To head off flippers looking to make a quick profit, Ford required that all buyers of its new GT must agree not to sell their cars for two years. The first GTs were delivered to customers in late-2016/early-2017, so for some, that two-year period is up. And at Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas auction last week, we saw the first public sale of such a car.

The 2017 GT Heritage Edition pictured here sold for $1.54 million, making it by far the most expensive car at the Las Vegas event. Its livery pays tribute to the GT40 driven to victory at Le Mans in 1966 by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, giving Ford its first of four wins at the French enduro. The car was virtually undriven by its first owner, with a claimed 30 miles on the odometer, and even the passenger-side airbag warning tag is still hanging off the dash. We can only hope its new owner uses the car more.

It's not the most expensive new-generation GT to sell at auction. That honor would go to the 2017 GT that sold for $2.5 million at a Barrett-Jackson auction in January, 2018, with all sale proceeds going to the Autism Society of North Carolina. Since the original owner donated the car for charity, Ford officially sanctioned this sale.

A GT first owned by John Cena sold at a Mecum auction for $1.8 million, though its sale wasn't approved by Ford. Cena flipped the car weeks after taking delivery, prompting Ford to sue and eventually settle with the wrestler. The second owner consigned the car with Mecum, with the auction house arguing that the sale was kosher, since the consigner made no agreement with Ford. The auction house and the automaker settled, too.

Whoever sold the GT at Barrett-Jackson made a healthy profit. The 2017 GT carried a base price just under $500,000, though this one assuredly cost more, as it's a Heritage Edition. Even if we assume the car cost $600,000 originally, the sale price represents over $900,000 in profit.

We wouldn't be surprised to see more GTs come up for auction as the two-year no-sell period ends. A dealer on Long Island has a blue 2017 example listed for sale right now with no price given, and one assumes that some cars have and will be sold privately.

via Autoblog

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io