Three Unique GM Trucks You Need to Bid on at Barrett-Jackson

If you've ever gone to an auto show and lusted for one of the manufacturer-tweaked custom pickups on display, here's your chance to own one. Later this month, GM will put more than 200 unique cars and trucks from its historic collection up for bid (see Jalopnik for the full list) at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Unobtainable, you might think? Not necessarily. According to the Detroit Free Press, Tom Freiman, manager of GM's Heritage Center, estimated the sales could generate less than $5 million. That's an average of only about $25,000 per vehicle.

We've perused the list of pickups GM has consigned to auction, and here are three we've wanted since the first time we saw them.

2007 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Plus Concept

Chevy small-truck enthusiasts have lamented the lack of a purpose-built offroad model since the S-10 ZR2 suspension package was discontinued in 2003, just before the all-new Colorado midsize pickup arrived the following year.

As a way to gauge reaction to a possible Colorado version of the ZR2, the Z71 Plus concept was shown at the 2007 SEMA show in Las Vegas. It featured a 320-horsepower, 5.3-liter V-8 (which just became available for the 2009 Colorado) instead of a 242-hp, 3.7-liter five-cylinder engine; a wildly chiseled front end, which was rumored to hint at a mid-cycle exterior refresh; and Hummer H3 suspension components. While it was made to go where most trucks can't, the Z71 Plus couldn't gain traction with management or buyers. Instead, its legacy became the new Hummer H3T pickup, based on the Colorado platform.

2006 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 'Big Red' Silverado Concept

The 2006 SEMA show saw the debut of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Big Red" Silverado. Like the Colorado Z71 Plus, Big Red was another hard-core offroad pickup concept, but it was based on GM's 2007 heavy-duty full-size truck. It was named after Earnhardt's personal Silverado.

Big Red featured buffed custom bodywork, a 380-hp, 6.2-liter V-8 and four-speed automatic transmission, front and rear Eaton E-Locker differentials, a Rancho 4-inch suspension lift, and 37-inch tires. The truck was made for crawling, running and wheeling over almost any kind of terrain.

So convincing was the concept that Ford product planners thought Big Red would reach production well before their 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor, on which they had just started in-depth offroad market research at the 2006 SEMA show. They were relieved it didn't, but you can still own this truck before the first Raptor (also to be auctioned at Barrett-Jackson) is produced this summer.

1991 GMC Syclone PPG Pace Truck

The GMC Syclone was one of the trucks we used to dream about when we should have been doing our algebra. Only 2,995 of the 4.3-liter, turbocharged compact pickups were produced. The all-wheel-drive small haulers were capable of going from zero to 60 mph in the mid-4-second range.

One of these limited-edition trucks became the PPG Pace Truck for the 1992 Indianapolis 500. According to Syclone and GMC Typhoon enthusiast site SyTy.org, the PPG Pace Truck was customized with a silver, magenta and aqua paint scheme, a molded-in light bar in the roof, a racing fuel cell, and a fire-suppression system.

There's a small catch to owning these trucks, though: GM won't warranty them after purchase, and they can't be titled, licensed or driven on public roads. They're destined to be trailer queens.

Of course, two of them are meant to be used on dirt trails, and the third is built for the track, so we suppose if you come up with a winning bid you could gaze at them in your garage or where they're meant to be run.

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