Hagerty Insider Issue 4

EXPERT NEWS & ANALYSIS FROM THE COLLECTOR CAR AUTHORITY 

ISSUE 4 | JULY– AUGUST 2019 

$20 MILLION 

A 1939 PORSCHE TYPE 64 HEADLINES OUR 

TOP 20 MONTEREY AUCTION ESTIMATES 

DON’T RESTORE THAT CAR 

SAYS THE MAN WHO OWNS A RESTORATION SHOP 

60+ CARS RATED & EVALUATED 

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS FROM THE SPRING AUCTIONS

JULY | AUGUST 2019 CONTENTS 

14 | THE WILEY REPORT 

A NEW GENERATION IS DRIVING THE MARKET | BY JOHN WILEY 

23 | SHOP TALK 

DECIDING WHEN TO RESTORE YOUR CLASSIC—AND 

KNOWING WHEN YOU SHOULDN’T | BY COLIN COMER 

29 | ULTIMATE PORSCHES 

THE LONG-TERM PROSPECTS OF MODIFIED 911S | BY ROB SASS 

34 | MARKET SPOTLIGHT 

CAN GROUP B RALLY CARS SHOCK THE MARKET LIKE THEY DID RACING? 

BY ANDREW NEWTON 

45 | MONTEREY AUCTION PREVIEW 

ANTICIPATED TOP SALES AT THIS YEAR’S AUCTIONS 

59 | GUIDEBOOK TO MONTEREY 

AN INSIDER’S TOUR TO AMERICA’S PREMIER CAR EVENT | BY BRETT BERK 

67 | SAVE THE DATE 

AUCTION CALENDAR FOR THE REST OF 2019 

70 | AUCTION REPORTS 

TUPELO MUSEUM AUCTION, MECUM INDIANAPOLIS & HOUSTON 

2

EDITOR’S LETTER 

BY BRIAN RABOLD 

T 

he collector car world is full of dichotomies. Ford vs. Chevy. 

Restored vs. original. Speed vs. style. What lures one enthusiast 

into the car world can push another away, and what 

moves one gearhead can repulse another. This phenomenon 

is unavoidable because cool cars inspire passion, and passion doesn’t suffer 

indifference. Throw in the fact that “coolness” is often entirely subjective, 

and there are bound to be deep divides. To me this variety of viewpoints 

makes the whole ecosystem interesting. There are innumerable ways to 

approach and appreciate cars. 

Add another rift to the list: cars vs. investments. Soaring prices inevitably 

lead to more media coverage (because, well, news), and more awareness 

of value increases is accompanied by a whole class of services like 

classic car investment funds, novel trading platforms, and, yes, more 

online resources and outlets like this one that attempt to explain the mercantile 

aspect of what is otherwise a perfectly respectable hobby. Only, it 

isn’t simply a hobby anymore. Not when there is an entire infrastructure 

4

EDITOR’S LETTER 

established to serve, enhance, and profit from the interests of the hobbyist. 

Not when billions of dollars are tied to it. 

Is that an inherent problem? Back to that rift. One side of the street 

argues that cars are cars and viewing them through a financial lens 

misses the point entirely. (Hagerty’s own Aaron Robinson recently and 

deftly took up arms in defense of this point. https://www.hagerty.com/ 

articles-videos/articles/2019/06/12/classic-cars-as-assets-missing-thepoint) 

The other side sees financial opportunity in buying and holding 

cars—sometimes stored unseen and undriven—in pursuit of future finan- 

One side of the street argues that cars are 

cars and viewing them through a financial 

lens misses the point entirely. 

cial gain. The former views the latter as profiteers, ruthlessly raising values 

for everyone else as they overpay and underuse what they feel has no 

right being called the A-word (as in “asset”). The warring camp believes 

the original intent of the car is irrelevant, and to blithely ignore financial 

fact is fiscal folly. 

I’m here to tell you that there is no “correct” stance, just a stance that 

is correct for you. Motives to purchase are personal and the open market 

doesn’t care how pure your intentions are. There is no denying that the point 

of a classic car isn’t in how much it costs today and how much it will cost in 

the future. But that doesn’t mean recognizing a financial opportunity and 

having the means to act upon it is to be scolded. It’s simply a reality. 

My advice, learned from people who were buying and selling cars back 

when the industry truly was a hobby, is to buy what you love and buy what 

you’ll enjoy. Bring financial upside into the decision as a tie breaker. This 

way you end up with something parked in your garage (and hopefully 

driven on the street) that puts the emphasis on the tangible nature of these 

tangible assets. But you also make an informed decision about the true 

cost of ownership so that you are prepared for what the future may hold. 

And remember that the rift isn’t an either/or argument, it is actually a 

continuum. Most market watchers aren’t treating collector cars any differently 

than those who cringe at the A-word. They drive, show, and celebrate 

the cars they own, and they get the same smile on their faces when they 

5

hear an engine rev. They don’t watch prices as a way to get rich, they do it 

so they can buy a model they’re interested in before it’s priced out of their 

budget. Or they’re aiming to ride one fun car’s appreciation to a new level 

so they can then move into another fun car that initially might have been 

out of reach. 

It is all about the enjoyment of experience and the personal connections 

that come from owning something a little bit different. But like any 

It is all about the enjoyment of experience 

and the personal connections that come 

from owning something a little bit different. 

major purchase, if you are spending more money than you can afford to 

lose, it’s an unnecessary risk to ignore the market signs. 

With word choice changing depending on your vantage point and focal 

length, it is as important as ever to remember the age-old advice to buy 

what you love. The financial aspect of enthusiast cars is impossible to 

ignore, but the emotional payoff is more predictable and reliable. 

Is there a market-related subject you’d like to hear more about? Drop me a 

line at brabold@hagerty.com. 

6

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THE HAGERTY VALUATION TEAM 

THE MOST EXPERIENCED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE EXPERTS 

IN THE COLLECTOR CAR BUSINESS. 

GLENN ARLT 

Historian 

Traverse City, MI 

A lifelong car enthusiast, 

Glenn left a career at a 

research lab to join Hagerty 

more than 20 years ago. He 

currently provides historical 

expertise to the Valuation 

Team while managing 

the “Ask Hagerty” 

Concierge Service. 

ROB BENNETT 

Vehicle Data Specialist 


Rob grew up in a sports 

car household and is both 

a Mustang enthusiast and 

a photographer. After 

graduating from Central 

Michigan University, he 

joined Hagerty in 2001 and 

was a trainer in the sales 

department for 8 years. 

RICK CAREY 

Auction Analyst 

Thompson, CT 

Rick was one of the first people 

to report on the collector car 

market in detail almost 30 

years ago and has unparalleled 

market knowledge. Primarily 

focused on auctions, he created 

and maintains one of the 

largest databases of auction 

transactions at rickcarey.com. 

COLIN COMER 

Marketplace Expert 

Milwaukee, WI 

Colin is a sought-after expert 

for top collectors worldwide, 

a panelist at our Valuation 

seminars, and an advisor for 

the Hagerty Price Guide. He 

is also the author of several 

books on the muscle car era 

and Shelby-American and a 

noted car collector himself. 

JAMES HEWITT 

Information Analyst 

Boulder, CO 

James is a classic motorcycle 

collector who has owned 

over 100 vintage bikes from 

the 1960s and ‘70s. He has 

an industrial engineering 

degree from the University 

of Michigan and previous 

experience in software 

startups and the tech industry. 

GREG INGOLD 

Assistant Editor, 

Hagerty Price Guide 


Greg grew up tinkering 

on old cars and trucks 

and developed a 

particular obsession with 

Pontiacs. A longtime 

Hagerty employee, he 

currently owns a 1969 

Pontiac Grand Prix. 

DAVE KINNEY 

Publisher, Hagerty Price Guide 

Great Falls, VA 

Dave Kinney, the publisher of the 

Hagerty Price Guide, is a renowned 

market expert who has written 

regular columns for a host of 

magazines. He judges at events 

and attends dozens of auctions 

each year. Dave is an automotive 

appraiser and a senior member of 

The American Society of Appraisers. 

ERIK NELSON 



Erik comes from a long 

line of car nuts and has 

bought and sold many 

cars, particularly AMCs, 

over the years. A 20- 

year Hagerty veteran, he 

currently works on our 

Valuation databases and 

VIN decoder. 

8 

MATT NELSON 


Wilkes-Barre, PA 

Matt interned at Hagerty 

while earning a finance 

degree from Michigan State 

University. He is a Japanese 

import enthusiast and 

gained broad automotive 

expertise while working on 

the insurance side of the 

business for Hagerty.

THE VALUATION TEAM 

ANDREW NEWTON 

Auction Editor 

Houston, TX 

Andrew has been writing 

about cars and covering the 

collector car market since 2012. 

He has a masters in history 

and served as both associate 

editor at Sports Car Digest and 

education manager at the Larz 

Anderson Auto Museum before 

joining Hagerty in 2014. 

JESSE PILARSKI 

Information Analyst 

Seattle, WA 

Jesse joined Hagerty after 

earning a mathematics 

degree from Michigan State 

University. He has spent the 

last seven years consuming, 

analyzing, and refining all 

of the automotive data 

Hagerty has at its disposal. 

BRIAN RABOLD 

VP of Valuation Services, 

Editor, Hagerty Insider 

Portland, OR 

Brian began his career in 

the collector car industry at 

Sports Car Market and now 

heads Hagerty’s Valuation 

department. He also 

serves as the editor of the 

Hagerty Price Guide. 

TIM WEADOCK 

Senior Manager of Vehicle 

Database Operations 


Tim, a veteran of the collector 

car industry, has been 

collecting Valuation and 

market data for Hagerty for 

two decades. He is one of the 

inventors of Hagerty’s 

pre-17-digit VIN decoder. 

JOHN WILEY 

Senior Data Analyst 

Seattle, WA 

John is a lifelong car nut 

and avid photographer 

with a masters in applied 

mathematics from the 

University of Chicago. 

He joined Hagerty from 

Zillow Group, where he 

was a data scientist. 

FRANK WILKE 

Managing Director, 

Classic Analytics 

Bochum, Germany 

Frank studied law at 

Bochum University and 

runs Classic Analytics, 

Germany’s biggest appraisal 

organization for classic 

cars and a wholly owned 

subsidiary of Hagerty. 

CHRIS WINSLOW 



Chris, who has a particular 

interest in American muscle 

cars and modified classics, 

attended Northwestern 

Michigan College for 

Auto Tech and worked as 

a professional mechanic 

before joining Hagerty. 

9

THE VALUATION TEAM 

$209,173,565 

IN CARS INDIVIDUALLY INSPECTED BY HAGERTY 

TO ASSESS CONDITION AT U.S. COLLECTOR 

CAR AUCTIONS IN JANUARY 2019 

CLASSIFIED LISTINGS ANALYZED BY HAGERTY 

378 Years 

OF TEAM EXPERIENCE 

OF ALL VEHICLES SOLD AT U.S. COLLECTOR 

CAR AUCTIONS IN 2018 (OVER 14,000 VEHICLES) 

WERE PERSONALLY INSPECTED BY HAGERTY 

TO ASSESS CONDITION. 

Over 1.25 Million 

DECODABLE VINS IN HAGERTY’S VIN DECODER 

Over 415,000 

AUCTION AND PRIVATE 

TRANSACTIONS ANALYZED 

Over 1 million 

HISTORIC COLLECTOR CAR VALUES 

IN THE HAGERTY PRICE GUIDE 

10

REGISTER TO BID 

1987 Mercedes-Benz Autosalon 

2000 Super Sport 

1955 Chevrolet 210 Bel Air Custom 

2005 Ford GT 

1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta 

Coachwork by Scaglietti 

1969 Shelby GT350 Fastback 

29 AUGUST–1 SEPTEMBER 

AUBURN FALL 

STILL ACCEPTING CONSIGNMENTS 

HEADQUARTERS +1 519 352 4575 

NEW YORK +1 212 894 1562 

CALIFORNIA +1 310 559 4575 

FLORIDA +1 954 566 2209 

INDIANA +1 260 927 9797 

RM AUCTIONS, INC. LIC. NO. 1800217/LICENSED AUCTIONEER BRENT EARLYWINE #AU 01049489

GLOSSARY OF TERMS 

CONDITION: A numerical rating of the physical presentation of a car, on a 

scale of 1 to 6, as it is observed in a walk-around. Condition is not a synonym for 

the points awarded by Bloomington, JCNA, or other specialist organizations 

for the accuracy of casting dates, radiator caps, and brake hoses. It doesn’t 

attempt to differentiate between correct totally original cars, street rods, and 

race-modified cars. 

