How much can Tim Allen improve the value of this Ford GT?

**This contest is now closed. Congratulations to winner Michael Schubert, who lives near Austin, Texas. Schubert has been involved in SCCA racing for decades, but we can only assume this was his most exciting (or at least his easiest) podium. Thank you to all who participated—and if you missed the window, fear not, our next round will soon be live.**

If you’ve been following the auction scene of late, then you’re aware things are kind of nuts right now. Thanks to the continued growth of online selling platforms, classic cars are being bid on at an unprecedented pace. Insider has lots of thoughts about this phenomenon—you can find some here and here—but perhaps the most important one is that it’s fun. Who doesn’t like seeing amazing classics trotted out day in and day out, and who doesn’t like guessing just how much they’ll go for?

In the spirit of fun, we’re introducing a new contest. We’re calling it, The Bid is Right. The premise is simple and should be familiar to anyone who has watched daytime TV in the last few decades: The person who guesses closest to the final bid—without going over—wins.

Oh, and did we mention we’re giving out $500 to the winner? Yes, we take fun pretty seriously.

With no further adieu, we present this week’s contest. Submit your guess in the comments section below no later than October 26, at 2 pm (24 hours before the auction officially closes—that’s right, no sniping!).

The car: 2017 Ford GT, offered on Bring a Trailer

Hagerty Price Guide value: Condition #1: $1,050,000 Condition #2: $977,000 Condition #3: $901,000

Our take: Rarely, if ever, has a seven-figure investment rode so heavily on the question, “How much do I like Tim Allen?”

Of course, the main attraction here is the car itself. Despite the fact that new Ford GTs are still dribbling out and that their original owners’ agreements all but kept them off the auction scene until late 2019, the cars have already become a hot commodity on the collector car market. Most public sales of late have settled around the $1M mark—about double Ford’s original asking price. Chalk it up to supply and demand: Ford, perhaps having learned a thing from long-ago rival Ferrari, has been extremely choosy regarding who can buy its halo car new, leaving many deep-pocketed collectors to chase them on the second-hand market. This example, like most we’ve seen, hasn’t been very far, showing just 700 miles on the odometer.

The key variable, however, is the celebrity ownership. We've dug into the effect of star power on collector car values before. The boiled down version is, it depends on the level of fame the person has achieved, their car-loving credibility, and if they're um, alive. Allen, fortunately, is still with us, and he is unquestionably a real car guy. His level of fame might be in the eye of the bidders. He is probably still more of a household name than Vaughn Gittin, Jr., whose GT failed to meet reserve at auction earlier this month, and Home Improvement fans will appreciate "2L TIME" Michigan license plate. But it's also been a few years since he's donned a Santa Clause suit and sold out the box office.

How high do you think this GT will go? Guess in the comments, below. Closest guess to the highest bid (without going over) takes home $500.

More ground rules:

• The commenter who guesses closest to the hammer price—without going over—wins. (Hammer price excludes auction house fees).
• One guess per commenter.
• If two people guess the same amount (within a dollar) the earlier guess wins.
• Commenters must provide first and last name in addition to email address.
• We will close the guessing on Tuesday, October 26 at 2 pm. (That's right, no sniping!)
• You can read the full rules here.