Barrett-Jackson to Offer 16 No-Reserve Vehicles From Famous Chip Watkins Collection At Palm Beach Auction

Barrett-Jackson will sell an eclectic collection of 16 vehicles from the well-known William “Chip” Watkins Collection during the 17th Annual Palm Beach Auction being held on April 11-13 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. Representing seven decades of vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, and all cars will be sold with no reserve. “From classic Resto-Mods to low-mileage future classics, the Chip Watkins Collection represents an enviable diversity of performance vehicles,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. “Not only does the collection represent a seven-decade span of makes and models, but the quality of each vehicle is unsurpassed as well. For anybody looking to add an incredible vehicle to their garage, the Chip Watkins Collection should be on the must-see list during our Palm Beach Auction.”

While each vehicle is special in its own right, some notable cars include a 1958 Chevrolet Corvette Custom Roadster featuring an LS2 engine, an original 1969 Shelby GT500 that has been with the Watkins family since new and a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette resto-mod that has been in climate-controlled storage since 2015. It’s not all about American muscle either; there is a fully restored 1972 Datsun 240Z on offer too, originally from Southern California it still has its original L24 engine. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to car collecting,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “That’s why we’ve always built dockets with as much diversity as possible. The Chip Watkins Collection is a natural expansion of our docket, spanning 70 years of some of the finest examples of collector vehicles. Each one is a tribute to their heritage and impact on the automotive culture.”

Further example of this diversity is evidenced by newer offerings like the 1996 Chevrolet Grand Sport with a mere 1490 miles on the clock and a 1989 Porsche 930 that was a one-year-only production car with a 5-speed manual transmission.

Images courtesy of Barrett-Jackson