It’s no secret that the collector car market is red hot right now, and that was clearly evident at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona this past weekend, where one of Ford’s finest crossed the block for a whopping $2.5 million.

The Blue Oval Struts Its Stuff

Toss in a limited edition Gulf racing exterior livery, plus bragging rights for having the first-ever produced, and the desire grows even stronger, as evidenced by the final $2.5 price for the example sent to Arizona.

The GT’s sale followed hot on the heels of another Ford product that crossed the block in Arizona, namely the first example of the new 2020 Mustang Shelby, which sold for $1.1 million all by itself.

To help boost those numbers, Ford declared ahead of time it would donate all proceeds to charity, with cash collected from the Ford GT donated to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and the Shelby GT500’s proceeds donated to JDRF, which funds diabetes research.

Claiming ownership for VIN 001 of the 2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition was Rick Hendrick, whose name is attached to Hendrick Motorsports, a successful competitor in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

This specific GT’s outstanding feature (beyond the VIN) is its orange and blue paint job, but it also comes with unique treatments to the doors, interior door panels, and identification plates, plus it gets raw carbon bits for the A-pillars, silver mirror caps, orange brake calipers, and 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. Inside, the GT Heritage Edition gets Ebony Alcantara for various surfaces, while anodized shift paddles and high-gloss trim bits round it out.

As a reminder, the 2019 Ford GT comes equipped with a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 mounted in the middle of the machine. Output spins to a tune of 647 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, with 60 mph arriving in 3 seconds. Top speed is pegged at 216 mph.

“As a lifelong Shelby Mustang fan, it was especially exciting to be the winning bigger of the 2020 Shelby GT500 VIN 001,” Jackson said. “It’s a direct descendant of the Green Hornet and Little Red Mustangs and will be a welcome addition to my personal Shelby collection.”

As for the Mustang GT500’s performance, the pony car comes equipped with an extensive aero package, which includes a racy rear diffuser, vented hood, big fenders, bigger intakes, and a rear wing inspired by the Mustang GT4 racer. Motivation is derived from a supercharged 5.2-liter V-8 making well over 700 horsepower, all of which is sent to the rear axle via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The sprint to 60 mph is estimated to take around 3.3 seconds, with top speed estimated to be around 200 mph.

Toyota was also in attendance with the first-ever 2020 Supra, which sold for $2.1 million, a helluva lot more than its declared $49,990 starting MSRP. Like Ford, Toyota donated all of the proceeds to charity, specifically the American Heart Association and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. To help it stand apart from its standard counterparts, the Supra auctioned in Arizona was slathered in a shade of matte grey and came with a signature by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda.

The Supra’s sale at Barrett-Jackson is timely beyond the release of the new fifth-gen model, as cherry fourth-gen production Supras are currently on the market for 100s of thousands of dollars. As a reminder, the fifth-generation model can hit 60 mph in 4.1 seconds thanks to a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine making 335 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is electronically limited at 155 mph.

It’s impressive stuff all around, but these modern machines can’t compete with the outrageous prices attached to older collector cars. For example, just last year, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO broke the record for highest price for a car sold at public auction, trading hands for an incredible $48.4 million at RM Sotheby’s Monterey.

All told, these recent sales are a clear indication that the collector car market is still quite hot. We’ll se how long the enthusiasm lasts.

Ford GT Specifications

Engine

3.5-liter Twin Turbocharged EcoBoost V-6

Displacement

3,497 cc

Compression ratio

9.0:1

Horsepower

647 HP @ 6,250 RPM

Torque

550 LB-FT @ 5,900 RPM

Fuel economy city/highway/combined

11/18/14

Dry weight

3,054 Lbs

Top Speed

216 mph


Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 Ford GT Heritage Edition.

Read our full review on the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Read our full review on the 2020 Toyota Supra.

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Becomes The Most Expensive Car Ever Sold In An Auction