#1 CONDITION Beyond-perfect restorations. While logic would equate 

this with a factory-fresh car, the collector car world hasn’t adopted that 

way of thinking, creating Pebble Beach, Louis Vuitton, and other restorations 

that are better than showroom presentations. 

#2 CONDITION Meticulous, showroom-quality restorations. In other 

words, virtually new. By many collectors’ standards, a 2 or 2+ is preferable 

to a condition 1, as it means factory presentation hasn’t been destroyed 

in the course of creating jewelry. 

#3 CONDITION Normally used, low-mile cars that have been kept original, 

or restorations that have seen some miles but been well maintained. 

You would put a 3 in your garage and drive it on weekends without feeling 

embarrassed or endangered in doing so. Most collector cars are 3s. 

#4 CONDITION Serious defects, and/or hard use not ameliorated by good 

and consistent maintenance. You wouldn’t take a 4 to a local marque rally 

without being a bit self-conscious. Nevertheless, many daily drivers are 4s. 

#5 CONDITION Running, but battered, incomplete, and perhaps rusty. 

#6 CONDITION Parts car. 

CHARACTER: In our reports you’ll also see repetitive qualitative descriptions 

of cars’ overall character, such as “Older restoration.” They attempt to characterize, 

in a limited number of phrases, the larger qualitative impressions of 

the kind of treatment the car’s received. In the context of potential owners’ 

evaluations and aspirations, there’s a vast difference between cars described 

as an “Unrestored original, 3 condition” and an “Older restored 3 condition,” a 

qualitative mental picture we hope the combination of the two ratings conveys. 

These are largely subjective qualifications, yet there also is remarkable consistency 

among experienced observers. 

HAGERTY INSURANCE QUOTE DATA: When a potential customer calls for 

pricing on an insurance policy, our agents ask for vehicle details (e.g., year, 

whether it’s stock or modified) and personal/household details (such as whether 

the customer has a 16-year-old living at home). The Valuation Team aggregates 

hundreds of thousands of these quotes annually (stripped of identifying 

details) and uses the data to track market trends—such as which cars draw 

interest from younger buyers (see page 14). 

12

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THE WILEY REPORT 

THE 

X-FACTOR 

How the MTV generation 

is driving collector car prices. 

BY JOHN WILEY 

14


V 

alues go up, and values go down. That’s a constant in 

the collector car world. In the 15 years that the Hagerty 

Price Guide has been charting the market, we’ve seen 

peaks (September 2009, September 2018) and valleys 

(January 2010). We’ve watched certain vehicles, like 

Ferraris, skyrocket while others, such as 1950s American cars, have lagged 

behind. These fluctuations are a function of immutable laws of supply and 

demand and, for those of us who watch the collector car market, a matter 

of intense interest. Rarely, though, do we take a step back and ask a fundamental 

question: Who is driving these changes in prices? 

In the last issue of Insider, we demonstrated that younger buyers are 

active shoppers and are generally willing to pay good money. But does that 

activity translate to influence over the market as a whole? Perhaps the 

collector car market could be like a political contest where one candidate 

To determine who’s pushing up values, 

we need to have background on the ages 

of who is buying what and we need 

consistent valuation data. 

PREVIOUS PAGE: MATT TIERNEY 

gets tons of small donations yet is out-fundraised by a candidate who’s 

dug into a few deep pockets. Indeed, judging by headlines from major 

auctions, you’d think the big shifts in value come from the high-dollar 

sales. That would clearly point to older collectors as the ones in charge. 

Pre-Boomers (1920–1945) and Boomers (1946–1964) still represent the 

majority of quotes for vehicles above $1 million. 

To determine who’s pushing up values, we need to have background 

on the ages of who is buying what and we need consistent valuation data. 

Fortunately, Hagerty has both. Our price guide, updated thrice annually, 

tracks trends in prices. Hagerty insurance policy quotes, meanwhile, 

include a vehicle and the age of the owner. By correctly aligning these two 

data troves, we can answer our question. 

Note we said “correctly aligning.” A complication here is that the Hagerty 

Price Guide lags the market. Its values are informed by sales that have 

already happened, whereas an insurance quote is typically created when 

15


an owner is shopping for or has just purchased a vehicle. So, the quotes in 

one year roughly align with the price guide values for the following year. 

[For more on the data we used, see “Behind the Numbers,” page 19.] 

GOING OFF-ROAD 

Looking at quote concentrations among four population generations and 

price guide changes shows that Gen Xers are most often associated with 

increasing price guide values. When these people represent most of the quotes 

for a vehicle in one year, values are likely to increase the next year. Simply 

put, Gen X—oft overshadowed by numerically larger Boomer and Millennial 

cohorts—is currently in the driver’s seat of the collector car market. 

The vehicles Gen Xers are pushing to higher values are what might 

show up at a gathering of iconic off-roaders and campers. High on the 

list is the 1966–1977 Ford Bronco, followed by the 1981–1986 Jeep CJ-8 

Simply put, Generation X—oft overshadowed 

by numerically larger Boomer and 

Millennial cohorts—is currently in the 

driver’s seat of the collector car market. 

AVERAGE YOY HAGERTY PRICE GUIDE CHANGE 

GEN X FAVORITES -10% 0% 10% 

2017 

1972-1980 International Scout II 

1976-1986 Jeep CJ-7 

1950-1967 Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter 

1966-1977 Ford Bronco 

1981-1986 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler 

20% 

30% 

2018 

1968-1983 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 

1959-1971 Land Rover Series II/Series IIA 

-7% 

FJ40 values 

corrected in 

2018 after years 

of growth 



-10% 

0% 

10% 

20% 

30% 

16


Scrambler and 1950–1967 Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter. Also among 

the top results are the 1976–1986 Jeep CJ-7, 1972–1980 International 

Scout II, and 1959–1971 Land Rover Series II/Series IIA. You get the picture. 

Note that many of these vehicles are older than the typical Gen Xer. 

One of the reasons this generation is more influential than others is that 

they’re interested in a wide range of vehicles, not just the select few that 

were cool when they were in high school. 

In contrast, the cars that Boomers, and especially Pre-Boomers, are 

overwhelmingly into tends to drop in value. Their contrarian choices 

range from muscle cars like the 1968–1970 American Motors AMX and 

the 1967–1970 Shelby GT500, to supercars like the 1978–1981 BMW M1 

and 2004–2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, to British roadsters like 

the 1958–1961 Austin-Healey Sprite and the 1975–1980 MGB. 

More and more Millennial car enthusiasts, meanwhile, are calling 

for quotes, but their enthusiasms lie primarily with video game import 

performance cars such as the 1989–1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) and 

the 1993–1998 Toyota Supra. Older buyers aren’t interested in these cars. 

That said, Millennial picks that also appeal to other age groups are, like 

the Gen X choices, growing in value. 

AVERAGE YOY HAGERTY PRICE GUIDE CHANGE 

SELECT MILLENNIAL FAVORITES 

-10% 

0% 

10% 20% 30% 

2017 

1984-1993 BMW 3-Series (E30) 

1990-1994 Volkswagen Corrado 

1997-2001 Acura Integra Type R 

2004-2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 

1989-1993 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) 

1993-1996 Mazda RX-7 

2018 

1986-1992 Mazda RX-7 

1983-1992 Volkswagen Golf Mk II 



1993-1998 Toyota Supra 

1998-2003 BMW M5 (E39) 

17


SELECT PRE-BOOMER FAVORITES 

2017 

1963-1971 Mercedes Benz 230 SL 

1948-1953 Cadillac Series 62 

2018 

1949-1954 Chrysler Windsor 

2014-2015 Porsche 918 Spyder 

1945-1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster 

1992-2009 Ferrari 456 

SELECT BOOMER FAVORITES 

2017 

1978-1981 BMW M1 

1967-1970 Shelby GT500 

1958-1961 Austin-Healey Sprite 

-9% 

Boomers dig 

M1s but don’t 

pay high prices 

for them. 

1968-1970 American Motors AMX 

2018 

1978-1980 MGB 

2004-2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 

-10% 

0% 

10% 20% 30% 

Since quotes are a leading indicator of the market, we can glimpse 

what might rise in value in 2020 by looking at what various generations 

are quoting today. For the most part, quotes confirm trends we’re already 

seeing: Pre-Boomers still represent most of the interest in vehicles like 

the 1946–1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster and 1949–1954 Chrysler Windsor, 

but also the 1981–1989 Lincoln Town Car and 1980–1983 Lincoln Continental 

Mk VI. Boomers appear to like the 1967–1970 Shelby GT500 best, 

along with the 1963–1974 Lotus Elan and 1968–1971 BMW CS coupes. 

Gen Xers are still preparing for that fantasy camping trip, quoting CJ-8 

Scramblers and the like, and Millennials continue to pine for those Japanese 

sports cars—Skylines, WRX STIs, Integra Type Rs, and Supras. 

Will those favorites among Gen Xers and Millennials be the vehicles 

that increase a lot in the 2020 Hagerty Price Guides? It is impossible to 

know for certain, but it looks more and more like younger generations are 

driving the collector car market. 

18


2019 FAVORITES BY SHARE OF QUOTES 

38% 

40% 

42% 

44% 

46% 48% 

PRE-BOOMER 

1981-1989 Lincoln Town Car 

1980-1983 Lincoln Continental Mk VI 

1946-1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster 

1949-1954 Chrysler Windsor 

1961-1963 Buick Skylark 

1961-1964 Pontiac Catalina 

1960-1964 Chrysler New Yorker 

1992-2003 Ferrari 456 

2014-2015 Porsche 918 Spyder 

1958-1960 Ford Thunderbird 

1953-1954 Chevrolet 150 

1999-2002 Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG W210 

1946-1947 Cadillac Series 62 

1958-1966 Pontiac Star Chief 

1970-1978 Triumph Stag 

1957-1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 

1962-1963 Mercury Meteor 

1977-1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II 

1948-1950 Packard Eight 

1985-1997 Bentley Turbo R 

+47% 

Yes, cushy 

Lincolns still 

appeal to older 

buyers. 

BOOMER 

1967-1970 Shelby GT500 

1963-1974 Lotus Elan 

1968-1971 BMW 2800CS 1972-1975 3.0CS 

1968-1970 Plymouth GTX 

1967-1970 Cadillac Eldorado 

1968-1970 Plymouth Road Runner 

1968-1972 Chevrolet El Camino 

1965-1970 Plymouth Satellite 

1969-1972 Pontiac Grand Prix 

2004-2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 

1962-1964 Dodge Polara 

1964-1967 Plymouth Belvedere 

1964-1967 Chevrolet El Camino 

1962-1980 Triumph Spitfire 

1968-1970 American Motors AMX 

1975-1981 Triumph TR7 

1971-1976 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 

1985-1988 Cadillac DeVille 

1964-1967 Pontiac GTO 

1968-1973 Chevrolet Corvette 

+46% 

Boomers still 

want the muscle 

cars of their 

youth. 

38% 

40% 

42% 

44% 

46% 48% 

19


2019 FAVORITES BY SHARE OF QUOTES 

GEN X 

30% 

40% 50% 

60% 70% 80% 90% 

1981-1986 Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler 


1988 BMW M5 (E28) 

1978-1987 Buick Regal 

1968-1983 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 

1959-1960 Chevrolet Bel Air 


1959-1971 Land Rover Series II/Series IIA 

1968-1970 Dodge Coronet 

1999-2005 Ferrari 360 

1963-1983 Jeep Wagoneer 

1976-1986 Jeep CJ-7 

1970-1978 AMC Gremlin 

1973-1976 Chevrolet Caprice Classic 

1994-1999 Ferrari F355 

1987-1993 Ford Mustang 

1989-1995 Ferrari 348 

1965-1970 Oldsmobile 88 

1973-1991 Chevrolet Suburban 

1991-1992 GMC Syclone 

+45% 

of quotes issued 

for the Scrambler 

are to 

Gen Xers. 

