THE COOLEST PLACE IN VEGAS: VIN 001 Escalade-V Heats Up The Block At Barrett-Jackson On Friday

Barrett-Jackson rocked the house on Friday as the first charity car of the 2022 Las Vegas Auction had its turn in the spotlight: The First Retail Production 2023 Escalade-V VIN 001.

Introduced by Mike Simons, chief engineer of the Cadillac Escalade, the VIN 001 SUV brought the gavel down on a winning bid of $500,000 with 100 percent of the hammer price benefiting the Center for Creative Studies for the launch of the Detroit chapter of the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) that focuses on career development in the design industry. Longtime friend of Barrett-Jackson Michelle Mauzy donated an additional $25,000 to the cause bringing the total raised to $525,000.

During the momentous occasion, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, the school’s founder and a prominent designer in the athletic footwear industry, announced that he will work with the winning bidder to create a pair of custom sneakers that will be manufactured as a one-of-one run. The folks at General Motors donated a unique Ron Fellows Spring Mountain experience along with a beautiful rendering of the vehicle.

The Escalade-V was joined by more than 200 incredible collector vehicles that made their way across the famous auction block, ranging from impressive muscle cars to gorgeous Resto-Mods and unique vehicles.

A 1964 Chevrolet Corvette custom convertible (Lot #462.1) was Friday’s showstopper, taking top honors for the day with a sale price of $173,800. Among other auctions highlights was a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro custom coupe (Lot #465) for $156,200; 1974 Ford Bronco Custom SUV known as “The Tailgater” (Lot #467.1) for $143,000; a pre-production 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 coupe (Lot #459.1) and a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible IMSA GTLM Championship Edition (Lot #463.1) each crossing the block for $129,800; a 2022 Jeep Gladiator custom pickup (Lot #455) and a 1971 Ford Bronco custom SUV (Lot #457.1) that each sold for $115,500; and the first ever 2022 Mustang Mach-E GT (Lot #439.1) to cross the Barrett-Jackson auction block, setting a new auction world record of $113,300.

Friday also saw the sale of the first three of six vehicles from the Chevrolet Collection, a group of Corvettes that have travelled the country as display vehicles at car shows and Barrett-Jackson Auctions.

Cars from the SoCal Collection and the High-Octane Collection were also in the spotlight, with star cars including a 1962 Chevrolet Corvette convertible (Lot #452.1) and a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle LS5 SS (Lot #442.1) respectively.

Some of the most unique vehicles to cross the block included the Boaterhome (Lot #461) and Lot #383, a 1903 Oldsmobile curved dash Runabout convertible.

The hottest event in town also attracted an incredible array of guests, including Danny “The Count” Koker of Count’s Kustoms and Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars on A+E Networks.

Friday morning’s Automobilia Auction featured nearly 100 more unique and rare pieces of collectibles from times gone by, when the cars we now consider classics cruised the streets. Gas pumps continued to capture many of the top sales of the day, including Lot #7283, a Richfield Oil Bennett gas pump for $22,655 and Lot #7277, a 1929 Mobil Oil Wayne 615 restored visible gas pump for $19,550. A crowd favorite was a 1950s Coca-Cola Vendo 81 Model B soda machine (Lot #7266) selling for $18,400.

Take a look through this gallery featuring highlights of the day at the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center – and then fasten your seat belts and get ready for Super Saturday! Tune in for all the excitement – The World’s Greatest Collector Car Auctions will be live on HISTORY and FYI.