The world's largest collector car auction kicked off today in Kissimmee, Florida. Mecum Auctions is hosting the occasion from today to 15 January, and the collection of cars up for grabs is insane.
Several main attractions include a 1969 Lockheed 1329 Jetstar private jet and many examples of fine old-school American muscle. It's not all high-end stuff, however. A more extensive selection of cars has been given a "Star" rating, but there is a vast amount of cheapies you should be able to pick up for next to nothing.
We love a main attraction as much as the next guy, but for this article, we purposely chose one premium listing and one Star listing and filled the remaining four spots with the best cars available for us mere mortals.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
The predecessor to the current Mercedes-AMG GT and the SLS that came before it, the original Gullwing may be one of the prettiest cars ever made. We know it was special enough to inspire Andy Warhol.
This example is one of 1,400 produced and has undergone a bare metal restoration in Canada. It remains a matching numbers car, sporting the original 3.0-liter straight-six engine with Bosch fuel injection. The engine produces 250 horsepower, which it sends to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox.
It presents beautifully in black with period-correct green and red seats. The car comes standard with custom-made luggage and the original Becker Mexico radio.
1993 Dodge Viper RT/10 Callaway
Vipers are increasing in value, and that's already enough reason to bid on this "Star" whip. It's even more special than the standard car because it was one of three Vipers tuned by Callaway that year. The Callaway 440 Performance Package managed to get another 40 hp out of the 8.0-liter naturally aspirated V10 engine.
The odometer only reads 7,918 miles, but they were tough track miles. From 1993 to 1995, this particular Viper served as the official pace car at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut.
It still has all the pace car pieces attached and is sold with a removable soft top and a custom car cover.
2018 Polaris Slingshot
The Polaris Slingshot recently received a facelift, but the older models are still a riot to drive. This is as close as you can get to the motorcycle experience without going down to two wheels.
This particular model has been equipped to be more user-friendly, as it comes standard with cruise control, traction control, Apple CarPlay, and Bluetooth connectivity. It only has 10,517 miles on the clock, which means the previous owner must have been a bit of a snowflake.
That's quite odd, considering the livery.
2000 Isuzu VehiCross
The VehiCross is a spectacular vehicle and a great way to embarrass Jeep Wrangler owners.
It may look like the odd lovechild of a Pokemon character and a generic SUV, but there's something quite special about it. Like the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, the VehiCross was a homologation car. Isuzu built it to compete in the Paris-Dakar Rally.
Because of what it was built for, the VehiCross is highly advanced. US models had a permanent 4WD system with an open center differential. The car used 12 sensors to redirect the power to the wheels with the most traction.
This VehiCross has 76,000 miles on the clock, but it still appears in good condition.
2005 Chrysler 300 Convertible Conversion
You might be looking at this 300, wondering when Chrysler sold the convertible version. It never did. This is a beautiful conversion done by Coach Builders LTD. The team included a tubular steel reinforced frame, meaning this drop-top might handle better than the standard car.
The original 300C looked good, but it was terrible to drive. It was semi-fast in a straight line, but it just gave up when you arrived at a corner.
This is the best possible solution for making a poor car great. Since it's a drop-top, there's no need to worry about handling. And you get to enjoy the 5.7-liter HEMI V8's soundtrack unfiltered by sound dampening.
Plus, a V8 300C is currently cooler than ever now that it has been discontinued forever.
1991 Suzuki Jimny
So you want a Jimny, but you're unwilling to cut through all the red tape to get a new one.
What about one of the earlier models in the actual Kei car specification? Elsewhere in the world, these cars were sold with dependable 1,000 cc naturally aspirated four-cylinder motors, but the JDM models used a 657 cc turbocharged triple engine.
This model only has 16,000 miles on the clock and comes standard with a part-time four-wheel drive system. A set of 15-inch Dick Cepek alloy wheels are included, as are all-terrain Goodyear tires. This mod alone gives the Jimny a bit more ground clearance than standard.