STEVE DAVIS BEHIND THE SHADES: Heritage on Display

January 3, 2025
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Barrett-Jackson President Steve Davis.

Heritage is a funny thing. It’s an evolution, a process that we live through together. In some ways it’s intangible, but there are also tangible measures, especially in the automotive world. In recent years automakers have delivered a variety of exciting vehicles that built on company heritage, such as new generations of COPO Camaros, ZR1 and Z06 Corvettes, Shelby GT500s, Cobra Jet Mustangs and Dodge Challengers. We’ve had an original GT40 Mk1 street model cross our auction block, and now Heritage Edition 2005-06 and 2017-22 Ford GTs that celebrate those originals are hot properties.

At Barrett-Jackson we’ve had the incredible honor of having these cars in many cases unveiled on our auction block in the form of first-available VIN 001s. Being able to witness those cars from the past as they evolved from the original classics into today’s heritage editions has given Barrett-Jackson not only the opportunity to provide the platform for that evolution but also to participate in our own way.

My wife Janie and I with Carroll Shelby and the 2008 Limited Edition Barrett-Jackson Mustang Shelby GTs.

We were very fortunate to be in a position in 2008 to launch what has become a big part of our heritage as a company. We entered into an agreement with Ford and Shelby and produced the Limited Edition Barrett-Jackson Mustang Shelby GT. For me, one of the highlights of my life was being involved in that from inception to execution – not so much the car itself as the trip getting there and being a part of what now is history. It is really fulfilling to be able to look back and have that car as part of Barrett-Jackson’s heritage and Shelby’s legacy.

Those connections and friendships with Ford and Shelby have only expanded as the years have passed. The 2022 Ford Shelby GT500 Heritage Edition was released in Brittany Blue, my favorite of the Shelby colors. My involvement with Ford nudged that color selection into reality, and now I own a 2017 Ford GT in Brittany Blue to go with my 1967 GT350. That’s a memorial to my personal heritage.

My 2017 Ford GT in Brittany Blue to go with my 1967 GT350.

There are all these little pieces of involvement and ownership that people have when they come to a Barrett-Jackson auction. One great example is the Barrett-Jackson Cup competition held during our Scottsdale event each January. Through this, we’ve established heritage with the cars that participate and win, tying us all together as part of the legacy of the custom car world.

Even away from the spotlight, small links of personal heritage are being forged at Barrett-Jackson auctions. We have multi-generational families selling vehicles that have been in the family forever. Now, that part of the family heritage is being let go and passed on to create another legacy down the road.

Bill Goldberg’s 2023 SRT Demon 170 and a 2018 Dodge Demon on the block at the 2024 Scottsdale Auction.

Pro wrestler and TV personality Bill Goldberg sold a pair of Doge Challengers at Scottsdale in January 2024, a 2023 SRT Demon 170 and a 2018 Dodge Demon. That was a big deal for him, not only because of what the Dodge Demons represent in muscle car history, but because it was a “father and son moment.” Bill and his son drove the cars across the auction block. His son had been coming to Barrett-Jackson since he was a small child; to have him driving the cars on the stage is now an unforgettable part of Bill’s family heritage.

Our heritage is tied not only to the cars we sell, but even more so to the lives we touch, the industries we’re a part of and the evolution of all those businesses. They all become part of this Barrett-Jackson universe that plays itself out every time we roll cars over the auction block. The fact that Barrett-Jackson provides this incredible platform before millions of people – either on television, on our livestream or through social media – means they become part of our shared heritage moving forward.

You could say that heritage is the gift that keeps on giving.

– Steve Davis

Steve Davis’ dark glasses protect his eyes from A light sensitivity condition – but that doesn’t hinder his vision of the collector car market.