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Las Vegas, NV – February 28, 2025 – The Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas last weekend was a masterclass in transparent commerce. Over three days, nearly 600 vehicles rolled across the block, from Ford GTs and Plymouth Cudas to a Mad Max fever-dream car and a custom limousine with a giant joint attached to its roof. The event, now in its 54th year, is part car auction, part reality show, and, as Hagerty’s Larry Webster observed from behind the curtain, a remarkably well-oiled machine.
Webster, who worked with the broadcast crew as part of Hagerty’s new partnership with Barrett-Jackson, describes the experience as “pure commerce in its most transparent form. A product rolls up, a crowd decides what it’s worth, and a gavel falls. No negotiating, no posturing, no wondering if the dealer is playing you.” The vast majority of cars are sold with no reserve, meaning the crowd’s judgment is final. Bidders have only minutes to inspect and decide. “Buy wrong and you own it anyway,” Webster notes.
The range of vehicles that crossed the block was staggering. Alongside Bentley Continental GTs and immaculate restomods, a custom stretched limousine with a massive joint on its roof sold for $10,120, a post-apocalyptic custom car went for $18,700, and the Mystery Machine—Scooby-Doo’s van in full paint—fetched $20,900. VW Microbuses sat next to six-figure muscle cars. “The auction does not curate for taste,” Webster writes. “It curates for desire, and desire turns out to be a very broad category.”
What drives the crowd is harder to quantify. Nostalgia plays a huge role. Webster admits he was almost broken by a three-wheeled Honda ATC200X that came up for bid—a machine he saved up for as a teenager by mowing lawns. “The excitement I felt as a teenager rushed over me. That’s a powerful drug.” But nostalgia alone doesn’t explain the room. Many bidders simply want a beautiful object, a new toy, something that makes the neighbors slow down. Barrett-Jackson’s genius is putting all those motivations in the same room at the same time, pointing them at the same gavel.
Barrett-Jackson has been doing this since 1971, when Russ Jackson and Tom Barrett launched the auction in Scottsdale. Today, Craig Jackson runs it as chairman and CEO, and he is everywhere. Webster watched him personally direct the broadcast crew for the weekend’s charity auction, when UFC president Dana White took the stage to present two trucks sold for charity. One was the first production Ram Rumble Bee SRT. The entire hammer price—$1.5 million—went to Folds of Honor and the UFC foundation. Since the weekend coincided with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the crowd was especially tuned in. Jackson “managed it like a conductor,” Webster says. White himself won the bidding.
Then there was the Batman impersonator who joined a couple of cars onstage to generate interest. That felt right for Las Vegas. Yet amid the joint limo, the Mystery Machine, and the caped crusader, the whole operation ran with the precision of a live network broadcast—because that is exactly what it is. Announcers never lose their voice or energy. Porters move cars on and off with military precision. Camera operators anticipate the moment before it happens. Directors call shots in real time with no script. “The people who pull this off do so through sheer experience—they have done it enough times that the chaos looks like choreography,” Webster says. “It was one of the more impressive live productions I have seen.”
For those inspired to shop, Webster points to Hagerty Marketplace, which now lists some 1,000 cars. His personal favorites from the auction: a 1990 Jeep Grand Wagoneer with only 59,000 miles, a one-owner 1974 Jensen Interceptor, a super-clean Datsun 240Z, and a one-family-owned 1981 Corvette in a fetching color.
The partnership between Hagerty and Barrett-Jackson marks a new chapter for both organizations. Hagerty, best known for collector car insurance and valuation tools, now has a direct pipeline into the world’s largest live auction platform. Meanwhile, Barrett-Jackson gains access to Hagerty’s data, media reach, and enthusiast network. The collaboration is already yielding results: the Las Vegas auction drew record attendance and bidding activity, according to company sources.
As the collector car market continues to evolve—with interest rates influencing discretionary spending and younger buyers gravitating toward 1990s and 2000s models—Barrett-Jackson remains a bellwether. The spectacle may be theatrical, but the price discovery is real. For buyers and sellers alike, it’s the most honest conversation the market has.
