Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Day One Highlights

As thousands of car enthusiasts streamed through the gates of The World’s Greatest Collection Car Auctions on Thursday, they were met with sunshine, blue skies and over 600 collector cars on display at the 2024 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction.

The auction site at the South Florida Fairgrounds offered something for everyone on the first day of the event. Guests were able to see all the collector cars before they had their turn on the famous auction block, check out interactive displays and demonstrations from more than 100 exhibitors and sponsors, and grab a bite to eat from a wide variety of offerings.

The day’s activities included the demonstration of a 1976 Leopard 1 A5 Battle Tank (Lot #696), which will cross the block with No Reserve on Saturday, April 20, highlighted by the unmistakable rumble of its 37.4-liter turbocharged diesel engine and the turning of the turret. Additional demonstrations are scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.

Another must-experience highlight of the day was an exhilarating ride around the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track with a professional driver at the Dodge Thrill Rides and Ford Hot Laps. In addition, the Volvo Driving Experience gave guests the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a new Volvo for a cruise along the streets of Palm Beach.

Of course, the real not-to-be-missed element of the event was watching all the exciting bidding action in the arena itself.

The morning’s activity began with nearly 200 examples of collectible cool up on the block during the Automobilia Auction, where Lot #6299.2, a large Kenny Rogers Roasters light-up sign and Lot #6298.4, a Chevrolet OK Used Cars neon sign, proved to be the stars of Thursday’s show. Three gas pumps also took the spotlight: a 1940s-50s Gulf Bennett Model #646 (Lot #6291) and a late-1940s/early-50s Gulf Oil Premium Gasoline Tokheim 39 (Lot #6292). A late-1940s/early-1950s Texaco Bennett Model 756 (Lot #6289.1) rounded out the day’s top five automobilia sales.

Before the collector cars started to cross the block for the day, Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson was joined on the block by President Steve Davis, along with Shelby American President Gary Patterson, Vice President of Operations Vince LaViolette, and Sales and Marketing Manager Kash Singh, as well as Tracy Smith, Executive Vice President of Carroll Shelby International, to debut Shelby’s latest creation: the 2024 Shelby Super Snake. The special car, along with a convertible version, will be on display throughout the Palm Beach event in the Shelby American display.

Over 175 of the more than 600 No Reserve collector cars on this year’s docket took their turn on the block Thursday, with 1956 Ford Thunderbird Convertible (Lot #106.1), a 1970 Ford Torino custom coupe (Lot #100.1), 2007 Aston Martin DB9 Volante (Lot #103) and a 1968 Ford Mustang GT convertible (Lot #108) all taking top honors for the day.

The first two cars from John Staluppi’s Cars of Dreams Collection had their turn in the spotlight today. The first, a 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible (Lot #82), was among the top sales of the day, and it was followed by Lot #82.1, a 1974 Volkswagen Thing convertible. The remaining vehicles in the collection will cross the block on Friday and Saturday with No Reserve.

The Palm Beach Auction runs through Saturday, with tickets and bidder registration available on Barrett-Jackson.com. Join everyone this weekend and soak in all the excitement the auction has to offer.

Top 10 Automotive Sales of Day One