8 Exotics We’ll Be Watching at the Scottsdale Auctions
Scottsdale is one of the biggest auction events of the year, and for most bidders and attendees, it’s a week of non-stop American muscle, restomods, and vintage trucks. However, mixed in with the constant stream of Mustangs, Corvettes, and Broncos are other types of vehicles, from vintage VWs to prewar greats to European sports cars. This year in particular there are a slew of exotic cars, including enough Ferraris and Lamborghinis to fill a warehouse. The cars below, though, are the Scottsdale exotics we’ll be keeping a close eye on later this month.
2019 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake
In the late 2010s, Aston Martin sent 325 Vanquishes to the Milanese styling wizards at Zagato. Aston and Zagato have had regular and productive flings dating all the way back to 1960, and their collaboration on the Vanquish yielded 28 speedsters, 99 coupes, 99 Volantes (convertibles), and 99 shooting brakes. This one is represented as the 26th of those 99, and one of just 11 sold new in the U.S.
Finished in black paint with gold metal flakes in the finish over a tan interior, it was ordered with options like a One-77 steering wheel, electrochromic glass moonroof, umbrella, and a $19,000 carbon-fiber trunk deck. The original MSRP was reportedly $877,916.
Modern Astons, even the super-cool limited-production ones like this, tend to depreciate at rates that make you cringe a bit. Case in point: This five-year-old V-12 wonder wagon, which supposedly sold for nearly 900 grand new, sold online last June for $475,500. Maybe it will have better luck in Scottsdale.
2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition
Ford started building the most recent version of the GT in late 2016 and delivered the last one in 2023. The company also kept the model relevant and attracted collectors by introducing a new special edition of the GT each year, most of which were “Heritage Editions” finished in paint jobs that aped famous GT40 racers from the ’60s. The 2021 Heritage Edition, for example, wears the same livery as the car driven by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby to take the GT40’s first 24-hour victory at Daytona in 1966. Just 50 were built.
This one also boasts just one owner, and they clearly didn’t enjoy it much, as the odometer reads just 10 miles.
1989 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer
Founded in California in 2009, Singer Vehicle Design quickly made a name for itself by “reimagining” 964-generation (1989-94) Porsche 911s with impressive attention to detail and a sky-high price tag. Singer’s builds are spectacular and, naturally, in high demand, with a wait list that can be years long. The only way to skip the line and scratch the Singer itch with instant gratification is to buy someone else’s build. Several such cars hit the auction market each year, and they typically bring about $1M. This one wears special Green Blood Dark paint over a Connolly Monza leather interior with 24-karat gold accents.
2020 McLaren Senna GTR
When McLaren introduced the Senna in 2018, it was already one of the most track-capable cars money could buy. No matter how extreme they are, though, supercars still need to make concessions to emissions and safety if they want to be street-legal. That’s where the Senna GTR comes in. This track-only variant thumbs its nose at street driving.
It has the same basic engine, a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, as the “regular” Senna, but with its secondary catalysts removed it makes 814 horsepower instead of 789 hp in the base car. McLaren claims 0-60 mph in less than 2.8 seconds and 0-124 in less than 6.8. The biggest changes are on the handling front, with an increased front track, slick tires, and enough tweaks to the aero to make over 2200 pounds of downforce at 155 mph compared to 1764 pounds in the regular model.
This one is represented as number 73 of 75 Senna GTRs built, and with 871 km (541 miles) on the odometer. Its Solar Yellow paint and gradient stripes take obvious inspiration from the three-time Brazilian F1 champ from whom the Senna takes its name, and it reportedly has an even more powerful GTR-LM-spec engine with 833 hp and a 9000 rpm rev limit. According to RM Sotheby’s its build sheet shows an MSRP of $1.78M but its estimate for Arizona is $1.1M-$1.3M, which is in line with the prices on other Senna GTRs that have come to market recently.
2023 Hennessey Venom F5 Roadster
Texas-based Hennessey has been tuning American performance cars and trucks for a generation, but the Venom F5 (named for an F5 tornado, the highest rating on the Fujita scale) is its first totally in-house model, with its own carbon fiber tub and body shell. Its 6.6-liter twin-turbo “Fury” V-8 puts out a claimed 1817 hp/1193 lb-ft of torque, and the claimed top speed of the roadster is over 265 mph.
This Citrus Orange car is the second roadster out of a supposed 30-car production run, and shows just 683 miles. These are relatively new and very rare cars so they aren’t a common sight on the market, but a coupe sold at Amelia Island last year for $2.2M.
1995 Porsche 911 Remastered by Gunther Werks
High-end modernized and customized vintage Porsches are quite popular. Singer Vehicle Design “Reimagines” them, and Gunther Werks “Remasters” them, but both shops are basically doing the same thing: six-figure builds on these air-cooled icons.
Gunther Werks mainly focuses on the 993-generation (1994-98) 911, and this one is a one-off called the “Rennsport Aventura.” Based on a 993 Carrera, it has a bespoke paint job, extensive use of carbon fiber in the body and underneath, JRZ adjustable coil-overs, custom rear control arms, upgraded anti-roll bars, lightweight uprights, and a front strut brace. The engine is a 4.0-liter unit (up from 3.6) built with forged internals, MoTec engine management, individual throttle bodies, and a custom intake, and it’s mated to a beefed-up version of the original six-speed transmission with a lightened flywheel and a 997.2 GT3 RS clutch. According to Gunther Werks, 80 percent of the car’s interior is bespoke, while the rest was replaced with brand-new equipment sourced from Porsche. The commission reportedly cost $778,888, and it debuted at the Quail in 2022. It has a $900,000-$1,100,000 estimate in Arizona.
2014 Pagani Huayra
Built in tiny numbers to unique specs at exorbitant prices, Paganis are almost as much design studies as they are exotic automobiles, with sci-fi interiors and poster-worthy engine bays. Even the mirrors are gorgeous.
The Huayra up for grabs in Scottsdale is one of 100 cars built for the 2014 model year and was ordered with the $180,000 “Tempesta Package,” which reportedly included exposed carbon fiber, a front diffuser, larger wheels, and a burnt titanium exhaust system. Barrett-Jackson doesn’t typically put estimates on cars and there isn’t an estimate for this one, but most of the select few Huayras that have come to auction in recent years sold in the high-$1M to mid-$2M range.
2007 Saleen S7 LM
The Saleen S7 is one of America’s few home-grown supercars, and this one started life as a 2007 model before it went back home to Saleen in 2018 for conversion to “LM” specs. Originally, Saleen planned to convert seven cars to these specs, but completed just three in the end. Upgrades developed through the company’s successful racing endeavors with the S7 included a biplane rear wing, rear lip spoiler, rear diffuser, side skirts, air vents, and an enclosed underbody. The engine is a 7.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 with 1000 hp. We’ve seen this car at auction twice before, once selling for $1,200,000 online in 2020 and again for $1,022,500 in Monterey in 2021.
The 2007 Saleen S7 LM is my favorite here. Rarely see an S7 anywhere the days.