Hundreds of classic cars set for Mecum Portland 2017 auction

A field of 461 classic and collector cars rolled across the block in Portland over a single June weekend, but one blue-and-black Camaro with an unusually clean paper trail ended up outselling everything else in the building. The final tally topped $7.9 million by the time the last gavel fell. Here’s which cars actually commanded the biggest numbers.

For the second consecutive year Mecum AuctionsÂ has packed the Portland Expo Center with hundreds of classic, collectible cars.

This Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, Mecum will move about 600 cars across the auction block, with a goal of selling 60 to 70 percent of them, according to event marketing manager David Morton.

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Nearly 500 cars crossed the block over two days in Portland, but it was a blue-and-black four-speed with a well-documented past that ended up stealing the entire event. Plenty of flashier, faster, and rarer cars sat in the same lineup, some with bigger engines and lower production numbers. Yet none of them could match the paper trail and condition of one particular Camaro, and buyers were willing to pay for it. By the time the gavel fell on the weekend, the final numbers told a story about what collectors were actually chasing in 2017 — and it wasn’t necessarily the cars you’d expect.

A Yenko Camaro Tops a Field of 461

Of the 461 classic and collector cars that crossed the block at the Portland Expo Center that June weekend, the top sale went to a 1968 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro finished in blue over black, which brought $395,000 — by far the auction’s biggest number and proof that documentation and condition can outweigh raw rarity when serious bidders are in the room.

What Else Made the Top of the List

A numbers-matching 1970 Chevelle LS6 also drew serious money at $125,000, while a Hemi-powered DeSoto Fireflite convertible brought $68,000 — a reminder that Mopar power and unusual bodies can hold their own against the more common Chevrolet and Ford muscle that typically dominates these sales. Across both days, the auction totaled $7.9 million, with Plymouths and Chevrolets accounting for most of the top ten results.

What Makes a Yenko Camaro Different from a Regular Camaro

Don Yenko was a Chevrolet dealer who built limited runs of dealer-modified, big-block-swapped Camaros in the late 1960s specifically to give Chevrolet buyers something to compete with factory muscle cars from other manufacturers that already came with larger engines from the factory. That dealer-conversion history is exactly why a genuine, documented Yenko commands far more than a standard Camaro of the same model year.

Condition and Paperwork Over Raw Numbers

Serious collectors increasingly pay a premium for verified originality and matching numbers over cars that are simply scarce on paper, because documentation removes the guesswork — and the risk — of buying a car that might not be exactly what it’s represented to be. That’s the same dynamic that let this particular Camaro outsell rarer, more powerful cars in the same room.

A Regional Auction Still Punches Above Its Weight

Mecum’s Portland stop is one of many regional auctions the company runs each year beyond its larger flagship events, yet a two-day sale bringing in nearly $8 million shows that regional auctions can still produce results serious enough to draw national attention.

Why a Hemi DeSoto Convertible Stands Out

DeSoto disappeared as a Chrysler brand in 1961, which makes any surviving performance-oriented DeSoto from the years just before that a genuine rarity most casual collectors have never even seen in person, let alone bid on — a big part of why one drew serious money even sharing a room with more famous muscle car nameplates.

Two Days, Nearly 500 Cars, One Clear Lesson

Add it all up and the weekend’s results point to the same conclusion: paper trail and condition mattered more to serious buyers in Portland that June than raw specs or rarity alone — a pattern collectors and sellers alike would do well to keep in mind heading into the next auction season.

Mecum’s Wider Footprint Beyond Its Flagship Events

The company’s headline sales, like its massive Kissimmee auction each January, draw the most national attention, but stops like Portland show that Mecum’s regional events can still produce results serious enough to make national collector car news.

David Morton’s Sales Goal, in Context

A stated goal of moving 60 to 70 percent of consigned vehicles is a realistic, well-worn benchmark in the auction business, where even a strong sale rarely clears every single lot — and Portland’s final numbers landed well within that range.

Plymouths and Chevrolets Dominating the Top Ten

A results list topped by Chevrolet and Plymouth muscle reflects the enduring collector demand for the two brands that defined much of the muscle car era’s most recognizable nameplates, even alongside rarer marques like DeSoto making an appearance further down the list.

What a $7.9 Million Weekend Signals

For a two-day regional sale to clear nearly eight figures in total business shows that collector demand in the Pacific Northwest is real and sustained, not just a one-time draw dependent on a single headline car.

Why Portland Draws a Distinct Crowd

The Pacific Northwest has its own deep-rooted car culture, shaped by a drier summer climate that has historically preserved originality on cars that might have rusted away entirely in harsher regions — part of why buyers travel specifically to auctions like this one hunting for well-preserved, unmolested examples.

A Two-Day Format That Keeps Momentum Building

Splitting the sale across Friday and Saturday rather than cramming everything into a single day lets bidders pace themselves and lets the auction house build anticipation toward its highest-value lots, a format that helped this particular Yenko Camaro become the story of the entire weekend rather than getting lost in a single marathon session.

A Result Worth Watching Next Year

A strong two-day total like this one gives Mecum a clear incentive to keep returning to Portland, and gives Pacific Northwest collectors a reason to start planning what they might consign the next time the auction house comes back to the Expo Center.

A Reminder That Regional Auctions Still Matter

Not every important result in the collector car world happens at the handful of marquee national sales — a strong regional weekend like this one is proof the smaller stops on the calendar still carry real weight.

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