We Just Drove eBay’s ‘Most Wanted Collection.’ Here’s What to Know.

This week, at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, eBay Motors will introduce a new live digital-auction format with a fun slate of cars centered around popular video-game culture. Dubbed the “Most Wanted Collection,” the four lots span multiple decades and comprise a nearly new 2022 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2006 Dodge Viper SRT10, a 1992 BMW 325i convertible, and a high-riding 1975 Chevrolet Nova.

The auction will be hosted by none other than Sung Kang, renowned for his role in the Fast and Furious film franchise, alongside Hert Eugene Jr. from Hoonigan. Each of the four cars will have its starting bid set at just $6, and 100 percent of the proceeds are earmarked to support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The fact that eBay wants to jump into the live-auction industry with dedicated automotive sales may help the enormously popular enthusiast resource leapfrog into a new arena and stand out from the internet’s two leading digital auction sites for automobiles, Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids. As much as the latter two helped to inaugurate the era of online automotive auction houses by setting new standards for thorough listings and seller engagements, the excitement of real-time bidding in person undoubtedly bolsters values even further. For proof, just look at this year’s record-setting Monterey Car Week totals, which reached north of $750 million and easily bested the previous high-water mark of $471 million back in 2022.

In a way, eBay Live can potentially combine the best elements of digital and live auctions by allowing more interaction between potential bidders and sellers than simply raising a hand as priceless collectibles roll across a stage. “You’re actually kicking the tires, virtually,” Sung Kang told Robb Report ahead of the auction slate’s public reveal. “The beauty of this is it’s in real time and it’s interactive, right? So as opposed to looking at all kinds of pictures, you’re actually there with the sellers and you’re able to engage,” notes Kang. “And the cool thing is you’re able to answer questions from all over the world.”

To help drum up enthusiasm for the debut, eBay also invited Robb Report to visit with the four cars and even undertake a few “missions” behind the wheel in homage to popular video game franchises Gran Turismo, GTA, and Need for Speed. I started out by slipping into the lowered BMW convertible, greeted by an incredible early-90s car phone and a Nardi steering wheel with matching shift knob. Battling east through rush-hour traffic, I also had to deal with rain as I arrived at my first stop beneath Downtown LA’s famous Sixth Street Bridge.

Here, eBay coned off a series of handling challenges as a competition for the media on site to experience all four cars headed to auction. Fittingly, the four challenges put each to varying tests that matched their performance potential. I swapped over into the Viper, which was parked next to a circle of cones, but rather than trying to burn out a series of donuts as expected, a pro driver in the passenger seat instructed me to run five tight counterclockwise circles and then finish up in the stop box—all on the clock.

By this time, the damp ground and sprinkling mist looked a bit intimidating, but the Viper’s enormous tires hooked up with just enough grip to load the suspension, of course providing I demonstrated some restraint with the throttle. All 510 hp from the 8.3-liter V-10 snarled and roared, but I just tried to stay steady in first gear and judge the magic moment where understeer and oversteer required more action from my hands. Right as I began to get a bit dizzy, I slid out to the stop box and hammered the brakes for a 20.5-second finish time.

The Corvette was next, awaiting me on a more serious autocross course. Other than the rain, the circuit also included the added challenge of stopping for a quick attempt at parallel parking—always difficult in a C8 given the minimal rearward visibility. After two sighting laps, the timer started and I launched out with my rear tires torching the asphalt dry. Hard onto brakes, then, whipping through a slippery right-hander, I almost hit a cone—which would have been a 10-second penalty—before making my best attempt at parallel parking. With the steering at full lock, I just focused on the right rearview mirror and stopped, then pulled back out before once again reaching the stop box in full ABS. Boom—the fastest time yet at 46.23 seconds.

Third, I jumped into the Nova, which was elevated on massive rims and low-profile tires. The 5.7-liter V-8 sounded burly, but the prospect of a three-speed automatic and tiny steering wheel while negotiating a back-and-forth slalom sounded quite suspect. I loved the “Fierce Fuchsia” paint, and the velour seats inside completed the look. But the cabin also began to fog up terribly as the rain started picking up, and I needed to launch out on a left-right-left slalom, stop and pick up a drop bag, and then reverse through the slalom back toward the start.

On my first try, I discovered that the gear shifter lacked any way to know whether I had selected Drive, Neutral, or Reverse, and I subsequently realized that any hard braking killed the engine. Alright, go! Sure enough, I ripped through the slalom with a bit of surprise at the quick steering response, then the engine cut out as we slammed to a stop. While I jumped out to snag the bag, my pro shifted back into Park so I could crank the engine and reverse—at which point the power promptly died again, so I coasted backward, no power steering nor brakes, and somehow still finished with a respectable time just over 37 seconds.

Lastly, I headed back over to my familiar BMW and went out for three laps of a smaller and more technical autocross loop as the steady drizzle turned to a torrential downpour. Despite the 2.5-liter inline-six only putting out 168 hp when new, that car was wearing stanced Falken tires that provided so little grip that I nearly drifted out of every corner. Only by smoothing out my inputs could I maintain any semblance of control, and therefore speed, but by my third orbit I logged a 19.5-second lap for the best time overall.

In total, the Nova killed my chances at a victory. But the overall series of challenges, with a little extra excitement thrown in by an afternoon of rare inclement weather in Los Angeles, revealed the character of each car. As everyone huddled beneath a tent trying to stay dry, we all laughed about the big question: What were each of our preferences? I realized that, despite its obvious shortcomings, the Nova would be what I would take at even money! Most people actually preferred the BMW, then the newish Corvette, and, lastly, the Viper, which would have been my second-place finisher and a much more serious choice.

As it turned out, Kang agreed with me, even though we both lean more toward the Japanese-enthusiast end of the spectrum rather than classic video gaming, which means we both regularly rely on eBay Motors for sourcing rare parts from Japan, the Middle East, and even Balkan nations.

“I’m sure there’s gonna be a JDM [Japanese Domestic Market] community coming in, that’s what’s popping these days,” said Kang, adding, “I didn’t have any participation in the picking of the cars, but I do love that ‘75 Nova.” The Nova will cross the auction block as a bit more of a project, definitely in need of some weather stripping, the shifter worked over, and likely a fuel pump or baffle that can keep up with anything more than slow cruising.

The BMW fits into a similar category, with some better suspension to help with the lowering job and stanced wheels, plus, hopefully, the ability to somehow get that vintage cell phone functional via Bluetooth perhaps. The C8 Corvette seems like the most rational selection but, on the other hand, the Viper presents the most serious case for a true collectible—though I might be too nervous to drive it often.

When all four go live at SEMA at noon Pacific time on November 5, the new auction format will be a test for eBay Motors. Provided there’s enough visibility, the ability to allow true interactions via video chat during online auctions might just change the game. Especially because the enthusiasm surrounding this launch will also end up supporting a cause that Kang himself chose to honor his wife, a breast-cancer survivor.

“There’s not a seller that’s gonna profit from this,” Kang explained. “It’s actually going to a great cause, so whatever we raise is gonna help hopefully thousands of women out there,” mentions Kang. How awesome is it that you can connect your passion about cars and be at SEMA, or be hanging out with your friends, and actually pay it forward somehow.”

Click here for more photos of eBay’s “Most Wanted Collection.”