5 Crazy Cool Ford Trucks Sold by Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas
Daily Slideshow: This past summer, B-J sold a 95-year spread of the stranger Ford trucks at its Mandalay Bay sale. Here's a look back at some of the highlights.
2014 Ford Raptor Hennessey VelociRaptor 600
Lot #641.1 — 2014 Ford Raptor Hennessey VelociRaptor 600 — $56,100
Yep. This is the one a certain “orangutan” snow-bashed during a staged—but still funny—“race” against “Captain Slow” to save a hypothermic “Hamster” on a certain British “motoring show.” Now that I’ve exhausted my leftover quotation mark requirements for the year, I can say that—for good or for ill—this was indeed a rare chance for someone to pick up (sorry) a piece of Top Gear history. And a truck the British would no doubt describe as “mental.” Is it ever. Actually called the VelociRaptor 600, it’s basically what Ford’s Special Vehicle Team—builders of the Raptor it’s based on—would produce if they had Hennessey Performance Engineering of Houston’s free hand to go nuts. Now I can’t show you the Top Gear it’s in (Series 22, Episode 6), but Hennessey was kind enough to produce their own video about how they turned the Raptor’s dial up to plaid. Considering the winning bidder basically paid the original modification price and pretty much got the truck—and fame—for free, this looks like one hell of a deal.
All images courtesy of Barrett-Jackson Auction.
1919 Ford Model T “The Godfather: Part II”
Lot #815 — 1919 Ford Model T “The Godfather: Part II” — $22,000
“This 1919 Ford Model T was used in the filming of ‘The Godfather: Part II’ in New York City in 1974. Documented contracts of the vehicle's film use and photo from the movie are included. It’s powered by a 4-cylinder engine and 3-speed manual transmission. It features a period-correct engine, factory wood wheels and canopy top.” Yeah, I remember that film. It was about the mob (Mob?) cornering the direct-sales egg business at the end of the ‘Teens or some such thing. Well, here’s a screen-used—I have no idea when in the film—prop from that 44-year-old flick. Not my thing—see Lot #641.1 at the end of this for what is—but if you want the combination of all the misery that comes from operating a Model T and owning a piece of film history, $22k is the apparent price of admission.
1961 Ford Econoline Custom Pickup
Lot #161 — 1961 Ford Econoline Custom Pickup — $24,200
No, no. I know what you’re thinking: “This isn’t a truck; it’s a van someone’s attacked with a Sawzall.” Believe it or not (as if Wikipedia would lie to us), when introduced in 1961, this was the vehicle Ford thought would define its Econoline um… line. Shorter than the F-100 pickup of its day and available with one of a trio of straight-sixes placed amidships, it still managed to feature a seven-foot-long flat-floor bed. Nonetheless, it amounted for a paltry 10 percent of Econoline sales in 1961 (a trend that continued until it was euthanized in 1967). This one’s obviously been jazzed up, with a “Ford fuel-injected 5.0-liter engine with GT40 heads and intake” coupled with a Ford 4-speed automatic, with “Wilwood disc brakes, Vintage Air… power steering… an all-new interior, all-new glass and rubbers, dual exhaust, and a front and rear leaf spring suspension.” If having the coolest “shop truck” around is your thing, this one’s for you.
1979 Ford Ranchero GT Pickup
Lot #129 — 1979 Ford Ranchero GT Pickup — $22,000
Just re-read the title. It says “Pickup,” doesn’t it? Now, sure, I don’t know what you can haul in it with its stock emissions-strangled 302 cu-in V8 and four-speed automatic combo, but at least you can enjoy everything Ford could throw at the ‘79 Ranchero as it’s all here: The “GT Package, Brougham Interior Package, Sports Instruments Package with tachometer, Bumper Group Package and the Convenience Group Package…8-track player, title [sic] steering wheel, cruise control, and dual exterior sport mirrors.” Now, it wouldn’t be your first (or thousandth) choice necessarily, but given the fact that it went for the same hammer price as the Godfather II Model T, it seems at least two people wanted to bring this fully-restored freak from the Malaise Era home with them.
1991 Ford Ranger Custom Pickup
Lot #20 — 1991 Ford Ranger Custom Pickup — $8,800
“This custom 1991 Ford Ranger built for special police events. It is equipped with a police light bar, side spotlights, front mirror strobe light, rear window strobe light, PA system, and police pursuit flashing lights and siren. It is powered by a 4.0-liter V6 engine backed by an automatic transmission” pretty well spells it out, as does (in their caps, not mine): “FOR DISPLAY ONLY. CANNOT BE DRIVEN ON PUBLIC ROADS UNLESS POLICE DECALS AND LIGHTS ARE COVERED OR REMOVED.” That’s it. That’s all the info they give. To me, this looks like a stereotypical D.A.R.E. vehicle, but the “Police Chaplain” on the bed sides—and no department identification—make that pure speculation. Clear as day is that this seems like a LOT of money to spend on a ’91 Ranger—even one tarted-up as a police vehicle, even one inexplicably—for a chaplain at least—with those hideous oversize chrome wheels.
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