MILLENNIAL 

1989-1993 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) 



1989-1991 BMW Z1 

1993-1998 Toyota Supra 

1983-1992 Volkswagen Golf Mk II 

1977-1978 Buick Riviera 

1998-2003 BMW M5 (E39) 

1986-1992 Mazda RX-7 

1993-1996 Mazda RX-7 

1991-1993 BMW M5 (E34) 

1972-1984 BMW 5-Series 

1972-1987 Alfa Romeo Alfetta 

2000-2006 BMW M3 

1972-1980 Mercedes-Benz W116 

1965-1968 Ford Custom 

1975-1980 Volvo 244 

1988-1996 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 

1981-1993 Dodge Ramcharger 

1984-1993 BMW 3-Series (E30) 

+90% 

Millennials love 

Skyline GT-Rs. 

So far, no one 

else does. 

30% 

40% 50% 

60% 70% 80% 90% 

20


BEHIND THE NUMBERS 

By digging into the Hagerty Insurance policy quote data, we can find 

out who is driving the increases and decreases in values in the collector 

car market. Hagerty policy quote data includes the relevant information 

needed to insure that vehicle, so a quote has the vehicle, the age of the 

owner, and the value the owner ascribes to it. The age of the owner and 

the vehicle on the quote are, for our purposes, the most useful pieces of 

information. 

While it is tempting to use the owner’s idea of the value of the vehicle, 

the condition, history, and exact specification are often unknown, so the 

quote values are noisy data. For this reason, we aligned the quotes with 

Hagerty Price Guide data. 

Quotes are often created when an owner is shopping for a vehicle or 

has just purchased it. They are a leading indicator of the collector car market. 

The price guide values utilize these sales, which have occurred over a 

period of time, to inform new value levels. Consequently, the price guide 

(in its present form) lags the market. Therefore, we compared quotes in 

one year with the Price Guide values of the following year. A quote for a 

1967 Chevrolet Corvette made in 2017, for instance, is matched to how 

price guide values for a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette changed in 2018. 

Another step in the process is to aggregate the data by generations. 

We do this both for the vehicles and the buyers. So, those quotes and value 

changes for the 1967 Corvette are aggregated in the 1963–1967 Chevrolet 

Corvette vehicle generation. And rather than compare how many 52-yearolds 

and 35-year-olds are quoting a 1963–1967 Chevrolet Corvette, it is 

more reliable to group these owners into Pre-Boomers, Boomers, Gen 

X, and Millennials. That way each owner group stays the same for each 

calendar year. (Since we’re always getting older, the particular collectors 

in any age bracket, such as 35- to 45-year-olds, change from year to year.) 

Finally, the concentrations of each population generation’s quotes for 

a particular vehicle generation in one year were compared to the average 

price guide condition #3 value change for that same vehicle generation for 

the following year. If one generation represented the majority of quotes 

for a vehicle generation in, say, 2017, and the average #3 price guide value 

for that same vehicle generation went up or down in 2018, that generation 

appears to have moved the market for those vehicles in 2018. If that has 

happened consistently for a couple of years and across vehicle generations, 

we can find out who is driving the collector car market. 

21

SHOP TALK 

LET IT BE 

Deciding when to restore your classic—and 

knowing when you shouldn’t. 

BY COLIN COMER 

23

SHOP TALK 

I 

restored my first car when I was 13 years old, and I did 

everything wrong. Not the actual work, mind you, but 

the very first step. The one where I decided to restore 

the car. In the decades since, I’ve talked more people 

out of restoring cars than into restoring cars. That’s a 

pretty surprising statement from a guy who owns a restoration 

shop, but allow me to explain. 

The main consideration people tend to gloss over is financial. Restoration 

shop rates hover around $125 per hour, and the average billable 

labor time to restore a reasonably solid and not overly complex car is 1000 

hours. That math may be just fine on a Ferrari 275GTB/4 worth $2.5 million, 

but it sure doesn’t map out well for your $10,000 Datsun 280ZX. 

Another trap is the belief that you can “partially” restore a car. The cost 

The tide is turning in the collector car world. 

Originality and preservation are 

becoming far more important than 

perfect paint and new leather. 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY SHORE 

of even limited work is rarely returned come sale time unless it has corrected 

major sins, such as an incorrect color change or significant rust or 

damage. And it is often a very slippery slope that ends with runaway costs. 

For example: A car with paint, chrome, and trim that all show consistent 

age can’t just be repainted without making the chrome and trim stick out 

like a sore thumb. 

Also consider that some of what you might be “fixing” is a part of the 

car’s history and character. The tide is turning in the collector car world. 

Originality and preservation are becoming far more important than perfect 

paint and new leather, and the market is reflecting these changing 

preferences. We’ve seen it time and time again with Mercedes-Benz 

24

SHOP TALK 

Even when restored cars get more, 

it’s often not that much more. 

300SL Gullwings. These are hugely complex and costly cars to restore, 

yet ratty “barn finds” often sell for as much, or even more, than flawlessly 

restored examples. 

Even when restored cars get more, it’s often not that much more. A 

woman recently contacted me whose husband had passed away while his 

vintage Shelby Mustang was being restored. They’d owned the car since 

new, and while it was in nice original condition, it had been in storage 

for years, so the husband decided to send it to a shop. The goal was to get 

it cleaned up and running, then sell it. But as the wife discovered sifting 

through her late husband’s bills, he had gone down the dangerous path of 

“If we do this, we should also do that….” The car was more than five years 

and $130,000 into a concours restoration. 

I visited the shop on her behalf to get a handle on what stage the restoration 

was in and to plan what to do next. The work was about 90 percent 

complete and had been done to a very high standard—the car looked 

great. I reviewed the invoices line by line and found the charges more 

than reasonable. The only thing the shop may have done wrong, I told the 

25

SHOP TALK 

widow, was not telling her husband plainly how little their work would 

add to the car’s market value. A running, driving, one-owner Shelby with 

tired cosmetics and some visible issues would have been worth somewhere 

around $100,000. Spruced up a bit, maybe it would have been 

worth another $25,000—about what that sprucing may have cost. But 

after a concours restoration that will ultimately cost about $150,000? I 

suspect the car will be worth $175,000. Which is to say the widow can 

expect a dollar back for every two spent on the restoration. (Of course, 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that such a car is an excellent buy. A car 

that’s just been restored typically represents a 50-percent-off sale, with 

none of the headaches. Just be sure to verify that the work was done correctly, 

by a reputable shop.) 

26

SHOP TALK 

There are exceptions to this rule. Find a significant car languishing in a 

barn, restore it regardless of cost, and win a meaningful award such as best 

in show at Pebble Beach, and the value equation can change greatly. Many 

collectors have tried this and missed, though; only a few, truly special cars 

win these coveted awards. 

On a smaller scale, let’s say you find a long-lost 1965 Shelby GT350 and 

get a great deal on it. Due to the high value of stellar 1965 GT350s, and the 

reasonably inexpensive cost, comparatively, to restore a Mustang to concours 

condition, you could haul it around to important judged Shelby and 

Mustang national shows, collect a trunk full of “validation” trophies, and 

come out ahead in the end. Plus have a little fun along the way. 

But don’t let this example lead you astray. Many people think “hot” 

vehicles like 1966–77 Ford Broncos offer an opportunity to restore for fun 

and profit. They do not. Even though they’re simple and parts are cheap, 

you’re still on the hook for those $125-an-hour shop rates. You just can’t 

You have a car you love and want to restore it 

to enjoy it more. That’s commendable, 

but let me assure you it often isn’t that simple. 

make that rusty Bronco into a $150,000 truck for less than $150,000. 

Perhaps you’ve read this far and decided you simply don’t care about 

the cost. You have a car you love and want to restore it to enjoy it more. 

That’s commendable, but let me assure you it often isn’t that simple. To 

start, you’ll lose the use of the car during the restoration, which could be 

months but is typically years. When the car is finished, you’ll most likely 

not use it, for fear of damaging its expensive, flawless restoration. And 

if you do use it, you’ll do so knowing every mile is chipping away at this 

dearly purchased perfection. 

I’m not saying you’re wrong to spend far more on a car’s restoration 

than the car is worth because you’re going to “keep it forever.” Trouble is, 

I’ve rarely seen that actually be the case after the dust settles. Either the 

completed car just isn’t as enjoyable as the owner hoped, or they are afraid 

of damaging it, or the restoration process itself was such a scarring experience 

that seeing the car makes the owner relive the horror. 

Please don’t get me wrong: I love restoring cars. I want to make them 

27

SHOP TALK 

perfect, and lots of intelligent people dive head-first into restorations 

knowing they will easily exceed the value of their cars. As long as the 

reasons for doing so make sense to the person writing the checks, the 

rewards, albeit not financial, are often far more compelling and worthwhile. 

Especially when one chooses the right restorer and the finished 

product meets all expectations and is enjoyable to use. After all, nothing 

can transport us back in time like that old high school car, or piling your 

family into the same station wagon your parents drove you around in. 

Yet, no matter the reason, restorations should not be entered into 

lightly. Carefully consider what you hope to gain. Physically review your 

car with a professional familiar with the exact make and model, and make 

sure to discuss what you want in the end. 

The solution I frequently recommend: Make a list of the areas or 

defects that detract from your enjoyment and focus on those. The benefits 

are many, not the least of which is a huge savings of cash and downtime 

for your car. When approached sensibly, much of this work won’t have to 

be re-done if you decide later to embark on a total restoration. 

Above all, if you love your car and enjoy using it the way it is, don’t 

restore it in an attempt to please others or increase its value. Because the 

real value lies in the pleasure we all get from using our cars, and I find a 

lot more joy in adding stone chips than fearing them. 

28

ULTIMATE PORSCHES 

MESSING WITH 

PERFECTION 

What are the long-term 

prospects of modified 911s? 

BY ROB SASS 

29


F 

or the first thirty years or so of Porsche’s existence, 

the prevailing attitude toward modifying 

Porsche sports cars was a militant “don’t.” Altering 

what God and Ferdinand Porsche (often 

viewed as one and the same) wrought was seen 

as heresy, blasphemy, and apostasy all rolled 

into one ticket to eternal damnation. Aside from the occasional California 

custom build or European-coachbuilt 356, that rule was seldom broken. 

Until, that is, someone broke it. In the mid-1970s, German designer 

Rainer Buchmann and his company b+b Auto Exclusiv Service turned out 

flamboyant 911 and 928 builds. They were mainly cosmetic—think wild 

graphics, bright blue suede interiors, and expensive stereos. They look as 

The classic 911, once immutable perfection, 

has become a canvas. 

But are these cars sound investments? 

The answer, naturally, is complicated. 

PREVIOUS PAGE: EVAN KLEIN 

tasteful to today’s eyes as one of Elvis’s leisure suits, but they cracked the 

floodgates for modified Porsches. The 1980s brought well-regarded work 

by engineering-minded shops, which proved that the original could in 

fact be improved upon or, at least, made a helluva lot faster. In 1987, Road 

& Track took a 911 modified by Alois Ruf, the 469-hp CTR “Yellowbird,” 

to 211 mph, smoking a brace of other supercars including a Lamborghini 

Countach, a Ferrari 288GTO, and Porsche’s own 959. 

Today, people will pay upward of $500,000 for top Porsche customizations 

from the likes of Singer Vehicle Design, Gunther Werks, and the 

inveterate Ruf, and there’s a gamut of other modifications and styles, from 

Outlaws to R Gruppe. The classic 911, once immutable perfection, has 

become a canvas. But are these cars sound investments? 

30


Singer Vehicle Design has emerged as the premier shop for modifying 964-chassis 

air-cooled Porsches with upgraded mechanicals and meticulous finishes. 

DREW PHILLIPS, COURTESY SINGER VEHICLE DESIGN 

For the sake of simplicity, you can divide the world of modified vintage 

Porsches into two categories—cars that are essentially nostalgia plays that 

appeal to someone with a sense of irony and a burning desire to attract a 

lot of attention at Radwood, and the legit cars. Non-factory 930-generation 

slant-nose cars and cars built by the likes of the aforementioned b+b, Gemballa, 

and Strosek fall into the nostalgia category. The “legit” cars with real 

performance cred from Ruf, Kremer, and Koenig were thoroughly vetted, 

well engineered, and, in some cases, had at least tacit support from Porsche. 

For now, the market isn’t differentiating between these categories as 

much as you’d think. Call it the Radwood Effect—or, more broadly, the 

influence of Gen X and Millennial buyers—but at the moment, nostalgia for 

the ’80s is hot. As objectively silly as a white-with-white-leather Gemballa 

Avalanche is, what better way to personify the era than a car that looks like 

it was designed by a sentient bag of cocaine? Ditto most of Strosek’s bizarre 

911 builds, whose vestigial headlights mimic the eyes of a blind cave fish. 

