By Sam Gilkey
For the News-Gazette

Five full days and more than 1,750 collector cars to be sold.

That’s the schedule for the Mecum Kissimmee Auction coming to Osceola Heritage Park Jan. 26-30.

“The Kissimmee auction is our fastest-growing event as witnessed by the huge success of last year’s event,” Dana Mecum, company president, said. “Last year in Kissimmee, we had more than 4,000 registered bidders and total sales over $25 million.”

Expect even more this year as the auction block will move to the Silver Spurs Arena, a larger space next to the exhibition building where last year’s auction took place.

The Mecum Auction Company has been specializing in the sale of collector cars for 23 years. It offers 5,000 collector cars a year at events around the country.

The Kissimmee auction will be open to the general public with tickets at the door for $15. It also will be broadcast on Discovery Communications HD Theater and via live webcast at www.Mecum.com.

The doors will open each day at 8 a.m. Vehicle auctions start at 10 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday. Memorabilia is up for sale Sunday starting at 9 a.m.

History’s most winning competition Cobra will be auctioned in Kissimmee. The 1963 Shelby Cobra DragonSnake is one of just eight cars modified with the Shelby-developed package. It joins more than a dozen factory-backed drag racing cars up for bid. Four years ago Mecum sold a DragonSnake for $1.6 million.

But cars aren’t the only items on the list.

Mecum also will offer a 2010 Martin Cafe Racer motorcycle with a Kawasaki Z 1000 engine. Proceeds from that sale will go to Curing Kids Cancer.

The boat enthusiast will want to watch for the 1996 Riva Aquarama Special billed as possibly the most original wooden Riva in the world. It was purchased new and is still owned by the founding family of the Sony Corp. It has the factory original varnish and chrome, less than 20 operating hours after being purchased and has been professionally stored, serviced and maintained since it was delivered.

Last year, a 1966 Riva Super Aquarama was the top seller during the Kissimmee auction with the winning bid of $775,000.

Bidders and watchers alike have to be alert. Mecum organizers said it takes only two to three minutes at most for an item to be sold.

This is the 11th year for the Kissimmee auction, which started out primarily as a Corvette auction because the sale was held in conjunction with a local winter meet.

“We’ve come a long way from our first auction at Rockford (Ill.) Airport in 1988,” Mecum said. “Our goal has always been to give Mecum Auction attendees an amazing experience and unite them with an incredible car they will enjoy.”

In 2009, at its Monterey, Calif., auction, Mecum sold a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe for $7.25 million – the highest price paid for an American car at public auction.

Last year in Kissimmee, a 1935 Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster took honors as the highest-bid car, selling at $376,000. Two 1957 Pontiac Bonneville convertibles sold for $213,000 and $180,000 each.