Barrett Jackson | GM Authority

GM Raises Over $150,000 At Barrett-Jackson
by Manoli Katakis
Posted January 25th, 2010 at 10:20 pm

Barrett-Jackson is known for auctioning off cars and raising bagfulls of money for noble causes. During the past weekend at Scottsdale, none was perhaps more noble than GM’s donation to the American Red Cross (ARC) to raise funds for efforts in Haiti.

GM donated the 427 Limited Edition Z06 Corvette, valued at over $80,000, to ARC. Thanks to a generous buyer, the gavel slammed at the $200,000 mark – enabling the ARC to help the people of Haiti that much more. But the 505 horsepower LS7 supercar was not the only car donated by GM for a good cause.

The other donation came in the form of the first-ever production CTS Coupe, donated to Michigan’s College for Creative Studies (CSS). The model sold for a handsome $95,700, including buyers commission. CCS will get to keep the entire sum minus the market price of the car, which is pegged at roughly $35,000.

The GM Authority Take

Despite GM’s financial woes of last year and all that came along with them, coupled with the fact that The General could currently use every penny to see that taxpayers are reimbursed (and so that the Tea Party may possibly shut up) – it’s still good to see the company’s sense of corporate responsibility has not left the building with several former executives. I’m glad they are keeping on with good causes and hope to see many more in the future.

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Special Edition 2008 Corvette Z06 @ Barrett Jackson
by Conor Cameron
Posted January 23rd, 2010 at 10:25 am

The Barret Jackson Auction has historically included sales to benefit charity. The 2010 Barrett Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, running from January 18th to 24th, is no exception. General Motors has donated a Special Edition 2008 Corvette Z06. The proceeds from the sale will benefit the American Red Cross relief fund for Haiti. It will be up for auction today, as lot #1318.

The car is unique in that it is the only 2008 model Vette available with the Crystal Red Tintcoat. Additionally, it wears unique wheels, “427” branded seats and floor mats, and “427” exterior badges. Moreover, it is signed by Wil Cooksey, Jr., the retired (2006) manager of the only Corvette plant in the world. The vehicle up for auction is the last of the 427 cars to be distributed in North America. 427 is also the engine displacement in cubic inches. In a similar double reference, 78 additional cars, for a total of 505, will be distributed worldwide. 505 is the horsepower rating for the 7-liter Z06 engine. Like in the regular Z06, the engine produces 470 lb-ft of torque, fed through a six speed manual, capable of rocketing the car to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and good for a top speed of 198mph.

The MSRP is $84,195, some $10K+ over lesser Z06s. Even then, the market value of this limited production model is likely higher than that. Coupled with the fact that people have expressed a willingness to open their pocketbooks to send assistance to Haiti during this crisis across the globe, we can expect this car to net a contribution nearly as great as the $100,000 cash donation General Motors has already made to the Red Cross relief fund.

Online bids for Lot #1318 can be submitted here.

Also of note: late last night, another GM-donated vehicle – the first-ever production CTS Coupe – was auctioned off for a pretty $95,000. All proceeds from the 001 CTS Coupe will go to the highly-renowned College for Creative Studies.

[Sources: TheSuperCars, Autoblog - twice]

[Photo Credit: DB2NOW]

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The GM Authority Take