Once nostalgia dies down, as it inevitably will, there won’t be much 

love among collectors for Gemballas, Stroseks, and other builds from 

31


The enduring legend of the Yellowbird 

means anything that comes out of 

Ruf ’s small shop in Pfaffenhausen, 

Germany, today is likely to be valuable 

as long as cars are collected. 

RICHARD PARDON 

lesser names that traded on outrageous appearance. People who don’t 

remember Miami Vice will probably view these cars for what they are— 

taste-challenged oddities. 

Those Porsches in the legit category, however, will probably remain 

strong for the foreseeable future. That applies, first and foremost, to Rufs. 

“Ruf is sort of the granddaddy of Porsche tuners,” notes Nathan Merz, a 

Seattle-based dealer, collector, and restorer of vintage, mainly air-cooled, 

Porsches. “And the fact that he’s still at it just as strong as ever enhances 

the reputation of his older cars, which, frankly, weren’t in need of much 

reputational enhancement.” The enduring legend of the Yellowbird means 

anything that comes out of the tuner’s small shop in Pfaffenhausen, Germany, 

is likely to be valuable as long as cars are collected. An original Ruf 

CTR can fetch $350,000 to $500,000—or about double the original price 

32


Collectors are also paying for the quality 

of the work itself, something that should 

carry over to newer firms, like Singer, 

doing impeccable restorations. 

of $249,000. But collectors are also paying for the quality of the work 

itself, something that should carry over to newer firms doing impeccable 

restorations. “Even though they’re much younger, I’d put Porsches modified 

by Singer in the same category,” Merz says. 

If there are clear predictions of values at the extremes, it’s muddier in the 

middle. “We’ll have to wait and see how things go for newcomers like the 

Guntherwerks 400R,” says Merz. The jury is also still out on 911s that have 

been “backdated” with body panels and lighting that make them appear 

older. Right now, the market prefers long-hood (1964–73) 911s over shorthood 

cars (1974–89). Merz thinks that will fade, leaving a bunch of later 

911s with non-original bodywork. “Porsches restored by Singer will be fine, 

because their reputation is so well-established, but the no-name backdated 

cars will probably lose value. We might even see some of them converted 

back to stock short-hood cars or stock 964-generation cars,” he says. 

It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened. “Cut” Ferrari 

365 GTB/4 Daytonas (coupes that have been converted into Spyders) 

once sold for a large premium over stock Daytona coupes. Now, they’re 

selling at a discount. 

Of course, all this ignores another, more important consideration: Do 

you want a modified Porsche 911? The 911 has been the basis for modifiers 

for more than 45 years because it’s a supremely usable car, meant to 

be driven often—daily, if possible. If mechanical modernization or sympathetic 

restyling will help you get your Porsche out of the garage and onto 

the streets, go for it. The market is going to do what the market is going 

to do—none of us has any control over that. What we can control is how 

often we get out and enjoy our cars. 

Rob Sass is the Editor-in-Chief of Porsche Panorama, the official publication 

of The Porsche Club of America. 

33

MARKET SPOTLIGHT 

KILLER Bs 

Group B rally cars pushed the limits 

of safety and sanity. You should buy one. 

BY ANDREW NEWTON 

34

MARKET WATCH 

It’s impolite to say so, but the essential allure of racing 

is the savagery of it all. Strip away the corporate sponsorships 

and technological wizardry, and you have 

people hurtling around in boxes filled with fuel, while 

other people watch. This has always been true, but it 

was never more evident than in the Group B era of the 

World Rally Championship, from 1982 to 1986, when some of the quickest 

and most sophisticated cars on the planet hurtled through twisty, narrow 

stages bordered not by guardrails or tire walls but human beings. 

The lawlessness of Group B was by design. To lure in large automakers, 

the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) left rules intentionally 

vague and open to interpretation. Cars needed a fixed roof, two seats 

Some of the most sophisticated and quickest 

cars on the planet hurtled through twisty, 

narrow stages bordered not by guardrails 

or tire walls, but human beings. 

PREVIOUS: LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC 

side by side, and a minimum weight determined by engine displacement, 

with forced induction displacement calculated at a multiplier of 1.4x. 

Finally, carmakers had to build 200 examples in a 12-month period to 

homologate the car—half as many as had been required in the Group 4 

class that came before. 

The FIA’s gambit worked. Factory-backed teams dumped Formula 1 

money and technical expertise into hot rodding compact cars. The fiveyear 

run saw horsepower double, along with advancements in everything 

from drivetrain technology and aerodynamics to the way teams are 

managed. Group B cars were so fast and their rides so jarring that some 

drivers suffered from tunnel vision and needed spinal decompression 

between stages. 

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MARKET WATCH 

The cars came to be known as Killer Bs, 

which wasn’t cute wordplay. People died. 

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC 

The cars’ unbelievable performance drew huge crowds, and rally organizers 

did little to protect them. Nothing stopped spectators stepping out 

into the road in the middle of a run; some fans even tried to touch speeding 

rally cars as they raced, or literally flew, by. The Peugeot and Lancia 

teams reportedly found hair and blood—even severed fingers—in the cars’ 

ducts between stages (although no fans are known to have tried to reclaim 

lost digits). 

The cars came to be known as Killer Bs, which wasn’t cute wordplay. 

People died. Attilio Bettega’s Lancia took his life at the 1985 Tour de Corse 

(Corsica). At Portugal in 1986, Joaquim Santos crashed his Ford into a 

crowd of people, killing several. The death of star driver Henri Toivonen 

and his co-driver in another Lancia at Corsica in 1986 was the last straw. 

For 1987, the sport’s governing body ended Group B and reverted toplevel 

rallying to the much more pedestrian Group A. 

36


Given their rarity, their performance (ludicrous, even by modern standards), 

and their connection to one of motorsports’ most exciting chapters, 

you’d think Group B cars would be highly coveted. Yet they were hard 

to sell when new and remained sleepy in the market for years. Blame, 

Some of the younger generation are now 

at a point where they can afford to buy a 

car they watched as a youngster on a World 

Rally stage being driven by their hero. 

COURTESY AUDI MOTORSPORT 

perhaps, the fact that most look like 1980s compact cars. 

These days, however, boxy sports cars from the 1980s are gaining traction 

in the collector car market, and they don’t get much sportier (or boxier) 

than Group B rally cars. They’re bringing prices well into six figures 

now—more than a million dollars in one instance. 

“Some of the younger generation are now at a point where they can 

afford to buy a car they watched as a youngster on a World Rally stage 

being driven by their hero,” says Max Girardo, whose dealership Girardo 

& Co. regularly buys and sells Group B rally and road cars. 

Collectors are even learning to appreciate the practicality that comes 

from most of the cars being based, albeit loosely, on modern econoboxes. 

“These cars are usable and enjoyable, with many having played an 

important role in motorsport history,” Girardo adds. 

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MARKET WATCH 

They’re eligible for concours events and vintage rallies, but thanks to their 

road titles, homologated versions can just as easily be driven to the local 

Cars and Coffee. “You can’t do that with an F1 car, can you?” says Girardo. 

Once confined mostly to European auctions, Group B cars are also 

showing up in America, where they were never officially sold and where 

most people only know Group B from watching the cars slide, skid, and 

narrowly miss spectators on YouTube. 

Because Group B regulations were so loose, there are a variety of cars to 

buy, from the Ford RS200, with its legendary (and laggy) turbo Cosworth 

engine, to the Austin Metro 6R4, which utilized a larger displacement, 

naturally aspirated mill. Three cars in particular, though, best represent 

what Group B was all about, and each offers a different price point in 

Group B collecting. These are the Audi Sport Quattro, the Peugeot 205 

T16, and the Lancia Delta S4. 

Audi Sport Quattro 

Massive turbo chirping and whooshing, flames spewing out of the exhaust 

pipe, and a shovel-sized air intake: The Sport Quattro is the poster child 

of the Group B era. 

The Sport Quattro should not be confused with Audi’s Ur- (“Original”) 

Quattro. That car revolutionized rallying with four-wheel drive, yet actually 

predates the Group B class. The Ur-Quattro did participate in the 

early days of the series and was highly competitive, thanks to the massive 

power from its 2.1-liter five-cylinder turbo, consistent improvements 

in four-wheel drive, and the sheer talent of drivers like Hannu Mikkola, 

TIM SCOTT, COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY’S 

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MARKET WATCH 

DIRK DE JAGER, COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY’S 

Stig Blomqvist, and Michèle Mouton—1982 runner up and closest we’ve 

ever come to a female world motorsports champion. Yet the Quattro, 

being based on a production car, soon proved too tame for anything-goes 

rally racing. In particular, its engine sat too far forward in the chassis, 

compromising handling. Lancia snatched the Manufacturers’ Championship 

with its supercharged rear-wheel-drive 037 in 1983. 

Audi’s answer was the Sport Quattro. It was more than a foot shorter 

than the Ur-Quattro and featured carbon-Kevlar body panels, wider 

wheels, and brakes derived from the Porsche 917 prototype race car. It 

wrested the Manufacturers’ Championship and Drivers’ (for Blomqvist) 

Championships back from Lancia in 1984. 

Audi built a total of 214 Sport Quattros for Group B homologation, and 

a little more than 160 of those were sold to European customers for an 

eye-popping 200,000 Deutsche Marks (the equivalent of over $70,000 

at the time), making them more expensive than a Porsche 930 and even 

some Ferraris. 

Then again, the Audi was quicker. 

In road trim, the Sport Quattro put out a reported 302 hp and 258 

lb-ft of torque, came with fully adjustable all-wheel drive and anti-lock 

brakes from the rally version, and could scoot to 60 mph in less than five 

seconds. And though it wasn’t quite plush—Audi’s sumptuous interior 

designs would come later—it was certainly nicer than most race cars. 

“The build quality is the best out of all the Group B road cars, and it is 

the most compliant on the road, so it is the most usable,” says Girardo. 

Once they hit the second-hand market, Sport Quattros didn’t come 

39

MARKET WATCH 

up for sale much, until recent years. The results, while not exactly cheap, 

were still quite modest compared to today. An ex-works rally car sold for 

$168,000 at a UK auction in 2003, then one sold for €103,500 (about 

$160,000 at the time) in Monaco in 2008. Even Stig Blomqvist’s 1982 

Quattro Rally car sold for just £58,700 (about $105,000 at the time) in 

London in 2004. And as recently as 2013, a 39,000-km Sport Quattro 

sold for £115,740 (about $183,000 at the time). 

Then, RM Sotheby’s sold a two-owner 8300-km Sport Quattro in January 

2015 for $401,500. That sale set a new benchmark, and Sport Quattros 

have since come to market more often and brought a lot more money. 

One sold a couple of months later in March for £287,100 ($430,000). 

Another, rated in #2+ condition, brought £403,200 ($530,000) in 2016, 

and yet another, rated in #2- condition, sold for $484,000 at Quail Lodge 

in 2017. The most recent result for a Sport Quattro was a car rated in #2- 

condition that sold for $434,000 at Amelia Island this year. The Sport 

Quattro is the only Group B car currently in the Hagerty Price Guide, and 

since the beginning of 2015, #2 values are up 118 percent, to $440,000. 

Peugeot 205 T16 

The Audis, Lancias, and Fords were arguably the most exciting Group B 

cars to look at and watch, but there is no arguing that the Peugeot 205 T16 

was the most successful. When it debuted mid-1984, it was clear that the 

Peugeot was a cut above despite being down on power. See, Peugeot took 

full advantage of Group B’s regulations (or lack thereof). The 205 T16 was 

a hot hatch on steroids, with a turbo engine mounted where the rear seats 

COURTESY BONHAMS 

40

MARKET WATCH 

REMI DARGEGEN, COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY’S 

should be, and all-wheel drive. Smaller and nimbler than the Audi, it quickly 

became the car to beat and took the last two Group B titles in 1985 and ’86. 

Since the 200 road cars for homologation were mostly an afterthought, 

Peugeot made things easy for itself, building all 200 to the same specs 

and in the same colors. They were still priced in league with larger, prettier, 

sports cars from the likes of Porsche and Ferrari, which made the 

little super-hatch a hard sell. Regardless of its pedigree and performance, 

on paper (197 horsepower from a 1775-cc turbo four) the road car wasn’t 

impressive for the price. The fact that it looked a lot like a front-drive 205 

GTi didn’t help, either, even though the T16 was an entirely different car 

aside from the windscreen, doors, and headlamps. Back in 1994, Christie’s 

reportedly sold one for just £22,000 (about $32,300 at the time). 

