Flippers Are Struggling To Sell Chevy Camaro Garage 56 Edition
Another example failed to meet reserve at auction this week despite a $162,000 bid.
Camaros take a lot of disrespect. The Chevy muscle car has always struggled to get out of the shadow of competitors like the Charger and the Mustang. Prices on classics and limited editions tend to reflect that unfair reality, as some ambitious sellers of one of the last special-edition Camaros ever made have unfortunately discovered.
The Camaro Garage 56 is a beautiful beast. Built to hype the NASCAR Camaro cup car that ran in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last June, it’s a tarted up ZL1 model packing the almighty 650 hp/650 lb-ft LT4 V-8 under the hood, special aero, limited-edition Riptide Blue paintwork, and of course a bunch of badges. True to the name, only 56 were made.
Even though it’s not the most inspired special edition, with the Camaro now out of production, it wasn’t all that surprising in today’s market to see one sell at auction for $260,000 on Bring a Trailer in January. Since then, though, people just aren’t buying it, including one that was bid to $162,000 but failed to meet reserve on the platform this week.
Another failed to sell at Mecum Auctions in March, and now Barrett-Jackson is advertising an upcoming auction for one right now with no reserve price at all.
A glance at some of the comments left on those auctions suggests why. At Bring a Trailer, commenters questioned the value of the gussied-up limited edition compared to a stock Camaro ZL1; one commenter described the Garage 56 Edition as "just stickers and wheels." "Those are some expensive decals," noted another.
The issue seemed to run deeper, however. With the cancellation of the Camaro this year, sellers seem to be banking on nostalgia to drive demand. Given that one seller turned down a $162,000 bid, they may have simply priced out of that nostalgia and overestimated Camaro's place in buyers' hearts. To many buyers, the Garage 56 was just another Camaro -- a car that didn't excite them in the first place. A commenter laid down the last word: "End of an era? What era?"
Even on its marketplace deathbed, the noble Camaro gets no respect.
