LOT #3002)
Lot #3002 – a 1991 Acura NSX Custom Coupe to benefit the American Red Cross.
Clarion Builds is an innovative marketing program designed to connect Clarion and its elite group of industry partners with automotive enthusiasts, sports car aficionados, journalists, historians and anyone with a love of automotive design and style. The program is designed to meticulously restore and modernize iconic, genre-defying automobiles. For the Las Vegas Auction, that automobile is a sleek 1991 Acura NSX Custom Coupe. The Clarion Builds team breathed new life into this NSX with a proper nut-and-bolt restoration and tasteful upgrades that brought it to modern supercar spec – most notably through its second-generation 3.2-liter DOHC VTEC V6 engine upgraded with a CT supercharger, custom-engineered exhaust, hand-laid carbon-fiber cold-air intake and modernized electronics, giving the car a dyno- and track-proven 400+ horsepower at the wheels. Of course, being a Clarion Builds car, this NSX features their top-of-the-line NX807 multimedia system with navigation, fiber-optically connected to their high-resolution, full-digital-sound processor with FDS digital speakers and subwoofer, allowing music to be reproduced exactly how it was mixed in the studio. The entire sale price of the highly praised supercharged 1991 NSX Resto-Mod will be donated to the country’s largest humanitarian organization, the American Red Cross.
Lot #3003 – 1930 Ford Model A Custom “Cancer Car” to benefit TGen.
“CANCER CAR” – 1930 FORD RAT ROD (LOT #3003)
Known as the “Cancer Car,” this vehicle portrays from front to rear the hopeful journey of a cancer patient as you move through the car’s form – evolving from the black dead cancer roses of diagnosis to the fresh living red blooms of recovery. As much art as it is race-worthy, creator Steve Darnell – owner of car shop WelderUp and star of the reality TV show “Vegas Rat Rods” – forged this car in the spirit of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s 1960s Rat Fink designs. Much of the 1931 Ford is covered in a rusty patina. Incorporated into the design are 10-dozen metal roses surrounding a 392ci HEMI engine from a 1957 Dodge. The Cancer Car was built to honor 2-year-old Preston Giamanco, who was diagnosed in 2016 with kidney cancer. Preston is the son of Joe Giamanco, shop manager of WelderUp. Coincidentally, the day the car was first shown to Preston’s family was the same day they learned that the Las Vegas boy no longer showed any sign of the disease. Made from scrap parts from multiple cars, the rat rod will be sold to benefit TGen, a nonprofit biomedical research center based in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2010, Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson established the Barrett-Jackson Cancer Fund at TGen in Memory of Russ and Brian Jackson as a salute to his father and brother, whose lives were cut short by cancer.
Lot #3004 – 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake to benefit the [Injured Police Officers Fund ](http://the Injured Police Officers Fund in Las Vegas)in Las Vegas.
2007 FORD SHELBY GT500 SUPER SNAKE (LOT #3004)
This rare historical Shelby has been in the personal collection of Barrett-Jackson president Steve Davis since 2008 and currently has less than 900 miles. It was originally purchased by Mark Fields, former CEO of Ford, and as a result carries the ultra-low VIN 007, making it one of the first GT500s built since 1970. The car was used by Shelby while it was owned by Mark Fields as a R&D vehicle in the initial development of the 40th Anniversary Package. A special book documenting this is included with the car and has been signed by Carroll Shelby, as well as a framed copy of the Window Sticker signed by Carroll Shelby and Bill Ford. This spectacular GT500 has also been the recipient of a very special 600+ horsepower Super Snake 40th Anniversary Edition conversion by Shelby under the watchful eye of Carroll Shelby himself and assigned the CSM #07SS0011. The car also has the distinction of being the only car Carroll Shelby personally authorized to be equipped with white stripes, which at the time was not readily available as an option. This fine example of Ford and Shelby history has not been shown or displayed publicly since its completion and has lived a pampered existence as part of the Davis family. 100% of the hammer price will benefit the Injured Police Officers Fund in Las Vegas.
Lot #3005 – 1972 Ford Maverick Custom Coupe to benefit the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
PROJECT UNDERDOG – 1972 FORD MAVERICK (LOT #3005)
It was during the filming of “Fast and Furious 5” that actor Sung Kang first drove a Maverick and discovered the love affair that Brazilians have with this car. Knowing that the Maverick is the ambassador of underdog cars and understanding that the early model Mavericks had great bones, he felt it was time to showcase the car’s full potential. He created Project Underdog to do something meaningful with the symbolic Maverick by paying forward his passion for cars to support young people with a similar passion. In 2016, Sung, with the help of three high school students from California’s Alhambra High School set out to build a Maverick that would take the underdog to a new level. To Sung, the car and Project Underdog represent a meeting place for enthusiasts to share knowledge and experiences and to pass down the passion for cars to the younger generation. The rebuilt Maverick was unveiled at the Shell Pioneering Performance Stage during the 2016 SEMA show in Las Vegas, where the Project Underdog team won the prestigious Ford Motor Company Corporate Design Award. Built with support from Shell, Pennzoil and the SEMA Garage, the car will be auctioned to benefit the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Foundation – an organization dedicated to fostering the next generation of automotive industry leaders and innovators.
Lot #3006 – 1965 Shelby Cobra Re-creation to benefit Convoy of Hope to support ongoing hurricane relief in Texas and Florida.
1965 SHELBY COBRA RE-CREATION ROADSTER (LOT #3006)
This new build Cobra re-creation was built by Bill Jordan, the Cobra expert who appeared on the world-renowned “South Beach Classics” TV show with Ted Vernon. With less than 100 test miles, it features a laser-straight fiberglass body and was built for safety, performance and ease of maintenance. The high-performance suspension system includes fully adjustable coilover shocks all around, triangulated 4-link rear suspension and tubular front control arms. The cowl is insulated and covered with stainless-steel panels. There is noise and heat reduction inside the cockpit. It’s powered by a 5.0-liter engine with a Ford T5 5-speed transmission and 9″ rear end. Riding on Halibrand-style wheels, it also features a powder-coated frame, thermal-wrapped headers and chrome side pipes. Proceeds to benefit Convoy of Hope to support ongoing relief and efforts to rebuild in Texas and Florida in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
For up-to-date information on all the charity cars headed to the 2017 Las Vegas Auction, click HERE.