Cars to Watch in Arizona

Arizona Car Week starts now — and while there’s now more to see and do now than ever, at its core, the week is still mainly about buying and selling classic and collector cars. As such, there are heavy hitters coming up for sale at all the auction houses in the area. That said, tracking the market requires nuance beyond the headline-grabbing high sale markers. Don’t get me wrong -— we’ll be talking about those in our post-event coverage, too — but here I’d like to look at cars that I think may signal some movements in the marketplace beyond the top ten lists.

So with that, here are some of the cars that I’ll be watching with Linkage in mind — and why:

Barrett-Jackson, 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Custom Split-Window Coupe, lot 1368.

I talked about the power of customization in our Corvette issue back in November. The market has shifted in favor of cars that have been built to highlight style while promoting usability — which means that cars done to the nines that feature modern powertrains are still the hot ticket, particularly at high-profile events such as Barrett-Jackson. This car has an LS3, a 4L70E automatic, an Art Morrison chassis, Vintage Air, Wilwood brakes, etc — the right stuff for bidders at this venue. All that generally means high pricing. I’ll be watching this car and others like it (particularly C10 trucks) to see just how high the prices climb, as I don’t expect any losses in this segment from what we saw in 2024.

RM Sotheby’s, 1932 Lincoln Model KB Dual-Cowl Sport Phaeton, lot 128.

The shifting of classic car market demographics has had some major impact on pricing of up-and-coming models. So what about Full Classic elegance? I’ve been expecting some change in this segment for some time now, but it hasn’t played out the way that I thought it would. I picked this car because it’s an excellent example of Lincoln’s top level Dual-Cowl, it has an older restoration, it earned some significant awards (including a Pebble Best in Class), and it’s being offered without reserve from a collection. Those are a lot of pluses here, and how the pricing falls will tell us something about whether or not status quo will outweigh shifting breezes into 2025.

BonhamsCars, 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, lot 112.

As has been the case with the Full Classic market, there’s also been a lot of talk about cars from the finned era and their values in flux as the marketplace evolves. So, like the Lincoln mentioned above, I’ll be watching this Cadillac for its status, condition, rarity and lack of reserve. This is an icon of its era — will bidders push this one past its $90k to $110k estimate range? This is a segment to watch, so keep an eye on well-kept (and well-restored) original-style 1950s cars with rare options — Bel Airs, Eldorados, 300s, Thunderbirds, etc.

RM Sotheby’s, 1984 Audi Sport quattro, lot 141.

When we talk about shifting demographics, cars like this one come to mind. This isn’t exactly coach built elegance, but make no mistake: this boxy little monster is a giant in the car world. This is a Group B homologation special with real performance chops — and it may be a great indication of the current strength of specialty cars from a newer era as we roll into 2025. Now, big prices for cars such as this one are nothing new, but bounce this one’s auction performance off the Full Classics also in this auction and you’ll gain at least one datapoint of insight into the market’s continuing evolution — or the stability of its tradition. Again, no reserve here, so this will sell.

BonhamsCars, 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR, lot 169.

All things Porsche — particularly when it comes to rare performance versions — have been hot in the market for quite a while now. This car pushes forward on a few fronts: First, it’s one of just 17 such examples built by Porsche, so it’s rare. It’s fast and well-balanced, and it’s being offered in original, low-miles condition. And finally, it’s not a 911 variant. So how deep is Porsche fanatics’ interest at this point in time? I don’t question whether or not this will be expensive — the question is how expensive, and I think that will tell us something about this segment of the market.

Barrett-Jackson, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T Hemi, lot 1309.1.

So, how’s OEM muscle doing? Well, you’ve come to the right place if that place is Barrett-Jackson. This Charger is the right year (1969), has the right engine (426 Hemi), right options (4-speed and R/T package) and right condition (a three-year concours restoration in B7 over black vinyl) to set a bar in terms of pricing. So, how will it stack up to the number of modded muscle cars that will be on-site at West World? I’ll be watching this, as well as the number of stock restored Corvettes and LS6 Chevelles.

What will you be watching for this year?