Barrett-Jackson has spent decades turning Scottsdale into the loudest week on the collector-car calendar. So the interesting question about its brand-new Columbus, Ohio sale was never whether the cars would sell. It was whether Midwest money would show up to buy them. It did. According to the auction house’s own post-sale report, the inaugural Columbus Auction ran June 25–27 at the Ohio Expo Center & State Fairgrounds. It pulled in $38.1 million in total sales across cars, charity lots, and automobilia.
The headline number worth staring at, though, is the one hiding underneath: a 550-car docket that sold at 100 percent. No reserve-fueled walkbacks, no “did not meet reserve” cars slinking back into the trailer. Every single vehicle changed hands. For a first-year event in an unproven market, a full sell-through is a far more telling stat than the gross. It tells you the room was full of people who came to actually buy.
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A German hypercar led an all-American house
The top seller was a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, Lot #736, at $2,695,000 — which is instructive on its own. The 918 was Porsche’s plug-in hybrid halo car, built in a run of 918 units, pairing a 4.6-liter V8 with two electric motors. A decade after production ended, clean, low-mileage examples have quietly become blue-chip material. A mid-$2 million result confirms these are trading as appreciating assets rather than depreciating toys. If you own one, your insurer’s “agreed value” number needs a serious look.
But the story Barrett-Jackson clearly wanted to tell was about the muscle. A numbers-matching 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, Lot #743, hammered at $1,045,000. The company called it a new Boss 429 world auction record. That deserves context most people miss: the Boss 429 wasn’t built to be a street brawler. Ford needed to homologate its semi-hemi 429 “shotgun” engine for NASCAR, so roughly 1,300 were shoehorned into Mustangs by outside contractor Kar Kraft. That contractor had to widen the shock towers just to make the massive motor fit. That awkward, purpose-built origin is exactly why survivors command seven figures now.
Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson framed the debut in familiar terms. He said the event “captured the exact same look, feel and energy as our iconic Scottsdale Auction.” Predictable auctioneer optimism, sure — but a 100 percent sell-through backs it up better than any quote could.
Ford basically owned the leaderboard
Run down the top ten and it reads like a Blue Oval retrospective. Behind the 918 came a 2021 Ford GT ’66 Heritage Edition at $1,100,000. Then came the record Boss 429, a 2022 Ford GT at $913,000, and a 2021 Ford GT Studio Collection at $863,500. Three separate “Eleanor”-licensed Mustang builds also cracked the list. The lesson for buyers is this: late-model, low-production Ford GTs are holding money remarkably well. And the licensed-Eleanor Mustangs — restomods, not original muscle — are pulling six figures on brand and screen-legend nostalgia alone. Purists should factor that in before assuming an old fastback is the “safer” buy.
The charity cars and the gas-pump economy
Two charity vehicles brought a combined $240,000. A Joe Burrow–collaboration 2022 Ford Bronco sold for $90,000, with 100 percent going to the Joe Burrow Foundation. An Anduril Industries–designed 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 added $150,000 for the Call of Duty Endowment. Barrett-Jackson says its lifetime charity total now tops $172 million.
Don’t sleep on the automobilia, either. The 255 no-reserve pieces cleared $1.1 million, topped by a 1920s Fry “Mae West” visible gas pump at $138,000. When a single antique fuel pump outsells most people’s daily driver, that’s a decent barometer of how deep the nostalgia dollars run right now.
What it means for owners and buyers
Here’s the practical read: the collector market’s center of gravity is spreading beyond the coasts and the Arizona January circus. A full sell-through in a brand-new city suggests demand still outruns quality supply. If you’re insuring a 918, a Ford GT, or a genuine Boss 429, get the values re-appraised — these results reset the comps. And if you’re shopping, understand what you’re paying for. Original homologation muscle and limited-run modern Fords are behaving like investments, while licensed restomods are selling on emotion. Barrett-Jackson says it’ll be back in Columbus in 2027; the next stop is Las Vegas, September 10–12.
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