As is the case for all the Group B machines, 205 T16s rarely come up 

for sale. A 205 T16 sold at Quail Lodge in 2017 (rated #3+ condition) for 

$198,000, a former rally car sold for €172,840 ($184,000) at Rétromobile 

in 2017, a 200-km road car sold for €184,760 ($214,700) at Sur Le Champs 

in 2017, and one sold at Rétromobile last year for €154,960 ($189,800). 

Another one, in #3+ condition, sold for $198,000 at Quail Lodge three 

years ago, then sold again for $156,800 at Amelia Island last year. 

In the 1980s, GM purchased two 205 T16 road cars to research Peugeot’s 

four-wheel-drive system, extensively evaluating and modifying one, and 

preserving the other for reference. Both sold at Scottsdale last year, with 

the research car selling for $146,300 and the other selling for $187,000. 

A going rate shy of $200,000 makes the Peugeot more affordable than 

the equivalent Audi and Lancia. That’s probably because the road-going 

41

MARKET WATCH 

version of the Peugeot is down on performance compared to the others 

and isn’t as exciting to look at. Yet considering it was the most successful 

of the three on the sand, snow, and gravel of the World Rally Championship, 

it seems like the best value. 

COURTESY LANCIA 

Lancia Delta S4 

Of all the outrageous, fire-spitting cars to come out of the Group B era, the 

Lancia Delta S4 is perhaps the most extreme and the most clever, even if it 

never took home a championship. 

Even after claiming the 1983 title with the rear-drive 037, Lancia had 

to admit four-wheel drive was the way of the future. Like Peugeot, Lancia 

designed a race car around Group B regulations for maximum potency on 

the world’s rally stages. The resulting car may have been called a Delta, but 

it had almost nothing in common with Lancia’s small family hatchback. 

Underneath detachable, two-piece composite bodywork was a tubular 

spaceframe chassis with double wishbone suspension at both ends. Its 

state-of-the-art four-wheel-drive system sent most of its torque rearward. 

To combat the lag endemic to many 1980s turbos, Lancia got even more 

clever and fitted both a Volumex supercharger and a KKK turbocharger 

to the S4’s mid-mounted, oversquare Abarth-developed 1.8-liter four. The 

idea was to widen the power curve, with the supercharger giving boost at 

lower rpms for blasting out of slow corners, and the turbocharger providing 

maximum power at higher rpms. The car was a winner right out of 

the box, scoring a 1-2 finish at the 1985 RAC Rally, its debut event. About 

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MARKET WATCH 

500 hp was the norm in the rally cars, and cranking up the boost provided 

even more. Legend has it that during testing for the Rallye de Portugal, an 

S4 lapped the Estoril Formula 1 circuit fast enough to qualify in the top 10 

for that year’s Grand Prix. 

The Delta S4 is also the car that effectively killed the series. Henri Toivonen, 

a gifted 29-year-old Finn whom many commentators regarded as 

the only driver capable of taming the S4, was leading the 1986 Tour de 

Legend has it that during testing for the 

Rallye de Portugal, an S4 lapped the Estoril 

Formula 1 circuit fast enough to qualify in 

the top 10 for that year’s Grand Prix. 


Corse rally by a large margin before going off and plunging into a ravine 

on the event’s 19th stage. The fuel tank, unprotected by a skid plate and 

placed right under the seats, burst into flames, killing both Toivonen and 

his co-driver Sergio Cresto. It was the Lancia team’s second fatality in 

Corsica in as many years. Within hours, the car’s remains practically still 

smoldering, Group B was effectively banned for the 1987 season. Ford and 

Audi withdrew from the class immediately, and the following year many 

Group B machines were relegated to rallycross racing. 

Like many Group B road cars, the Delta S4 was hard to offload when 

it was new. The bonkers twin-charged powertrain, with 250 hp in road 

43

MARKET WATCH 


trim, was not enough to offset its 100 million lire (roughly $55,000) 

price tag and goofy looks. Delta S4 Stradales supposedly remained 

unsold at dealerships well into the 1990s, which is even more damning 

than it sounds given that Lancia likely didn’t even build the required 200 

examples to qualify the S4 for Group B. Number fudging for homologation 

is not at all unheard of in racing, especially among the Italians, and 

Lancia may have built as few as 70 S4s. As little as 15 years ago, these 

machines drew minimal interest: Christie’s sold one for the princely sum 

of £34,075 (about $65,600). 

How times have changed. As the most extreme and most infamous 

of the Group B cars, as well as one of the rarest, the Delta S4 is also the 

most expensive in today’s market. A 2200-km, like-new Stradale (street 

version) recently sold for €1,040,000 ($1,166,000) at the RM Sotheby’s 

Essen sale, well over its €500,000 estimate. That makes it the most 

expensive Group B car ever sold, surpassing the €770,000 ($863,400) for 

a 3500-km Lancia 037 Stradale that had sold one lot before. Previously, 

the record price for a Delta S4 Stradale was €492,800 ($554,000) at Villa 

Erba two years ago. Otherwise, the going rate for an S4 in recent years has 

been a bit ahead of the Audi Sport Quattro, in the mid-$400,000 range; 

one sold at Pebble Beach in 2016 for $440,000 (rated #2 condition), one 

at Quail Lodge in 2017 for $440,000 (rated #3 condition), and another at 

Quail Lodge in 2018 for $423,000 (rated #2 condition). The Essen result 

looks like something of an outlier, then, but for now the Lancia Delta S4 

is the only million-dollar Group B car. 

44

ON THE BLOCK 

MOVING METAL 

IN MONTEREY 

More than $300 million typically changes hands as 

collector cars cross the auction block during Monterey Car Week. 

Here are some of the heavy hitters to watch this year. 

45

ON THE BLOCK 

ANDREW TRAHAN 

1939 Porsche Type 64 

ESTIMATE $20,000,000 | RM SOTHEBY’S | MONTEREY 

I 

s 

a frail, 50-hp prewar German car that never raced in period worth $20 

million? Yeah, probably. Ostensibly based on the Volkswagen Type 60 

KdF-wagen, which became known postwar as the Beetle, the Type 

64 was actually an exquisite, Porsche-designed bespoke racing car 

(the Nazis never minded twisting the truth for propaganda). The streamlined, 

envelope aluminum body was designed by Erwin Komenda (who styled the 

production Porsche 356 a decade later) and built by Karosserie Reutter. It was 

to compete in the Berlin-to-Rome race, scheduled for June of 1940, which ultimately 

was called off on account of the Nazi invasion of France. 

Historians believe that three Type 64s were built. One, likely partially completed, 

was destroyed during the war. The second was abused as a U.S. Army motor 

pool hack and subsequently scrapped. The sole surviving Type 64 became the 

property of Austrian racer Otto Mathé, who held on to it until 1995. That is the 

car RM Sotheby’s is selling in Monterey. (The Type 64 that has been displayed in 

places like the Porsche Museum and Rennsport Reunion VI is a replica.) 

The $20 million presale estimate easily eclipses the existing Porsche auction 

record of $14.5 million for a 917K. It’s a lot of money, to be sure, but we’re 

talking about the literal ground zero for one of the most storied marques in 

automobiledom. 

Johan Dillen, who actually drove the Type 64 for an upcoming story in Porsche 

Panorama, said this about the car: “It’s painfully noisy, and it lacks power, but it 

does instinctively what all Porsches want to do—chase for speed.” —ROB SASS 

46

ON THE BLOCK 

47

ON THE BLOCK 

1954 Ferrari 250 Monza 

ESTIMATE $10,000,000 | MECUM | THE DAYTIME AUCTION 

COURTESY MECUM 

Originally fitted with Pinin Farina Spider bodywork in 1954, Chassis 0432M first 

raced in Europe, including at Monza and the Mille Miglia. It then received a rebody 

with a “pontoon” fender nose by Scaglietti and sold to Luigi Chinetti in the 

U.S. This foreshadowed the famous 250 Testa Rossa and makes Chassis 0432M 

possibly the very first pontoon-bodied Ferrari. RM sold the car in Monterey 20 

years ago for $2.97 million. 

48

ON THE BLOCK 

1962 Ferrari 250 California 

SWB Spider by Scaglietti 


The second-to-last California Spider and reportedly the only SWB (short wheelbase) 

example in unrestored condition, this boasts just four owners in the last 50 

years. While SWB Cal Spiders are more desirable than the earlier LWB cars, this 

is also an open-headlight car. The more attractive closed-headlight version can 

carry a roughly $3 million premium, but any good documented example is an 

eight-figure car, and this one’s level of preservation makes it a standout. 

COURTESY RM SOTHEBY’S, GOODING & COMPANY 

1958 Ferrari 250GT 

Tour de France Berlinetta 

ESTIMATE $9,800,000 | GOODING & COMPANY 

THE PEBBLE BEACH AUCTIONS 

One of just 78 built and one of 36 with a single louver on the B-pillar (there were 

also three-louver and 14-louver versions), Chassis 0903 GT was delivered new 

to Sweden. It was restored in the United States in 2012. The TdF scored four 

straight victories in the grueling 3600-mile Tour de France (hence the name) as 

well as dozens of other races, making it one of Ferrari’s most successful, and 

valuable, GT cars. 

49

ON THE BLOCK 

1958 Ferrari 250 GT SWB 


The 250 GT SWB was one of the last dual-purpose road race/GT cars, the sort 

you could drive to the track, win a race in, and then drive home. And you’d look 

great doing it. Ferrari built a little over 160 SWBs. Gooding & Company offered 

Chassis 3359 GT here three years ago, but it failed to meet reserve at a $9.3 

million high bid. 

COURTESY RM SOTHEBY’S 

1962 Ferrari 196 SP by Fantuzzi 


Originally fitted with a 2.4-liter V-8, Chassis 0806 first raced at Sebring in 1962, 

then at the Nürburgring with a different V-8 before being rebuilt to 196 SP 

specifications, with a Dino V-6, and raced further in the United States. It sold 

at Quail Lodge 20 years ago for $1.285 million. Its sister car, the V-8-powered 

268SP (Chassis 0798) appeared here three years ago but hammered not sold at 

a $12.5 million high bid. 

50

ON THE BLOCK 

1975 Ferrari 312T Niki Lauda 



Ferrari won its first F1 World Constructors Championship since 1964 thanks in 

large part to this car, not to mention the determination and talents of driver Niki 

Lauda, who passed away in May. He drove Chassis 022 to victory in the French 

Grand Prix and was on the podium at both the Dutch and German Grands Prix 

with it. Of the five championship races in which Lauda piloted 022, he qualified 

on pole for all five. 


1955 Ferrari 375 MM Coupe 

Speciale by Ghia 


Ferrari built the 375 MM for racing, but a few were commissioned for road use. 

One was built for actress Ingrid Bergman with Pinin Farina bodywork, while this 

car was ordered with one-off alloy Ghia bodywork by Robert Wilke of Milwaukee. 

It appeared at the 1955 Torino motor show and New York auto show in this unusual 

salmon and gray color scheme. It was last seen at auction in Gstaad in 2002, 

where it failed to meet reserve. 

51

ON THE BLOCK 

1965 Aston Martin DB5 007 


Two DB5s were modified for the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. After the movie’s 

smashing success and the spike in DB5 sales, two more cars, including this 

one, were modified to 007-specs to promote the next installment, Thunderball. 

This DB5 was restored in 2012, and its special-effects spy gadgets reportedly 

work. RM sold it in 2006, before the restoration, for $2.09 million. In 2010, one of 

the original two Goldfinger cars changed hands for $4.6 million. 

1952 Ferrari 225 Sport Spider by Vignale 



Powered by a 2715-cc, 210-hp V-12 and one of only a dozen Sport Spiders bodied 

by Vignale, this car has extensive period hillclimb and race history in Britain, 

including a third overall finish at Goodwood with Grand Prix driver and future Le 

Mans winner Roy Salvadori at the wheel. It also raced in Argentina before being 

restored in the U.S. in the early 2000s. It’s eligible for classic events like the Tour 

Auto, Le Mans Classic, Mille Miglia, and Monaco Grand Prix Historique. 

52

ON THE BLOCK 

1939 Alfa Romeo Tipo 256 



Originally one of five Tipo 256s built in the Spider Siluro body style, in 1941 it 

received its current coupe bodywork by Touring. It raced in Italy eight times in 

period, including at the Mille Miglia, and more recently won its class at the 2015 

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. 


