Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale week has a way of setting the tone for where muscle car money is headed each year, and 2017 was no exception. With 1,719 vehicles crossing the block and 40 sales records falling, the results revealed which corners of the market were heating up — and which classics were starting to share the spotlight with unexpected competition. A Shelby GT350 and a Boss 429 both cracked six figures, but the real headline was who else was cashing in.
Over the last decade especially, the high-profile Barrett-Jackson auction held each January in Scottsdale, Arizona, evolved into one of the best-attended spectator events on the classic car calendar. It is the 800-pound gorilla of all the Scottsdale auctions. But Scottsdale is not just Barrett-Jackson. Another half-dozen auctions compete for attention and the business of buyers and sellers.
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So what actually sold that week, and what did it say about where the muscle car market was headed? The numbers that came out of WestWorld told a more interesting story than most people expected, because the cars pulling the biggest money weren’t the muscle cars everyone assumes dominate a Scottsdale sale. If you walked in expecting a Hemi ‘Cuda or a Boss 429 to top the leaderboard, the final results might surprise you, and the reason why says a lot about where serious collector money was really flowing that January.
The Big Numbers Didn’t Come From Detroit
The 2017 Scottsdale sale put 1,719 vehicles across the block and set 40 sale records along the way, with roughly $102.5 million changing hands over the week. But the top two results weren’t muscle cars at all — a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 brought $1,485,000, and a 1960 Chevrolet CERV I research vehicle sold for $1,320,000. It’s a reminder that even at America’s biggest muscle car auction, European and one-off engineering cars can still steal the headline.
Muscle Cars Still Held Their Ground
That said, Detroit iron didn’t leave empty-handed. A 1965 Shelby GT350 Fastback brought $445,500, and a 1969 Mustang Boss 429 out of the Reggie Jackson Collection reportedly sold for around $385,000 — both firmly six-figure results. Rare Mopars, including Hemi ‘Cudas and Dodge Superbirds, were among the week’s most talked-about offerings, and Dodge muscle along with ’80s domestic performance cars were called out as particularly strong segments. That last part matters: it was an early signal that serious money was starting to move beyond the usual big-block giants and into cars the hobby hadn’t fully priced yet.
A Preview of Where the Market Was Headed
Looking back, that’s exactly where the market kept heading in the years since. Scottsdale 2017 wasn’t just a big auction week — it was a preview of a muscle car market that was starting to widen its definition of what’s worth collecting.
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W30, those red inner fender covers!!
Fuck them and all the millionaires buying these cars at ridiculous prices and leaving nothing for the middle man..old men buying all the stock I f muscle cars up driving the prices up..I say fuck you to all of you spoiled brats who need a muscle car to get pussy!..because without your 69 camaro you,d be jerking off the rest of your pathetic life!!!