This collector car auction brief covers three Bring a Trailer lots where the headline number is the least useful part of the story: a no-reserve V12 Toyota Century whose service story shifted mid-auction, a 1979 Trans Am 10th Anniversary with the scarcest powertrain, and a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda that the listing describes as a one-off Chrysler design study. Figures are as of Thursday morning, October 29, and live bids will keep moving.
A V12 Toyota Century at $2,000: the paperwork is the story
A 2000 Toyota Century is live on Bring a Trailer (lot 271,640) at no reserve. The bid stood at $2,000 after two bids, with the auction ending Saturday, October 31, at 2:39 p.m. ET. It is a right-hand-drive Japanese-market sedan imported to the United States in September 2026 and offered by the dealer Capitaljdm of Temple Hills, Maryland, with a clean Maryland title. Power comes from Toyota’s 5.0-liter 1GZ-FE V12, factory rated at 276 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque, through a four-speed automatic, and the car has air suspension and the Dual Electro Multi-Vision package with front and rear touchscreens.
Why it matters. A $2,000 opening bid on a no-reserve car is a starting position, not a price signal, and I did not find a verified comparable sale for a V12 Century in the sources checked. The more useful signal is documentation. The seller’s first comment described a full timing-belt service. After a commenter challenged that, the seller wrote that the Japanese invoice referred to serpentine belts, that Toyota also replaced the water pump and idler pulleys, and that the original Toyota invoice with an English translation would be posted. The listing text still describes a timing-belt service, so the description and the comments do not fully line up. A buyer should read the translated invoice itself rather than rely on either summary.
Condition caveats. The car left the factory black and was repainted white in Japan. The listing text gives the odometer as roughly 259,000 km (about 159,000 miles), while the BaT essentials panel shows 256,000 km. The Bridgestone Regno tires carry 2017 date codes, and bidders have questioned details such as the interior color and floor mats. At this mileage, the screens, the air suspension and the service history will matter more than the badge.
The Century also sits inside the same 25-year import window that has shaped coverage of the Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech and the Volkswagen New Beetle RSi, where American demand for newly legal imports is setting the price.
A 1979 Trans Am Anniversary WS6 with the rare drivetrain, bid to $27,000
A 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am 10th Anniversary Edition WS6 is on Bring a Trailer with a current bid of $27,000 after six bids. The auction ends Tuesday, November 3, at 1:24 p.m. ET, and the listing is not marked no reserve. Pontiac built 7,500 Anniversary Editions for 1979. According to RM Sotheby’s catalog notes, 1,817 of them paired the Pontiac 400 (220 horsepower) with a four-speed manual, while 5,683 used the Oldsmobile 403 with a three-speed automatic. This car is one of the 400/four-speed cars, with the WS6 package (four-wheel disc brakes, quick-ratio steering and a larger sway bar), T-tops, a Hurst shifter, air conditioning and an eight-track player.
Why it matters. Roughly one in four Anniversary cars left the factory with this drivetrain, so the powertrain is a real differentiator in a model that was otherwise built in volume. RM Sotheby’s sold a 10th Anniversary coupe from the John Staluppi Collection for $34,100, but the catalog page does not state a sale date, so treat it as a loose reference point rather than a like-for-like comparison.
Condition caveats. The listing says the car was repainted under prior ownership, had its decals removed and its taillights replaced, and now has an aftermarket dual exhaust and air conditioning converted to R134a. The seller also notes paint and body blemishes, a power steering fluid drip and misaligned exhaust tips. The odometer shows about 53,000 miles, roughly 1,100 of them added by the current owner, but the Texas title carries an “Exempt” odometer reading, so the mileage is a representation rather than a documented fact. A repainted, decal-free car is a driver; whether bidders treat it as a rare-drivetrain collectible is the open question. For another Trans Am where documentation sets the value, see our look at Hasselhoff’s Knight Rider tour car.
A one-off 1964 Barracuda Landau prototype, no reserve at $22,500
A 1964 Plymouth Barracuda V8 Landau Prototype is on Bring a Trailer at no reserve, with a $22,500 bid after 13 bids and more than 100 comments. It ends Saturday, October 31, at 1:52 p.m. ET. The listing describes it as a one-off design study modified circa 1964 by the Chrysler design team, which removed the main roof section to create a targa-style open roof with a removable fabric Landau panel. The car is finished in gold over gold vinyl and has the 273-cubic-inch V8, a push-button TorqueFlite automatic and a clean Tennessee title. Plymouth launched the Barracuda on April 1, 1964, and BaT lists 23,443 built for the shortened model year, so the standard car is not scarce; the modification is.
Why it matters. Prototype and design-study cars are priced on provenance, and here the claim rests on the seller’s account and the car’s evident construction, not on factory paperwork that the listing cites. That is the central question for a bidder. Commenters have raised questions about the rear quarters and say the car crossed an earlier sale this year, but neither point is verified, so a pre-bid inspection and any Chrysler-era documentation matter more than the bid level. For background on the standard car, see our Plymouth Barracuda overview.
Condition caveats. The paint is a repaint over the original gold, with chips and pitting on trim. The driver seat is worn, the fuel and coolant gauges are inoperative, and the accompanying soft roof panel is damaged and does not fit properly. The odometer shows about 52,000 miles, roughly 15 of them added by the selling dealer, who acquired the car in mid-2026.
The takeaway
None of these three is a story about a record price. The Century’s value will follow its invoices, the Trans Am’s will follow how bidders weigh a rare drivetrain against a repaint and an exempt odometer, and the Barracuda’s will follow whether a one-off claim can be supported. All three are live auctions, so the figures above are current bids, not sale prices.
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Shawn Henry 
Eve Nowell