2006 Ferrari FXX 


One of seven modern Ferraris consigned out of a private collection. The Enzo– 

based FXX, with its shrieking 800-horsepower V-12, originally could only be driven 

at approved track events, where Ferrari technicians looked over the car and 

gathered data. Ferrari built 30 examples. 

53

ON THE BLOCK 

1969 Ferrari 365 GTS by Pininfarina 


Ferrari built only 168 examples of the 365 GTC (Gran Turismo Coupé), but the 

convertible 365 GTS is rarer still: a mere 20 were built. It’s also much more expensive. 

Chassis 12163 was the very first of them and was exhibited at the Brussels 

motor show. It sold here two years ago for $2,722,500. 

COURTESY RM SOTHEBY’S, BONHAMS 

1959 Porsche 718 RSK 

“Center-Seat’’ Spyder 

ESTIMATE $3,300,000 | BONHAMS | QUAIL LODGE AUCTION 

The 718 RSK built on the success of the earlier 550A and solidified Porsche’s reputation 

as a giant killer, beating much larger, more powerful cars on tracks across 

the globe. This special center-seat example won both the 1959 Grand Prix de 

Léopoldville in Africa and the Buenos Aires 1000KM, and it retains its original engine 

and coachwork. Since 2014, three other 718 RSKs have sold for $3.3 million, 

$2.86 million, and $3.74 million. 

54

ON THE BLOCK 


2014 Ferrari LaFerrari 


and MECUM | THE DAYTIME AUCTION 

Of the trio of hybrid hypercars that debuted earlier in the decade—the Porsche 

918 Spyder, the McLaren P1, and LaFerrari—the 949-horsepower Italian is the most 

valuable, even though the McLaren is rarer. Another LaFerrari, a 426-mile example 

finished in special-order Rosso Fuoco, is available down the road at Mecum. 

55

ON THE BLOCK 

1954 Maserati A6GCS 


Chassis 2078 ran at some of Italy’s great races, including the 1954 Targa Florio 

and Mille Miglia, where it placed third overall. It went to South America a year 

later and finished third in Buenos Aires. It has since been used in historic events 

on both sides of the Atlantic and was restored in time for display at the Pebble 

Beach Concours in 2014. 


1985 Ferrari 288 GTO 


The 137th of just 272 examples built, this 288 was fitted from new with the rare 

combination of sport exhaust, air conditioning, and power windows before going 

to its first owner in Japan. It sold for $2.75 million at RM Arizona in 2015 and 

for $2.585 million at Amelia Island in 2016. It hammered not sold here last year at 

a $2.55 million high bid. 

56

ON THE BLOCK 

1931 Bentley 4½ Litre 

Supercharged Tourer 

ESTIMATE $2,000,000 | BONHAMS | QUAIL LODGE AUCTION 

A Bentley 4½ Litre won Le Mans in 1928, but before long the car was no longer 

competitive. One of Bentley’s attempts to address this was to supercharge the 

4½ Litre’s engine. Although the “Blower Bentley” never achieved major racing 

success, one lapped Brooklands at a winning 137.96 mph. This car, Chassis MS 

3942, is represented as one of 50 factory Blower cars, but it has been rebodied. 

COURTESY BONHAMS, GOODING & COMPANY 

1997 Ferrari F50 



Built to usher in Ferrari’s 50th anniversary and designed to be an F1 car for the 

road, the F50 is the most unloved of Ferrari’s halo hypercars. But with only 349 

built, it’s considerably rarer than the F40, Enzo, and LaFerrari. 

57

ON THE BLOCK 

1966 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti 


Finished in its original Rosso Rubino (Ruby Red) over Nero (Black), this GTB has 

appeared at auction before. RM sold it in Arizona four years ago for $2.75 million 

and at Amelia Island last year for $2.21 million. Mecum also offered it here in 

2016, but it hammered not sold at a $2.2 million high bid. 


2014 Pagani Huayra 


Paganis are in a class of their own in terms of style, speed, sophistication, and 

attention to detail. The original owner of this 2014 Huayra ordered tartan seat inserts 

in his family’s colors, hence the car’s nickname Scozia (Italian for “Scotland”). 

The car was also retrofitted with the Tempesta performance upgrade package. 

58

GUIDEBOOK 

THE GOOD 

LIFE 

How to make the most 

of Monterey Car Week. 

BY BRETT BERK 

59

GUIDEBOOK 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN KLEIN 

M 

onterey Car Week, which has taken place 

in some form annually on Northern California’s 

Monterey Peninsula since 1950, is 

America’s premier collector car event. It is 

also a delightful lifestyle bacchanal, with 

opportunities to experience a broad range of 

high-end goods and services, from local wines and seafood to fine watches 

and private aviation. But in order to get the most out of the dozens of 

opportunities available in the region this week, you need a plan. 

This is that plan. 

We won’t bore you with logistics regarding airports, flight connections, 

and interstates. But, for an event like this where you are what you drive, 

is it fair to ask what you plan on driving? When we come to Monterey 

Car Week, if we don’t drive or ship a car of our own, we like to rent a classic 

locally from DriveShare—a peer-to-peer car-sharing app and website. 

That way we’re guaranteed to show up in something far more interesting 

than a Camaro or Mustang convertible from the airport rental counter. 

Click over and rent one now (driveshare.com). 

Speaking of driving, during Car Week, signature events take place all 

over the Peninsula, and beyond, so be aware that traffic can become a real 

issue, especially during the weekend. A strategic schedule is useful in prioritizing 

and mapping out your top choices, and be sure to double-check 

if it’s actually possible to get from one to the other in your allotted time. 

Ride-share apps like Lyft or Uber can be a solution to driving, though they 

sometimes bring challenges of their own in terms of wait times, locating 

your driver, and driver access to events that are exclusive and/or offer only 

off-site parking. 

There is a dizzying amount of activity on offer, spread out over nearly 

a week. It can be overwhelming. So, to make your life easier, we created 

a handy day-by-day list, including our top recommendations. Since we 

believe that collectible cars should be driven, our suggestions privilege 

opportunities to see these amazing machines moving along on their own 

60

GUIDEBOOK 

power. But we don’t discount the many chances to view these fabulous 

vehicles parked, like the sculptural objects they are. 

The most important thing is to make sure you get out there every day, 

so as to be able to take advantage of all of the glories on offer. But it’s also 

key to take little breaks when you can. If you overdo it, you’ll find yourself 

rushing through events, getting cranky, and missing the details (and 

the details are often the best part). Or, worse, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed. 

There is definitely a lot of great stuff to see, but this should also 

feel like a vacation. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself. 

WEDNESDAY 

If you make it to the area in time, your first priority should be to check out 

the Little Car Show, which is held in the afternoon (12:00–5:00 p.m.) in 

Pacific Grove. The feature event here is a parade of 100 small vintage vehicles 

from around the world, all with engines under 1601 cc, but afterward, 

participating vehicles are shown parked in typical concours configuration 

as well. That afternoon until 6:00 (or on Thursday from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 

p.m.), you can also pay an admission and stop by the Gooding auction tent 

on the Pebble Beach property to peruse the exquisite cars they’ll have for 

sale. Ahead of the evening, procure a ticket to the Monterey Jet Center for 

the McCall’s Motorworks Revival, an upscale party featuring the finer 

things in life (including cars, of course) sponsored by local car lover and 

collector car–storage entrepreneur Gordon McCall. Or just skip all of that 

The McCall’s Motorworks Revival is an upscale party at the Monterey Jet Center. 

61


On Thursday, see concours cars in action during 

the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance. 

and book in a massage or other relaxing body treatment at one of the 

lovely spas in the area, including Bernardus, Carmel Valley Ranch, and 

the Post Ranch Inn. 

THURSDAY 

Take the day to explore the natural beauty of the area. A drive down Highway 

1 through Big Sur is a must, as is a stop at Point Lobos State Natural 

Reserve, where a bounty of coastal walking trails offer breathtaking views 

of the craggy cliffs, unique vegetation, and shore life. While you’re out 

that day, you may see a host of pristine classic vehicles driving around 

the region. This is the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, in which many 

of the cars that will be on the concours lawn on Sunday speed about the 

peninsula en masse. Find a viewing spot to wait and watch them pass, 

and/or finish up your activities in time to see them assemble in Carmel-By-The-Sea 

from around 12:00–2:00 p.m. Later that afternoon, you 

can check out automotive art, memorabilia, and ephemera at the Pebble 

Beach RetroAuto bazaar at the Inn at Spanish Bay on the Pebble Beach 

property. Russo and Steele, RM Sotheby’s, and Mecum also open their 

auction previews to the public that day, from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., and 

are all located in Monterey. 

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GUIDEBOOK 

The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering is the place to be on Friday. 

FRIDAY 

Friday is all about The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering. Sponsored by the 

Peninsula Hotels and held at the Quail Lodge resort, this is a highly curated 

and exclusive event in terms of food and wine and, especially, collectible 

cars and motorcycles. Tickets are pricey, available mainly through a lottery, 

and sell out quickly and in advance, but last-minute options are always 

available, and we know that you know people. Ask around. Arrive early and 

leave in the early afternoon, but not before checking out the Bonhams auction 

next door. The traffic can be unbearable, and the shuttle service to the 

off-site parking is a bit confounding. Fortunately, departing early will give 

you time to head over to the Club at Pasadera for the annual Legends of the 

Autobahn German car show. This event features 400 examples of Teutonic 

automotive heritage in all of its forms from brands like Mercedes, BMW, 

Audi, and Porsche. Admission is free, though there is a fee for parking. 

SATURDAY 

If you attend Car Week, you would be remiss if you did not make a pilgrimage 

to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey 

Motorsports Reunion. This is a golden opportunity to see over 500 

vintage cars—many of them very valuable and/or with intriguing motorsports 

pedigree—race around a challenging track, working hard to actually 

win. Because it’s inland, the location tends to be hotter and dustier 

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GUIDEBOOK 

The Rolex Motorsports Reunion features vintage racing of every era at Laguna 

Seca on Saturday and Sunday. 

MATT TIERNEY 

than other areas on the Peninsula, and there’s little shade, so check the 

weather and dress accordingly. But the trek is worth it just to walk the 

paddocks and breathe in the petroleate perfume. Splurge for the preferred 

parking. Trust us. 

The races run on Sunday as well, so you may want to consider delaying 

your visit until that afternoon because there are also two special car 

shows that occur on Saturday, in nearby Seaside. (Or, maybe you have 

impeccable timing/luck and you can do all three?) In the morning, from 

8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., there’s the Concours d’Lemons. An offshoot of the 

24 Hours of LeMons clunker racing series, it is a display of “oddball, 

mundane, and truly awful” cars. But these unloved vehicles are often lovingly 

restored, and the affection the owners and spectators confer upon 

them truly captures the spirit of Car Week. At the other end of the spectrum, 

from 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., is Concorso Italiano, the Romantic 

counterpart to Legends of the Autobahn, featuring a large assortment of 

flawless Italian cars from Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, 

Fiat, and others. 

SUNDAY 

There is really only one place to be on Sunday morning, and that is at 

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GUIDEBOOK 

Sunday at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance starts with Dawn Patrol 

(above) and ends with the awards presentations (below). 

the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. If you plan to stay for the day 

to watch the Best of Class and Best of Show awards, splurge for the best 

tickets you can afford (or find a friend with hospitality access and guest 

privileges) so you have decent parking and a comfortable tent or table to 

retreat to after viewing the cars. Another option is to arrive extra early, 

for Dawn Patrol, and leave 

early. This loose insider 

event starts at 6:00 a.m. 

on the golf green, and participants 

get to watch all of 

the cars that will compete 

in the concours drive onto 

the field and head to their 

positions. Coffee, donuts, 

and baseball caps are provided by Hagerty. With the dawn mist coming 

in off the ocean and the roar of these few hundred special machines, it is 

truly spectacular. 

That afternoon, you can return to the races. Or return to your room. Or 

return to the airport and your home. Wherever you go, be sure to rest your 

senses (and your liver) for next year. We know you’ll be back. 

NYC–based Brett Berk writes about the intersection of cars and culture 

for Architectural Digest, GQ, WIRED, Vanity Fair, and many other outlets. 

65

GUIDEBOOK 

FUELING STATIONS 

Wherever you’re staying, and whatever events you’re attending, 

you’re going to need to eat, so if you haven’t already, maybe make a 

few dinner reservations. We recommend the following local spots. 

