Rick Hendrick paid $1 million on Saturday for a GM Defense M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle at a Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach, Fla., adding another milestone GM vehicle to the private collection he has built over decades. The sale drew applause in a room where rare machinery often brings luxury-car money, but this one was a military transport with a purpose beyond the auction block.
The vehicle was a GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and built in Concord, N.C. Powered by a turbodiesel engine and fitted with the Colorado ZR2’s high-performance off-road suspension, it is not armored but can be equipped with firearms and is designed to be air-transported by helicopter. GM Defense built the ISV in a range of configurations seating up to nine soldiers, while the ISV-Utility sold on Saturday was a five-passenger pickup with a cage-style rollover protection system.
GM Defense said the truck was offered in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary and to raise money for the Medal of Honor Foundation. The five-passenger pickup had been manufactured for GM Defense by Hendrick Motorsports and was decked out with unique commemorative graphics. It had never sold to a private citizen before, which made the auction a one-off chance to put a military-inspired vehicle into civilian hands.
The purchase fits a pattern for Hendrick, who has paid big bucks for countless milestone GM products at charity auctions over the years. He previously paid $3.7 million for the first mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and his collection now runs to hundreds of vehicles. He often shows off his latest auction buys at one of his dealerships in the Charlotte, N.C. area before tucking them away, a ritual that has turned his purchases into a public attraction as much as a private hobby.
After the sale, the auctioneer thanked Hendrick for the donation. It was a simple line, but it captured the way this auction worked: a collector’s impulse, a company’s anniversary showcase and a fundraising drive for a veterans’ cause all meeting in one lot.