1965 Corvette is Top Seller at Winter AutoFest 2019

Annual February event welcomed cars, crowds and the announcement of the Suncoast-Carlisle coming in November.

February in Florida is a dream for most; sunny skies, warm temps and cool cars – lots of them! All that and then some came together for Carlisle Events‘ Winter AutoFest in Lakeland, which took place February 22-24 at the event’s Sun ‘n Fun Campus. Winter AutoFest 2019’s success was due in part to a dedicated core of automotive enthusiasts within the Sunshine State and beyond.

When gates opened Friday morning, lines of anxious enthusiasts snaked past hundreds of cars parked within the free cruise-in as well as vendors who set up in the field. On hand were hundreds of vendors and thousands of car parts, merchandise and collectibles, plus nearly 1,500 cars spanning the auction, car corral, and cruise-in.

Saturday ushered in more guests and cars for a full day of festivities. GM Certified Technician Paul Koerner returned for another day of tech sessions and tech talks and former FBI agent and 9/11 first-responder Wes Wong spoke at the auction, where the top seller was a 1965 Corvette, going for $72,760.

Other highlights included seminars from Corvette repair and restoration experts as well as a special screening of The Quest, a Corvette documentary by Michael Brown, who was on hand to sign copies of the DVD following the screening.

As the show wrapped on Sunday, guests had one last chance to pick up something from the automotive flea market, make a deal on a car or work with the auction team on a “still for sale” consignment.

At the event, Carlisle Auctions announced a two-day auction only event in Sarasota, Florida, called the Suncoast-Carlisle, set for November 8 and 9.