AUBERGINE (Michelin-starred) 

831-624-8578 

auberginecarmel.com 

Monte Verde at 7th Avenue 

Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA 93921 

CORKSCREW CAFÉ 

831-659-8888 

corkscrewcafe.com 

55 West Carmel Valley Road 

Carmel Valley, CA 93924 

COURTESY SEVENTH AND DOLORES 

CARMEL BELLE 

831-624-1600 

carmelbelle.com 

Ocean Ave 


CASANOVA 

831-625-0501 

casanovacarmel.com 

5th Avenue between Mission 

and San Carlos 


THE RESIDENCY AT 

STATIONÆRY 

831-250-7183 

thestationaery.com 

San Carlos Street, between 

5th and 6th Avenues 


SEVENTH AND DOLORES 

831-293-7600 | 7dsteakhouse.com 

7th Avenue at Dolores Street 


66

SAVE THE DATE 

Auction Calendar 

Sure, Pebble Beach is on your must-attend list. 

But it’s not the only place where you can wave a bidding 

paddle in the coming months. Our recommendations: 

DARIN SCHNABEL, COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY’S 

Mecum Harrisburg 

JULY 31–AUGUST 3 | HARRISBURG, PA 

One of only a handful of collector car 

auctions in the Northeast, Mecum 

Harrisburg is typically held a few 

weeks before Monterey and is heavy 

on high-end muscle as well as more 

affordable classic cars and trucks. 

RM Auburn Fall 

AUG 29–SEPT 1 | AUBURN, IN 

Hosted by the former Auctions 

America, which was renamed RM 

Auctions in 2017, Auburn Fall goes 

back an impressive 49 straight years in 

what RM dubs “a Labor Day weekend 

tradition.” It is the larger of RM’s two 

Auburn auctions (Auburn Spring takes 

place in May), and nearly 800 cars will 

cross the block. Mid-range domestic 

classics comprise most of the run list. 

A large swap meet and car corral are 

held in conjunction with the sale. 

Mecum Dallas 

SEPT 4–7 | DALLAS, TX 

One of Mecum’s biggest auctions 

and one of two the company holds 

in Texas (the other takes place in 

Houston in the spring), the Dallas 

sale often attracts 1000 or more 

classic cars and trucks. 

67

SAVE THE DATE 

Bonhams Beaulieu 

SEPT 7 | BEAULIEU, ENGLAND 

Bonhams holds an auction each 

year in Beaulieu, which is home to 

the UK’s National Motor Museum, 

and offers a diverse assortment of 

automobilia and literature as well 

as classic cars and motorcycles. In 

addition to the museum of over 

250 historic vehicles, Beaulieu 

encompasses an idyllic medieval 

abbey with extensive gardens in the 

English countryside, so it’s worth 

taking an extra day. 

Bonhams Goodwood Revival 

SEPT 14 | CHICHESTER, ENGLAND 

The Goodwood Revival is already 

one of the top “must do” events on 

the classic car calendar, and part of 

the tradition is the one-day Bonhams 

auction held in conjunction with the 

vintage races. Since the sale is held 

at a racetrack surrounded by racers 

and fans, the consignment list 

is dominated by significant 

racing and sports cars. 

RM Sotheby’s 

Sáragga Collection 

SEPT 20–21 | COMPORTA, PORTUGAL 

This auction, made up of 

consignments from a single private 

collection, takes place in the 

glamorous but discreet Portuguese 

beach town of Comporta, about 

an hour from Lisbon. The group 

of over 130 cars from the Sáragga 

collection is impressive in its diversity, 

comprising everything from prewar 

luxury to modern sports cars. 

Bonhams MPH 

SEPT 26 | BICESTER, ENGLAND 

This is the first auction held by 

Bonhams MPH, a distinct entity 

within Bonhams that will host 

four sales per year to “service the 

growing market for modern and 

popular classics.” Bonhams MPH 

is housed at Bicester Heritage, 

a hub of classic and historic 

motoring-related businesses 

located in a former World War 

II RAF bomber training station 

northeast of London. 

Bonhams Bonmont Sale 

SEPT 29 | GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 

This auction will feature a collection 

of 25 modern supercars recently 

seized by the Swiss government 

from the Vice President of Equatorial 

Guinea. Highlights include a 

LaFerrari, a Bugatti Veyron, an Aston 

Martin One-77, a Koenigsegg One:1, 

and a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. 

The sale will take place in a 

12th century abbey overlooking 

Lake Geneva. 

Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas 

OCT 3–5 | LAS VEGAS, NV 

This will be Barrett-Jackson’s 12th 

annual collector car auction in Sin 

City, held at the massive Mandalay 

Bay Resort and Casino right on the 

Las Vegas Strip. The company’s last 

sale of the year, it typically offers 

up about 700 vehicles of all shapes, 

sizes and price points. 

Bonhams Simeone 

OCT 7 | PHILADELPHIA, PA 

Bonhams held its first auction at 

the Simeone Foundation 

Automotive Museum in 

Philadelphia eight years ago. 

The museum houses some of the 

most significant and spectacularly 

preserved race cars in the world, 

so this sale typically sticks with 

the preservation theme and offers 

unrestored classics and barn finds. 

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SAVE THE DATE 

RM Hershey 

OCT 10–11 | HERSHEY, PA 

Every year since 1955, a massive 

swap meet, car corral, car show, 

and flea market draws thousands to 

Hershey, Pennsylvania. Technically 

it’s the AACA’s Eastern Division Fall 

Meet, but most people just call it 

Hershey. The RM sale is just one part 

of the action, but it typically offers 

a fascinating group of automobiles, 

most of them prewar classics. 

Mecum Las Vegas 

OCT 10–12 | LAS VEGAS, NV 

Mecum only started coming to Vegas 

in 2017, but this has already become 

one of the company’s largest sales, 

with nearly 900 vehicles offered. 

Bonhams The Zoute Sale 

OCT 11 | KNOKKE-HEIST, BELGIUM 

This is Bonhams’ seventh auction 

at Zoute in Knokke-Heist on the 

Belgian coast. The auction is just one 

element of the Zoute Grand Prix, an 

annual classic car event regarded as 

one of the best in Europe. In addition 

to the auction, there is a concours, 

a rally, a GT tour, and a show for 

new high-end automobiles. 

Bonhams 

London to Brighton 

NOV 1 | LONDON, ENGLAND 

The London to Brighton Veteran Car 

Run is the oldest motoring event 

in the world. The unique spectacle 

dates back to 1896 and is limited 

to motorcars built before 1905. 

Bonhams sponsors the race and 

holds an auction the Friday 

before, which naturally features 

veteran automobiles and 

related automobilia. 

RM Sotheby’s London 

NOV 5 | LONDON, ENGLAND 

Held in central London’s Battersea 

Park, the RM Sotheby’s London 

sale typically offers a few dozen, 

mostly high-end, European collector 

cars. This sale used to be held in 

September. 

Best Heritage Suzuka 

Sound of Engine Auction 

NOV 16–17 | SUZUKA, JAPAN 

The Sound of Engine held at the 

legendary Suzuka Circuit is sort of 

like a Japanese Goodwood Festival 

of Speed. It celebrates motorsports 

by bringing together vehicles of 

all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and 

eras. Naturally, there’s an auction 

attached to the event. Last year’s 

sale offered a group of historic 

Japanese race cars. 

RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi 

NOV 30 | ABU DHABI, UAE 

There is of course no shortage of 

wealth in Abu Dhabi, but this is the 

first major collector car auction in 

the Middle East. Held the same 

weekend as the season finale Abu 

Dhabi Grand Prix F1 race, the 

auction is loaded with modern and 

late-model exotics. 

Bonhams 

London New Bond Street 

DEC 7 | LONDON, ENGLAND 

Held at Bonhams’ flagship London 

saleroom, the New Bond Street 

event is the company’s last auction 

of the year and typically features 

a mix of European sports, luxury, 

and race cars. Great opportunity to 

find something to park under the 

Christmas tree. n 

69

AUCTION REPORT 

LAST DANCE 

IN TUPELO 

The Tupelo Automobile Museum 

closes with a bang, not a whimper. 

BY KEN GROSS (WITH REPORTING BY RICK CAREY) 

70

AUCTION REPORT | TUPELO MUSEUM 

S 

tars shine brightest before they go out, and so it’s fitting 

the Tupelo Automobile Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi, 

closed with a well-attended, two-day auction 

that saw some 330 pieces of automobilia and more 

than 170 cars cross the block. The large collection of 

petroliana and vintage vehicles had been amassed over 

many years by the late Frank K. Spain, an electrical engineer whose keen 

interest in cars of all types was reflected in the broad range of the lots on 

sale. The no-reserve sale, held by Bonhams, brought over $10 million. 

Proceeds will go to a charitable educational foundation. 

The undisputed headliner of the auction was a 1948 Tucker Model 48 

sedan, the 28th of just 51 built (some 47 examples survive) and one of just 

five in Palomino Beige. Tuckers don’t often come up for sale but they’ve 

been seven-figure cars for the last few years. Despite Tucker’s monumental 

failure, surviving cars attract spirited bidding today. The Tucker story, 

immortalized by Francis Ford Coppola in the recently re-released film, 

Tucker: The Man and His Dream, continues to captivate both car enthusiasts 

and the general public. That tale is worth a quick retell: 

PREVIOUS PAGE: ADAM ROBISON, DAILY JOURNAL 

The undisputed headliner of the auction 

was a 1948 Tucker Model 48 sedan, the 28th 

of just 51 built (some 47 examples survive), 

and one of just five in Palomino Beige. 

In the heady postwar era, Preston Tucker’s radical new, streamlined 

rear-engine Tucker 48 sedan took the United States by storm, threatened 

Detroit’s Big Three, and garnered immense publicity nationwide. But 

rumors swirled that it was all a hoax. Just as new Tuckers began rolling off 

the assembly line, a surprise SEC investigation, a crooked DA, a conspiring 

senator, and a sensational radio commentator made Tucker’s life miserable. 

After a much-heralded trial, Preston Tucker was acquitted of all charges—his 

71


1948 Tucker 48 

SOLD FOR $1,985,000 | LOT 491 | #2- CONDITION 


lawyer was so convinced of his client’s innocence, no defense was even made. 

But the damage was done, and the Tucker factory was shuttered. 

Today, Tuckers are back in style. The Pebble Beach Concours featured 

a class of 13 Tuckers in 2018. Preston Tucker’s great grandsons were on 

hand for this sale. When the Tucker bidding topped $1.3 million, the two 

remaining protagonists were an unidentified gentleman from California 

and Tim Stentiford, representing the new Maine Classic Car Museum in 

Arundel, Maine. “We came to Mississippi with one goal in mind,” he told 

reporters, “and that was to take a run at the Tucker.” That worked. He was 

the winning bidder. Tucker 1028 sold for $1.985 million. 

A decent “20-footer,” the car had been restored in the early ’80s, but 

over time, its suspension was modified (before proper parts were available) 

and it had collapsed; the transmission needed work, and the flat six 

wasn’t running. Stentiford plans to ship the car to Tucker expert Mark 

Lieberman of Nostalgic Motoring, Ltd., in Auburn Hills, Michigan, where 

72


it will undergo a full mechanical restoration. Lieberman, who already is 

familiar with the car, told me, “This is a very good example. It was initially 

assembled very carefully, and its history is known. It’s one of seven Tuckers 

that were tested at the Indianapolis Speedway, where it did nearly 

3000 miles. It’s just tired from age.” 

What’s the future for Tucker pricing? Lieberman, who bought Preston 

Tucker’s personal car at an RM Sotheby’s sale two years ago in Scottsdale, 

believes the Tucker market is “. . . strong and getting stronger.” We’d agree. 

Besides the Tucker, Bonhams’ Tupelo lots featured a little bit of everything: 

Brass-era rarities like a 1914 Trumbull Cyclecar ($13,000), a 1912 

Cartercar ($47,040) with a friction disc drive, and a 1912 White Model 

Thirty G.A.D. roadster ($71,680); British cars including three Lagondas, 

three Alvises (Alvi?), several prewar Derby Bentleys, and MGs; and plenty 

of postwar American iron, including ’50s and ’60s “dreamboat” convertibles 

and a handful of Corvettes. Prices ranged from less than $500 for 

While it is sobering to see 

Tupelo close its doors, take heart that other 

small auto museums are doing fine. 

basket cases to six digits for a 1950 T26 Talbot-Lago with rare coachwork 

by Veth & Zoon ($196,000). London to Brighton devotees fought over 

an 1899 Knox Model A three-wheel runabout, which went for a heady 

$201,600. 

