If there’s a one-of-a kind General Motors vehicle up for auction then you can bet that Rick Hendrick will be bidding on it, but the latest was a bit different than the rest.
The NASCAR team owner and mega car dealer has paid big bucks to buy countless milestone GM products at charity auctions over the years, including $3.7 million for the first mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.
It was the GM Defense division that put up a lot this time around at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach, Fla., on Saturday and it was a vehicle that has never sold to a private citizen before.
The M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle is a military transport based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 built in Concord, N.C. It’s powered by a turbodiesel engine and features the Colorado ZR2’s high performance off-road suspension system. It’s not armored, but it can be equipped with firearms and is designed to be air-transported by helicopter.
The ISV is built in a variety of configurations with seating for up to nine soldiers. The ISV-Utility up for grabs at the auction was a five-passenger pickup with a cage-style rollover protection system that just happens to be manufactured for GM Defense by Hendrick Motorsports.
GM Defense offered in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and to raise money for the Medal of Honor Foundation and decked it out with unique commemorative graphics. The bids quickly rose to $1 million and when the hammer came down the auctioneer thanked Hendrick for the donation.
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Hendrick has a private collection of hundreds of vehicles, but often showcases his latest auction buys at one of his dealerships in the Charlotte, N.C. area for the public to check out before he puts them away.
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