Scottsdale’s Barrett-Jackson auction has massive charity weekend
A custom 2021 Shelby Super Snake Count’s Kustoms Edition car was unveiled at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction and sold for $350,000 last weekend. (Photo courtesy of Barrett-Jackson)
SCOTTSDALE — One lucky bidder drove away at last weekend’s Barrett-Jackson 2023 Scottsdale auction in a custom 2021 Shelby Super Snake Count’s Kustoms Edition car, with all proceeds benefiting disabled veterans and first responders.
The collaboration car comes with several parties including Camp Freedom, Count’s Kustoms from Las Vegas and Shelby America. The 2021 Super Snake is Shelby America’s first-ever collaboration car to leave its showroom, however this isn’t the first time Camp Freedom has worked with Count’s Kustoms.
The car, according to Barrett-Jackson, features a “5.0-liter, 800-horsepower Coyote engine mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.”
“This is actually the seventh vehicle we’ve built with Count’s Kustoms, so they’ve been a great supporter,” said Matt Guedes, Camp Freedom’s executive director. “This build is a life lesson I learned to let experts be experts. Shelby American, it doesn’t get any bigger. Count’s Kustoms, the best there is in the custom world. So I literally said, ‘Go on guys, let’s do what you guys do best,’ and they did.”
Camp Freedom is a Carbondale, Pennsylvania-based foundation that provides a variety of outdoor experiences for disabled veterans, first responders and their families. On their 2,350 acres of Pennsylvania property, activities can range from fishing and hunting, UTV riding, hiking, cross country skiing, wildlife tracking and photography.
Guedes noted that Camp Freedom continues to grow and the foundation will welcome over 2,500 guests to its grounds in 2022. The total hammer price of $350,000 from the Super Snake will further support the organization’s work.
“Camp Freedom is only five years old, and in five years we have served free to over 5,000 disabled veterinarians, first responders, their family members and Goldstar families across our 2,300 acres. To do that, we need to raise a lot of money,” he said.
With over 300,000 visitors over the weekend, Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale show tends to be one of the largest auctions in the country, attracting some of their top donors to help raise the necessary funds for the charities.
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“Well, Barrett Jackson. I mean, it’s the cat’s meow of all things collectible cars. It’s the best there is,” said Guedes. “So we were very pleased to be awarded one of only five charity build spots here at Barrett-Jackson.”
Dean Hoffman, a member of the Camp Freedom Board of Trustees, is a retired colonel who served in the US Army for 30 years. He explained the importance of the foundation’s work from his unique perspective.
“With 20+ years of war there are a lot of scars, struggles and challenges, especially in the special operations community, and when people leave that camaraderie and then go into the real world, what they once had isn’t there anymore. ‘ said Hoffman.
Hoffman finds fulfillment in seeing the people of Camp Freedom being positively impacted and then returning to offer help to the next wave of people like them.
The charity cars are usually a big hit at auctioneers. The auction raised a total of over $1.89 million from the five cars for the various charities over the weekend.
“Everyone loves the car. The stop traffic was incredible,” said Guedes. “People stop, comment on the color, comment on the wide body, comment on the car, and we want to tell them about the mission. People will buy this car because they love the car, but they will buy it because they love the mission. We’re trying to tell them that we’re literally in a position where we’re taking vets and first responders out of isolation, off drugs and alcohol, which is causing desperation, and we’re stepping in.”
Founded in 1971, the Scottsdale-based auction company continues to grow each year. Barrett-Jackson Chairman and CEO Craig Jackson told Arizona’s family the 2023 auction broke over 200 world auction records and also welcomed a record number of attendees to the Scottsdale event.
Marc Bartolone has been a fan of the auto show for years and is always impressed by the growth of the event.
“I’ve been out here for maybe ten years now, it’s always a great spectacle,” Bartolone said. “Look at all these great cars, there are more cars here than ever before.”
