Last week marked our second year at the Mohegan Sun & the third Barrett-Jackson of 2017. With a wide variety of vehicles on display and a unique auction layout, Barrett-Jackson North East was exciting as ever. Of course, having something special in our booth always helps too!

On Location at Barrett-Jackson North East with a Shelby GT350R

While the Scottsdale, West Palm, and Vegas auctions feature various display halls & tents, the Mohegan Sun show is a bit more confined. In any case, a large event space is being constructed to house the show in coming years. By the time 2018 rolls around, the scale of Barrett-Jackson North East will be massive.

Be that as it may, we arrived roaring to go. Our friends from Automobilia Auto Salon helped secure an awesome vehicle for the show. Incidentally, our booth’s position was at the edge of the Chevy display, but of course, we brought out a Blue Oval. None other than one stunning Shelby GT350R. Equipped with full front ULTIMATE Paint Protection Film, the GT350R was an attention getter.

In any case, the real surprise for attendees came from the ULTIMATE self-healing demonstration. Many people at the show were familiar with XPEL products, but few had experienced them first hand. With a few swipes of a wire brush, ULTIMATE‘s powers wowed the crowds.

Demons, Warbirds, and Carbon, Oh My!

Despite Barrett-Jackson being auction centric, manufacturer booths have quite the draw. The big three were all in attendance with a variety of models, but Dodge and Ford seemed to be the main contenders.

All things considered, we could have spent all day starring down the Dodge Demon Challenger. It was the first time any of us had seen one up close, and it’s definitely a looker. The massive air grabber and supercharger. The bulbous fenders & distinct badging. The meaty Nitto NT05R tires. No doubt, the Demon Challenger‘s approach is not for the faint of heart.

Outside the main pavilion, Ford was showing off one of its latest & greatest as well. Stunning as ever, the new Ford GT spun on its carousel wearing a brilliant silver finish with exposed carbon stripes.

The stripe wasn’t the only bit of exposed carbon work either. It was a bit hard to spot from the edge of the velvet ropes, but the Ford GT‘s wheels were optioned in bare carbon fiber. Weighing in a full two pounds lighter than the forged aluminum variant, the carbon wheels are functionally gorgeous. They add an extra $15k to the GT’s sticker price, but will reduce rolling inertia by a whopping 25 percent. At any rate, that’s money well spent.

A few steps away, a second R sat parallel to a no-stripe GT350. The R looked great dressed in all black with matte stripes, and the standardized Shelby was no slouch. Inside, the brand new 2018 Mustang GT wore white as well. With a little extra aero & a blacked out grill, the white GT stood out much better than the drop top that was at Palm Beach.

Our friends at ROUSH Performance held down the corner of the main pavilion with a few beauties too. Most notably, their new P-51 Mustang. Inspired by the famous warbird of its namesake, the ROUSH P-51 is putting the Hellcat on notice. Pushing a whopping 727 HP, the special edition ‘Stang is the most powerful American pre-titled car ever built. According to ROUSH, only 51 will enter production with a retail price of $42,500 over the base 2017 Mustang GT.

There may have not been as many exotics up for auction as previous Barrett-Jacksons, but the few in attendance didn’t disappoint. A new Ferrari 488 Spider was on site and later sold for a whopping $434 thousand and change. Along side it, a Mercedes SLR McLaren and a few of Lamborghini’s finest waited their turn to cross the blocks.

Ironically, one of the most unique cars on display at Barrett-Jackson North East wasn’t for sale. We spotted it on the way in during our setup day, but didn’t know it would be in attendance. Sprayed with a unique shade of Lamborghini Arancio, a highly modified FD3S RX-7 took many show goers by surprise. At a glance, one might even mistake it for a kit car thanks to rare RE Amemiya bodywork & a Porsche front end conversion. In all actuality, the FD was a 2016 SEMA Super Street Top Honors winner.

Around the grounds

Beyond the main sponsor displays, the buzz of Barrett-Jackson North East continued. Quite a few of our fellow vendors has brought out some exceptional examples to ogle at.

The cars up for auction in the main tent were as diverse as previous events. We spotted quite a few off-roaders from classic FJs to Jeeps, Land Rovers, and even one monster truck. A variety of Porsches were also up for grabs, along with a white on white Nissan R32.

As usual, Chevy, Dodge, and Ford were throwing down with a selection of ride & drive events. It would have been nice to see a live demo of the Demon Challenger, but we’re guessing Mohegan Sun has a safety clause against popping wheelies.

Another favorite from Barrett-Jackson North East came from none other than Callaway Cars. The Corvette Aerowagen is a polarizing design no doubt, but we fell in love at first sight.

Even Chris Jacobs seemed intrigued. After all, it’s a modern day shooting brake with the performance numbers to back it up. The Aerowagen blends everything awesome about a C7 with a feel that’s reminiscent of the late, great, CTS-V estate. Is it sacrilege to wish it had a roof box & air suspension? Perhaps. Either way, the want is strong.

In addition to the auction cars outside the main hall, there was quite a bit to see housed in the Mohegan Sun garage. Comprised of around 4 floors of display vehicles, the setup made navigating the auction’s lots a breeze.

We spotted a fine selection of classic BMWs in the garage. An exceptional example of the 4-door E36 M3 sat in the shadows of the bottom floor with less than 30k on the clock. A few floors up, a clean 1980 635 CSI & vintage 1800 looked as OEM as ever.

Between a Fiat Jolly Custom, a few Minis and an Amphicar, there was no shortage of microcars either. The Jolly had a lot of personality, and the crowds loved it. Of the three, it tipped the docket just shy of a $43k sale price.

Lot diversity is becoming a strong trait for the auction series. The events might be more catered towards a collector car audience, but there’s truly something for everyone. Even John Deere made an appearance at Barrett-Jackson North East.

A handful of exotics has found their way into the Mohegan garage as well. Among them was a well kept Ferrari 348 TS accompanied by a black F430 Spider a couple spaces away.

In addition to the stallions, DuPont Registry was showing off an absolute stunner. A brand new McLaren 720S sitting pretty with the doors up, finished in a unique pearl grey with tan hides. We’re big fans of the 720, so it was great to get up close with one outside of an install bay.

At the top of the garage along an outer corridor, we stumbled upon another set of R’s. A ’92 GT-R and anther Shelby GT350-R to be precise. The all silver Nissan had plenty of desirable upgrades without going overboard. Of course, the Mustang looked great finished in XPEL Yellow too!

After a short walk through the casino, we found our way to the auction blocks. Even though we didn’t arrive during prime time, the energy inside the Mohegan Sun Arena was electric. With upper level seats filled & bids flying, we caught as much of the action as we could before heading back to the booth.

Wrapping Up Barrett-Jackson North East

Ultimately, our trip to Barrett-Jackson North East was an enjoyable one. We had a great time with the team from Automobilia Auto Salon, and their assistance in educating the public about XPEL was fundamental. While we won’t be in attendance at Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas this year, we’ve already got it on our list for 2018. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll even wind up with a new Ford GT or Demon of our very own to show off in the XPEL booth!