Sale of Chevrolet-donated Camaro raises $300,000 for United Way


Editor’s note: This story was initially published at TheGlobeAndMail.com

Five special editions of the Acura NSX, Ferrari F88 Spyder, Rolls-Royce Dawn, Chevrolet Camaro and Ford F-150 raised $3.1-million (U.S.) at auction for charities last weekend.

NASCAR owner Rick Hendrick paid $1.2-million at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Arizona for the first NSX supercar to come off the line — well above the $200,000 sticker price for a fully optioned version. The model will be branded with vehicle identification number (VIN) 001.

Proceeds go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, based in North Carolina, and Camp Southern Ground in Georgia, the latter project championed by musician Zac Brown.

In Naples, Fla., California collector Julian Movsesian secured the 2016 Dawn for $750,000, benefiting the local Children & Educational Foundation. Treadplates mark the drop-top as “Build No.1 for Dawn in North America.” The model comes in an Andalusian exterior finish, red roof, white-and-red leather interior with rosewood panelling, with a 6.6-litre V-12 twin turbo generating 563 horsepower.

Movsesian also received the choice of travelling to the factory in Goodwood, Britain, to see car under construction or to be part of an unveiling at the customer experience facility.

Also in Naples, the new Ferrari F88 Spider went for $650,000. There’s a three-year waiting list for the car but the winning bidder will receive it within four months, along with access to the Corso Pilota driving experience at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Montreal.

Back at Barrett-Jackson, donated by Chevy, the first new COPO Camaro brought $300,000 to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. The drag racing street car will be branded with serial number 2016COPO001.

Comedian and car collector Jay Leno let go of the first F-150 Harley Davidson, model year 2000. It scored $200,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the cherry on the whipped cream for winning bidder is a tour of Leno’s famed garage.