Over the weekend, the big boys came out to play at the annual Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson Auction. Millions of dollars in cash, credit, and automobiles exchanged hands at one of the car world’s biggest auction bonanzas. There’s something for everyone at a Barrett-Jackson auction, and there are always a handful of cars that exceed expectations of desire, and bidding.

The one-off Grabber Blue 2012 Boss 302 Mustang Laguna Seca Edition we told you about a couple of weeks ago sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction for a staggering $450,000. Around $400,000 of that money will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Perhaps it was the announcement that this will be the only car of its kind ever built by Ford that drove the bidding up. After all, Grabber Blue was a popular color for Mustangs back during they heyday of muscle cars, especially on the 1970 Boss 302 (the first year such a color was available.) Was it just because the color itself, Grabber Blue, has so much historical context, or could it have been any color other than what is publicly available?

The new 2012 Boss 302 Mustangs will come in five colors, none of them Grabber Blue, and the Boss 302 Mustang Laguna Seca Edition will come in just two colors; Black or Ingot Silver, both with red accents. Thus that makes this 2012 Grabber Blue Boss very special. Down the road, Ford may make Grabber Blue a color choice, as it did help drive the bidding up and people seem willing to pay a premium for it. Would any other color have driven bidding up to almost half a million dollars, or is it just the rarity of a one-off car that kept the price aloft.