World’s largest collector car auction: to be held in Florida

13 January, 2014


The world’s largest collector car auction will see the hammer flying non-stop for ten days straight.

Mecum Collector Car Auction will be held at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, January 17-26, 2014.

With 3000 vehicles and 3000 items of road art and memorabilia, the auction will feature everything from high-performance muscle cars, 50s era car, vintage racers, European sports and exotics, and a vast offering of Corvettes.

There is sure to be something for everyone as there will be investment grade collector cars through to entry level vehicles, with prices looking to range from several thousands of dollars to several millions of dollars.

Just one of the 3000 vehicles up for auction is the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Dick Land Race Car. Piloted by driver Dick Lang, this Corvette has been restored by the Naber Brothers to its glory day configurations and has become a multiple-award winner securing even the National Corvette Restorers Society American Heritage Award “for the preservation of a historically significant piece of Corvette history”.


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If a trip to Florida is not quite possible within the auction time frame, Octopus Motors could be your on-site alternative so you still stand a chance at bidding on the collector cars featured at the sale.

Octopus Motors will be representing interested buyers at the auction. The company prides itself on its ability to advise, communicate, and represent its clients’ best interests, at the sale location.

It has an international team of experts who will provide professional evaluations on the vehicles you are interested in. On top of this, if you desire customization, restoration, or refurbishment be carried out on your vehicle, Octopus Motors can do this prior to shipping. Worldwide shipping is available.

To find out which collector cars will be auctioned each day, and for more details on each lot, visit www.mecum.com.

Range Rover CSK — the original SUV

The Range Rover, thanks to Charles Spencer King, went into production in 1970 boasting an iconic shape that would last until 1996. The vehicle that would create the SUV moniker came about because Rover decided it was time to add a bigger four-wheel-drive vehicle, one with a 100-inch wheelbase, to the model range. Land Rover made a 109-inch wheelbase model but the standard vehicle had a 88-inch wheelbase.
The new model would be more suitable for road use than the existing Land Rover, which was considered to be predominantly for rural use. To make sure it could cope on any road it came standard with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 engine. The body design was originally sketched by King and went into production with only a few minor touch-ups by the Rover styling team.
According to King, “The idea was to combine the comfort and on-road ability of a Rover saloon with the off-road ability of a Land Rover. Nobody was doing it.”

Ford’s Mustang – the endlessly hip American dream machine

Fifty or so years ago, the only place in New Zealand to see a Ford Mustang was on the racetrack. In a local market severely constrained by a lack of new motor vehicles, the new North American Ford was a dreamy icon boosted by considerable motorsport success.
Import licences for cars were limited, and if Kiwis travelled abroad, the amount of currency they could take with them was restricted. What’s more, those funds could not be used to buy a car for importation back home. Yet it was OK to spend the money on heavy drinking at a London pub, Gucci shoes, sable fur coats, and excessive stays at the Hôtel Martinez at Cannes in France.
However, any rare Mustang that landed on our shores would not be destined to pose around Auckland’s then trendy Queen Street on a Friday night but would more likely be found in the care of well-known racing drivers on the starting grid at local motor racing tracks.