By AJ Carney
 The proceeds from the auction of the ’15 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited will help fund the next vehicle build for the purpose of creating a self-sustaining program. |
The fully customized ’15 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited built by students of the Santa Fe Early College Opportunities Auto Tech School (Santa Fe ECO)—a magnet high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that provides applied sciences and tech training, along with traditional academic classes—ended Tuesday, June 26, at 12:00 p.m.
The customized Jeep auctioned through Bring-a-Trailer (BaT)—an online auction marketplace for buying and selling special vehicles—resulted in a bid war at the end, finally closing at $53,500. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be used to fund another project that will continue to support and educate students about vehicle builds and careers in the automotive industry.
“We at Bring-a-Trailer are very excited to partner with SEMA to auction this special Jeep build,” said Randy Nonnenberg, BaT co-founder and CEO. “We also know that young enthusiasts are key to the future of the automotive hobby, and we applaud SEMA for investing in this program and these students. We are very happy to also be donating our entire 5% auction fee on this Jeep to the same great cause."
With the auction raising $53,500 and BaT donating 5% of the auction fee, the grand total raised for the school is $56,175.
This ’15 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited was a collaboration between SEMA and the Santa Fe ECO for which 24 automotive aftermarket companies contributed parts, making it truly a one-of-a-kind customized Jeep.
“The industry has really supported this project,” said Zane Clark, SEMA senior director of education. “Their generosity has elevated the build beyond our expectations and created a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience for the students.”
Learn more about the student build.