Wide-ranging, weird and wonderful John Scotti Collection to cross block in Auburn

The John Scotti Collection is, we'd like to think, exactly the sort of assemblage of cars we would put together were we a mechanic who earned his fortune building a group of successful Montreal-based car dealerships.

To be sure, the collection of roughly 450 cars represents Scotti's tastes, which seem to tend toward the muscular. But the man, who sells everything from Mitsubishis to Lamborghinis, did an admirable job branching out from the standbys that seem to fill the ranks of every large collection, finding room for both the commonplace and the strange.

And now he's set to liquidate the whole stockpile.

His loss -- if you can call the (very likely profitable) sale of some highly collectible automobiles a loss -- is the enthusiast's gain, especially since the lot is slated to be sold, without reserve, at Auction America's spring sale. It'll take place from May 8 to May 10 at the sprawling auction park on the outskirts of Auburn, Ind.

We're hesitant to trot out the “something for everybody” line here, but the sheer scale of Scotti's collection renders it true. Odds are, you're going to find something here that you'll like -- and probably not too much that you won't.

“[Scotti] didn't collect junk,” Auctions America's Ian Webb tells us. Of course Webb would tell us that, we thought; his job is to sell this massive trove for the highest dollar to the benefit of both Scotti and the auction house. But he's not incorrect. Between the low-mileage late model cars, tidy older restorations and survivors, there's a staggering range of sheet metal and fiberglass to dive into.

Scotti seems to have collected voraciously but not indiscriminately. There are plenty of 1960s and 1970s muscle car standbys, yes, but also lots of solid everyday vehicles in admirable states of preservation—like a super-clean 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster Club Coupe or a well-preserved, silent-running 1936 Cadillac Fleetwood V8 Touring Sedan (the first car carries a $15,000 to $20,000 estimate; the second is tempting at $65,000 to $75,000).

A nice bonus: There are very few of the clones and tributes that plague the modern auction circuit. We counted two, including one of God-knows-how-many 1969 Yenko Camaro tributes. But we're willing to look past that pair; they're easy to ignore when a 1987 Buick GNX with just 96 miles on the clock is also offered.

Even some of the more commonplace cars come loaded with interesting options packages. Take, for example, the 1967 Ford Fairlane 500XL convertible. It would make a great summertime cruiser with nearly any list of equipment. But this example has an uplevel (though not range-topping) 390 cu-in V8 with a four-barrel carburetor mated to a four-speed manual. It might not be a $100,000 car, but it offers something slightly different for someone seeking a big, turquoise boat that might not wallow away from a stoplight.

From an absolutely perfect 1966 Corvette Sting Ray to a 1994 Caprice SS wagon, Chevrolet products are well represented. And the Camaros: Including that Yenko tribute, we're counting 25, but we might have missed a few. If you prefer your Camaros to be Japanese, snag the 1988 Toyota Supra Turbo.

Exotics? There's an Acura NSX -- well, two of them, actually—plus three Lamborghini Diablos (including a 21,000-mile all-wheel-drive VT), a handful of Ferraris (we love the 12,500 mile Testarossa in cocaine white) and a boatload of old Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, including an immaculate 1989 Bentley Turbo R Saloon. The 1984 Aston Martin Lagonda Series II is, in its own weird way, equally desirable.

We suspect many of these exotics came to Scotti as trade-ins at one of his high-end dealerships. But some of the weirder stuff had to have appealed to him personally. Why else would the collection include a 1955 Kaiser Manhattan, an awesome, rotary-powered 1969 NSU RO 80 or an imposing, long-wheelbase 1934 Chrysler Custom Imperial Airflow?

The truly flamboyant can compete for a very bronze 1975 Panther Roadster. Powered by a Jaguar V12, the neoclassic could only ever appeal to a select group of enthusiasts. Still, it's expected to bring between $55,000 and $60,000.

We could go on and on listing cars, but it would take us all day: The Scotti collection represents about half of the cars that will go on sale between May 8 and May 10. Of the roughly 900 cars Auctions America expects to move, about 450 come from Scotti's stash. They'll all be offered without reserve, so come prepared to drive that car you're bidding on home.

When a collection of this size goes on sale, we're always curious as to why—especially if the owner is, as in Scotti's case, very much alive and well. We imagine that managing an assortment of collector cars that would dwarf the average new car dealer's inventory becomes vexing after a while; if tending to your horde becomes a second job, where's the room to have fun?

Maybe that's a part of it. But Scotti's automotive empire is also reportedly relocating to different digs, and the new facilities will have less room for collector car storage. Auctions America, a division of RM Auctions, has been tasked with coordinating the moving sale.

The auction company expects this year's Auburn spring event yet, with as many as 25,000 bidders and spectators packing the event's expansive grounds. If the Scotti collection lineup doesn't draw you in, you might find something you like in the Rigoli Collection of Chrysler Letter Cars or the GM-heavy Duffy Grove Collection. Or you might find something buried somewhere in the hundreds of other lots that will be offered.

For more information on the event, or to register to bid, head to the Auctions America website. If you can't make it to Indiana to watch, you can catch some of the action on NBC Sports Network.

By Graham Kozak