Last year, the first Chattanooga Auction held by Mecum auction was a resounding success with a total sale of $18.7 million and 84% sell through rate of almost 550 vehicles. This year, Mecum Auction is returning to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival where they will be offering around 600 vehicles of various vehicles including American muscle cars, Corvettes, classics, exotics, trucks, Hot Rods, customs, and more.
Taking place on the same weekend as the Mecum Chicago 2022 auction, this is the first time that a collector car auction company has hosted two auctions in two different cities on the same date.
The 2022 Chattanooga Motorcar Festival will also have the Pace Grand Prix that will be held at the Bend, Canossa Fall Rally, the Concours d’Elegance, Coker Tire’s “V8’s in the Village”, Concours d’Lemons, the Great Race Ride Along, and other family -friendly events.
As for the Chattanooga auction, some of the notable lots include a collection of more than 60 classic and collector cars that were recently discovered to be hiding in a historic Georgia-based firehouse. All of the cars in that collection will be offered at no reserve. Called The Firehouse Find, some of the cars in the collection include a 1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Code (Lot F50). There are also a number of Corvettes that were discovered like the 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot F5) and it had a 427 CI engine and 4-speed transmission.
Other notable cars that will also be part of the auction include a 1969 Plymouth GTX Convertible (Lot S115). It sets itself apart as one of only 362 GTX convertibles with an automatic transmission that were produced in 1969. Powered by a 440 CI V-8 engine, it has a Sunfire Yellow finish matched with a black top and interior. It has been seen in multiple magazines and claimed victory as an AACA Grand National Senior in 1998.
There is also the 1971 Plymouth Cuda (Lot S134) that has a 440 CI V-8 engine matched to a 4-speed transmission. It also has power steering, power brakes, black bucket seat interior, red with black billboard stripping exterior.
Vintage muscle cars will also be making an appearance at the Chattanooga sale. There is a 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback (Lot S127). It is powered by a K-Code HiPo 289/271 HP V-8 engine matched to a 4-speed manual transmission. In 2001, the 10-year restoration of the Mustang was finally completed and since then, it has been kept in a garage in a plastic surround.
Another interesting lot is the 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Custom (Lot S100) which has a 5.7-liter LS1-based, custom-built engine, matched to a Tremec 5-speed manual transmission. It also has a black finish matched with a black interior with red leather and updated interior.
The Chattanooga Motorcar Festival support neuroscience research through Fifty Plus Foundation, Inc., and proceeds from the event will be given to support the latter. For almost 12 years, Fifty Plus Foundation has been supporting Alzheimer’s and neuroscience research. Fifty Plus Foundation started the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival to get local and global support back to research, and it has already made a difference in saving lives.
Consignment slots for the Chattanooga collector car auction are only limited to 600, and those who are interested are welcome to submit a Request for Position form to reserve their slot.
Bidder registration is both on-site during the event and online in advance with options starting at $100. Standard, in-person bidding registration already includes admission for two persons for both the auction days. Those who will be unavailable to attend the event in person can still bid for their desired lots through the enhanced remote bidding options which includes both online and telephone bidding.
The Chattanooga Motorcar Festival will be held on October 14 to 15. Tickets to the event can be purchased through their website and general admission tickets will also include entry to the Mecum auction.
