CorvetteBlogger’s Ultimate Guide to the January 2020 Auctions

Jan 1, 2020

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CorvetteBlogger's Ultimate Guide to the January 2020 Auctions

Happy New Year Corvette friends! As the calendar clicks over to 2020 and the dawn of a new decade we’re immediately thrust into the annual frenzy known as the January collector car auctions. Auction mania kicks off promptly Thursday, January 2nd with Mecum’s monster Kissimmee sale in Florida.

Within the thousands of cars seeking new homes this month, we see over 500 Corvettes looking for new garages across the 8 major January auctions. Heavyweights Mecum and Barrett-Jackson have well over half of the available Corvettes with 292 and 145 respectively. Elsewhere, Leake has 42 Corvettes consigned while Russo and Steele has 14, and RM Sotheby’s has 6. Gooding and Co and Bonham’s offer 5 Corvettes each. Worldwide will have 4.5 Corvettes. We use that number since one of the cars is the Bertone Mantide which is really about ½ Corvette.

With so many Corvettes available, obviously we can’t cover them all here, but here are some of our favorites at each auction.

At a very high level there are Corvettes from every year of production. We see a few 1953’s all the way up through several 2019 ZR1’s. There’s also the bevy of 1967 427/435’s. Pick any color combo you want, and you’ll probably find it at one of the sales.

The VIN #1 2020 Corvette at Barrett-Jackson is likely to be top dog this month. With the last C7 selling for over $2 million and the other VIN #1 C7’s all in the $1 million range don’t be surprised to see another healthy 7-figure bid before the gavel falls. They’ve also got a host of restomods and a small collection of 2019 GM show cars.

Mecum Kissimmee is offering the first L88 once again and maybe it’ll actually sell this time. We’re not quite sure what’s keeping this 1967 L88 from the same prices we’ve seen on other 1967 L88’s. Savvy bidders must know something we don’t. One of the more interesting cars listed is a 2014 Forgiato widebody Corvette offered at Leake. The blue stunner is listed alongside 1953 VIN 183 and a 1968 L88 coupe. In fact, 4 of the 8 auction houses have one or more L88’s available.

Russo and Steele might have the most desirable collection of Corvettes assembled. Their 14-car docket includes a 1967 COPO car built for Bill Mitchell, a 1957 airbox fuelie, and a pair of L88’s. Worldwide has snagged the Bertone Mantide in addition to an uber rare 1970 ZR1 coupe while Gooding and Co. features a couple of nice unrestored 1967 Corvettes.

The January auctions tend to set the trend for each year. With so much activity over a 3-week period, it’s always a great snapshot showing how our hobby could go this year. So get your DVR’s ready, clear out some bandwidth, buckle up, and enjoy the January 2020 auctions! Below is a summary of each sale as well as some our favorites crossing the block this month.

Mecum Kissimmee
Details: mecum.com
Dates: 1/2 – 1/20
Number of Corvettes: 292

Highlights:

Media: (NBC Sports)

Thu Jan 2: 7pm – 12am
Tue Jan 7: 12pm – 6pm
Wed Jan 8: 12am – 3am
Wed Jan 8: 12pm – 6pm
Thu Jan 9: 12pm – 6pm
Fri Jan 10: 12pm – 3pm
Fri Jan 10: 5pm – 7pm
Sat Jan 11: 4:30 – 8pm

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale
Details: barrett-jackson.com
Dates: 1/11 – 1/19
Number of Corvettes: 145

Highlights:

Media: (Motor Trend + Discovery)

Thu Jan 14: 6pm – 12am
Wed Jan 15: 6pm – 12am
Thu Jan 16: 6pm – 12am
Fri Jan 17: 5pm – 1am
Sat Jan 18: 5pm – 9pm (Discovery)
Sun Jan 19: 3pm – 7pm