There is no shortage of collector car auctions in Arizona, however 2019 was the first year for Mecum Auctions. Their inaugural 4-day event was held at the Sate Farm Stadium in Glendale which usually plays host to the Arizona Cardinal football games.
“There’s a real deep rich car culture here,” said Sam Murtaugh, VP of marketing and presentation at Mecum Auctions. “We’ve always wanted to be a part of that and want to bring our experience to the Phoenix Metro area.”
Mecum is a Wisconsin family owned and operated auction house since its inception in 1988. They are currently ranked number one in the world for number of collector cars offered at auction each year, and also take the top spot in the U.S. for total dollar volume of sales.
There were around 1,250 vehicles going across the auction block during the weekend ranging from ultra-rare antiques, collector classics, resto-mods and modern-day exotics. We were there and enjoyed the event. We took a lot of photos to share and are already looking forward to next year’s event where we think they will make the Phoenix auction even bigger and better after all the interest shown this year.
Here are some our favorites from the show…
Walking into the auction area you are greeted by this heavily modified Roadrunner at the bottom of the escalator. While it had some serious flaws in the paint, it still had some cool details.
Just before entering the auction two incredible Ferraris were on display. A 2014 LaFerrari on the left and a 2017 LaFerrari Aperta on the right.
Inside the stadium the auction was in full effect.
One of the first classics to catch our eye was this 1955 Chrysler Ghia ST Special. It is one of only four ever produced. It was the last design in the collaboration between legendary stylist Virgil Exner and Ghia chief Luigi Segre that lasted from 1951-1955.
There was certainly a strong Mopar presence at the event. These two definitely drew our attention. A 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger and this 1971 Cuda which was only 1 of 5 ever produced. The Cuda sold for $700,000!
Another impressive piece of machinery on the stadium floor was this 1932 Duesenberg Model J that pulled in $880,000!
We headed back outside the stadium to check out the cars on the property and under the tents. It isn’t everyday that you can see a tricked out El Camino sitting next to a Ferrari.
One of our favorites under the tent was this 1978 Pontiac Macho Trans AM. It is No. 135 of 204, and has been featured in Hemmings Muscle Machines. The instrument panel autographed by Dennis Mecham himself!
Outside the stadium, classic cars and trucks lined the walkway. The rest of the images are of the trucks that grabbed our attention. Well the Ford Ranchero is half of a truck anyway. Enjoy!
