‘Disneyland in the car world’ hitting Las Vegas

Anybody with a fancy for classic and collectible automobiles can get an eyeful at the Las Vegas Barrett-Jackson auction this week at Mandalay Bay, where some 400 cars will be sold over three days.

The event starts today with a car rally down the Strip, beginning at Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot around 1:30 p.m. and ending at the south parking lot at Mandalay Bay. Three-day adult passes are $40; daily tickets are $15.

More than 500 cars were sold for $29 million at last year's inaugural auction, which attracted 50,000 people, including 1,200 bidders.

Richie Clyne, owner of Auto Collections at Imperial Palace, said he's gone to almost every Barrett-Jackson auction since the 1970s, including last year's auction in Las Vegas, where he bought a 1957 Ford Thunderbird.

"I've probably bought 100 cars from Barrett-Jackson over the years, lots of Mercedes," Clyne said from Pennsylvania, where he was attending another classic car auction. "First of all, he's the Rolls-Royce of auction companies, the ultimate best. I knew Craig's father, Russell Jackson. They bring in serious bidders and you know you're going to get paid."

Barrett-Jackson opened its books following legal action in 2007 alleging improper auction activities. Independent auditors from Deloitte & Touche found that the company complied with rules for the consignment process, bidder-qualification procedures, adherence to contract sale terms and timely and accurate payment.

All cars are auctioned at no reserve, or no minimum required bid.

Clyne said auction entry fees are paid at multiple levels, depending on the schedule, plus a commission on the total sales price. His business partner, Don Williams, is taking about 20 cars from their collection to the auction.

"It's like Disneyland in the car world," said Mike Henle, an auto enthusiast who went last year to look at cars on display in the parking lot. "They've got every car imaginable, even outdoors. This thing's unbelievable."

Among the featured cars this year is the Iacocca Silver 45th anniversary edition of the Ford Mustang, No. 5 of 45 built. It's expected to roll onto the auction block around 6:30 p.m. Friday and go for something over $100,000, said Michael Leone, who helped design the car with automobile executive Lee Iacocca, the "Father of the Mustang."

The 400-horsepower version of the Iacocca Mustang sells for $105,000, Leone said. This one packs 550 horsepower with a Ford Racing polished Supercharger. They're built by Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters from Fontana, Calif., a company known for building concept cars for manufacturers.

"This is a Mustang fastback. You can't buy a fastback unless you buy an Iacocca," Leone said. "All the Mustangs are coupes and convertibles."

Iacocca, who turns 85 on Oct. 15, is out of the country with his family and will not attend the auction. He'll deliver a videotaped message on the Mustang, inviting the winning bidder to dinner with him.

"That's an extraordinary gift," Leone said. He said working with Iacocca for two years on the car has been the most amazing time of his life.

Actor Bruce Willis is selling the 1988 Lincoln Limo used in his movie, "Die Hard," along with a 1967 Corvette convertible he picked up in Texas while filming "Last Man Standing." He's also parting with his 1968 Firebird 400 that he drove around his hometown of Penns Grove, N.J. His cars will be sold at the culmination of the Barrett-Jackson auction on Saturday.

"These cars are special in that they correspond with important moments in Bruce's life, both personally and professionally," said Steve Davis, president of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Barrett-Jackson. "Like most collectors today, Bruce enjoys his cars. I imagine he has his eye on one or more street-ready muscle cars to replace the three vehicles he's selling."

Another car getting a lot of attention this year is a 1965 Shelby Cobra, one of 650 built from 1962-65, with 33,000 original miles. The top-seller at last year's Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas was a 1949 MG-TC race car that was Carroll Shelby's first competitive racer. It went for $313,500.

Amy Boylan, president of Las Vegas-based Shelby Automotive, will be at the auction Saturday with Shelby and Hall-of-Fame drag racer Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. They're selling the 850-horsepower Prudhomme Edition Shelby Super Snake, which has a base price of $150,000.

"We wanted to do a car that was street legal, but you could take it to the drag strip on the weekend," Boylan said.

It's a tough economy and the auction will help spread awareness of the Prudhomme edition, which has already had about 10 sales, she said.

"I think Vegas is the perfect medium for this. It's got a lot of flash, it's on TV and there's going to be a lot of exotic cars," she said.

TV channel Speed will show 19 hours of live, high-definition coverage of the auction. Information on bidding, tickets, consigned car lists, vendor listings and catalog presales is available at www.barrett-jackson.com.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.