A good sale, then, but it is nevertheless sobering to see Tupelo close 

its doors. Take heart that other small auto museums are doing fine. The 

Simeone Museum (Philadelphia), the Larz Anderson Museum (Brookline, 

Massachusetts), the Audrain Museum (Newport, Rhode Island), the 

Northeast Classic Car Museum (Norwich, New York), the Saratoga Automobile 

Museum (Saratoga Springs, New York), and the Tampa Bay Auto 

Museum (Tampa, Florida) are all doing well. And the Tucker? It’s already 

on display at the Maine Classic Car Museum. If these museums have anything 

in common, it’s thriving membership, frequent exhibition changes 

and events, and generous sponsors and benefactors. Plan a visit soon, if 

there’s one near you. 

73


TUPELO MUSEUM AUCTION 

1934 Duesenberg Model J 

Prince of Wales Berline 

SOLD FOR $450,500 | LOT 450 | #3- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 2575. Black with a black cobra grain roof over beige cloth. This 

handsome, one-off Rollston design, with an unusual and rather rakish split 

windshield, may have been built for serial Duesenberg client Homer Varney of 


Los Angeles. It was owned in the mid-’50s by Allen Thurn, an early Duesenberg 

aficionado, and then by Homer Fitterling, who maintained a large Duesy collection. 

The body is mounted over the frame, like many later Duesenberg JN models, 

so this car has a low, sporting silhouette. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Repainted and reupholstered, 

otherwise original and rough. The wire wheels are repainted over rust 

pits, the chrome is spotty. 

Sound upholstery and interior 

trim but aged dashboard missing 

its altimeter, some controls, 

and the steering wheel center 

cap. Paint is flaking off the 

frame and chassis. Missing the 

taillight, too. 

BOTTOM LINE There are many 

missing bits and pieces, but this 

was a smokin’ deal on an acknowledged Classic Car Club of America Classic that 

will be very distinctive, once restored. 

74



1930 Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupe 

Chauffeur, Body by J. Fernandez 

SOLD FOR $335,000 | LOT 447 | #1- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 12202. Gold coachline, black leather front seats, gray cloth rear; 

black cloth top. Body-color wheel discs, wide whitewalls, dual sidemounts, Marchal 

headlights, radiator stone guard, sliding tendelet, Jaeger clock and speedometer, 

inlaid wood luggage trunk, roll-up division, opening windshield. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Handsome and lavishly finished coachwork 

by J. Fernandez, prior to his association with “Dutch” Darrin. Very good older 

paint, upholstery, and mixed nickel/ 

chrome brightwork. Clean, orderly engine 

compartment and chassis. Rotten, 

cracked old tires. Restored decades ago 

and holding up very well. 

BOTTOM LINE Although this Hisso 

was acquired by Frank Spain in 1995 

from Herbie Livingston’s collection, it 

had been offered at the World Classic 

auction in Monterey (successor to Rick 

Cole’s) in 1993, where it brought an unsuccessful 

high bid of $150,000. Its condition 

is remarkably good for a car restored 

in the early ’80s, and it was a 1981 

Pebble Beach class winner while owned 

by Tom (Domino’s Pizza) Monaghan. 

Even with the heavy, elaborate coachwork it has adequate power for touring and 

is a sound value at this result. 

75


1967 Ed “Big Daddy” Roth “Wishbone” 


SOLD FOR $95,200 | LOT 526 | #3+ CONDITION 

Metallic red over black vinyl. Totally chromed VW drivetrain. Chrome wire 

wheels and suspension. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | A show car with more years than miles. It was, 

at some point, cut up and later reassembled by a former Roth employee known 

today only as Dirty Doug. 

BOTTOM LINE Ed Roth parlayed a talent for design, engineering, fabrication, 

and zany behavior into his leading role as a Southern California Kustom culture 

icon of the 1960s. When show promoters encouraged and even paid him to create 

cars for exhibition, he built a series of incredible creations which helped spark 

the sales of his wildly airbrushed 

“Rat Fink” T-shirts 

and other products. When 

he teamed up with Revell, 

literally millions of Ed’s cars 

were sold as model kits. He 

was honored with a special 

class at the 2017 Amelia 

Island Concours. Roth creations 

like “The Outlaw” 

(Petersen Automotive Museum), 

the “Beatnik Bandit” (National Automotive Museum), and others in private 

collections simply don’t come up for sale. The VW-powered “Wishbone” 

was a rare opportunity that’s reflected in its high selling price. 

76

77


MECUM INDIANAPOLIS 

M 

ecum’s titanic Spring Classic in Indy is traditionally the 

company’s second-largest sale, after Kissimmee. This year 

didn’t disappoint, with 1719 lots offered and 1123 sold over 

six days. Vehicles from 23 separate collections crossed the block, including 

nearly three dozen first-generation (1955–57) Ford Thunderbirds, more 

than 100 Mustangs, and more than 180 Corvettes. A pair of 427 Cobras 

and the most expensive Porsche 918 we’ve seen all year took the top three 

results, but other highlights included an ultra-rare 1940 Crocker Big Twin 

motorcycle that sold for a staggering $550,000 and an even rarer 1970 

Plymouth Hemi Cuda convertible for $1,980,000. 


1957 Chevrolet Corvette 

SOLD FOR $49,500 | LOT S227 | #3 CONDITION 

Chassis No. E57S102783. Venetian Red over red vinyl. 283-ci V-8 with dual-quad 

carburetors. 3-speed manual. Spinner wheel covers, whitewalls, hardtop, 

Wonder Bar radio. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Unrestored but reasonably tidy engine bay. 

The original paint is crazed and cracked all over, but no significant portions are 

flaking. The same can’t be said for the red paint on the wheels, but that’s mostly 

obscured by the clean, straight wheel covers. Window frames have pitting, but 

bumper chrome remains presentable. Cloudy and scratched rear glass on the 

hardtop. Small rip in the driver’s seat but otherwise well-preserved interior. Original 

and complete, although there’s no documentation or history represented. 

BOTTOM LINE Restore or keep as is? There’s not really a correct answer. At this 

particular sale, though, the car brought absolutely no premium for preservation 

(the lack of paperwork didn’t help). 

78

AUCTION REPORT | MECUM INDIANAPOLIS 

1961 Pontiac Ventura 

NOT SOLD AT A $77,500 HIGH BID | LOT T227 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 561P4534. Bristol Blue over blue vinyl. 389-ci, 348-hp Tri-Power 

V-8. 4-speed manual. Eight-lug wheels, power steering, power driver’s seat, tinted 

glass, Wonder Bar radio, Pontiac Historic Services documentation. Won Antique 

Automobile Club of America Senior award in 2016. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Tiny ding above the right headlight and a 

small scratch on the left front fender. Good paint and chrome otherwise. The 

brightwork is mostly original. Very good, fully restored interior. Lots of desirable 

equipment. A mostly solid redo with a few corners cut and a few flaws. 

BOTTOM LINE A frequent sight at Mecum auctions of late. It hammered not 

sold at a $90,000 high bid here last year, again at a $95,000 high bid at Mecum 

Dallas a few months later, and one more time at a $75,000 high bid at Kissimmee 

this January. Since Kissimmee, it’s been driven about six miles on and off 

the transporter and around the parking lot. It’s still a great car, sure to excite 

any Pontiac fan who sees it. With two strong offers and two reasonable ones 

now on the record, however, the people have spoken to this car’s value, and it’s 

time for the consignor to reset expectations. 


1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator 

SOLD FOR $77,000 | LOT F116 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 9F91R570868. Bright blue over blue vinyl. 428-ci, 335-hp Ram 

Air Cobra Jet V-8. Automatic 

transmission. Hood pins, Traction-Lok, 

power steering, factory 

air conditioning, bucket 

seats, floor shift, factory radio. 

EVALUATION Recent Restoration 

| Very good, relatively 

fresh paint and chrome apart 

from a few particles in the 

paint on the nose and hood. 

79


Factory gaps. Clean wheels and newer tires. Fresh and clean underneath. Very 

good restored interior. Rare and desirable equipment, plus attractive colors. 

BOTTOM LINE Cougars have represented a tempting muscle car value compared 

to the similarly equipped Mustangs with which they share platforms. 

Apparently, the secret isn’t out yet, since this 428-equipped Eliminator—king 

of the Cougar hill for ’69—sold for well under Mecum’s reasonable $85,000 

low estimate. 

1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS 

Convertible 

SOLD FOR $69,300 | LOT S67 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 124679L510165. Verdoro Green over black vinyl and houndstooth 

cloth. 350-ci, 300-hp V-8. Automatic transmission. Factory air conditioning, 

Rally wheels, Polyglas tires, power steering, horseshoe shifter, factory radio, Protect-O-Plate. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Represented as the only known 1969 Camaro 

convertible in Verdoro Green, which is a Pontiac color. Very good older 

paint and chrome, but the front markers are pitted and the windshield frame is 

scratched. Excellent, tight-fitting top with a repainted frame. Worn shifter and 

switchgear. The wood appliqué around the shifter is coming loose. Otherwise, 

good restored interior. Very clean underneath. A high-quality if not quite concours 

restoration. 

BOTTOM LINE It takes a lot for a first-gen Camaro to stand out at a large muscle 

car–heavy auction. There were nearly 30 Camaros from 1969 alone at Indy, 

including two COPO cars. Fortunately, this car was not overshadowed. The RS 

package counts for a lot on SS Camaros, and the unique color clearly excited 

the bidders to push the price even further. The seller couldn’t have realistically 

hoped for much more than this result—and should be very happy. 


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2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach 

SOLD FOR $1,980,000 | LOT S155 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. WP0CA2A19FS800712. Matte black wrap over Garnet Red leather. 

Weissach package, Burmester stereo, front-axle lift system, Acid Green calipers, 

aftermarket wheels (original included). 

EVALUATION Original | 999 miles and like new. 

BOTTOM LINE The Weissach package subtracted about 100 pounds from the 

918’s weight, added more than 80 grand to its original price, and currently carries 

a premium of about 100 grand over a base 918. This car did even better 

than that, especially considering its aftermarket wheels and wrap—it’s the most 

expensive 918 we’ve seen all year. 

CAMERON NEVEU (TOP); COURTESY MECUM 

2006 Ford GT 


Chassis No. 1FAFP90S76Y401847. Tungsten Gray with silver stripes over 

black leather. Stripes, painted 

calipers, McIntosh stereo, 

BBS wheels (the only four 

options offered). 

EVALUATION Original | 488 

miles and like new. 

BOTTOM LINE Even by 

Ford GT standards, 488 

miles is on the low side (most 

of them seem to have fewer than 1000 miles on the clock). It deserved every dollar 

of this strong final price. 

81


1981 DeLorean DMC-12 


Chassis No. SCEDT26T5BD006691. Stainless steel over gray leather. Automatic 

transmission, air conditioning. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Represented with 16,269 actual miles, a believable 

claim. Very clean 

bumpers. The stainless 

is mostly very good, but 

there is a tiny dent in the 

front left of the hood, two 

more on the right door, 

and several light scratches. 

All normal stuff on 

DeLoreans, however. Very 

light curb rash on the left wheels. Excellent, nearly like-new interior. Supposedly 

stored in a climate-controlled facility and looks like it. Not quite a like-new 

time-capsule car, but it’s better than the majority of DeLoreans out there. 

BOTTOM LINE A spot-on price that represents an appropriate balance between 

remarkably low mileage and notable flaws, as well as the less desirable 

automatic transmission (they carry a 5-percent discount). We’d love to skip over 

the forced references to 88 mph and Doc Brown, but the fact of the matter is 

they’re worth this much only because of the Back to the Future movies—they 

weren’t great cars. 


2016 Dodge Viper ACR 

SOLD FOR $167,750 | LOT S95.1 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1C3BDEDZ7GV100276. Yellow with black-and-red stripes over 

black leather and microsuede interior. Extreme Aero Package. Kumho Ecsta 

tires. Carbon-fiber trim. Carbon-ceramic brakes. 

EVALUATION Original | A hardcore ACR model from late in the run (Viper production 

ended in 2017) with 

just 1161 miles, and they 

clearly weren’t track miles. 

This is practically a new car. 

BOTTOM LINE The trackready, 

final-series Viper ACR 

carried a $122,490 MSRP, so 

at this price—and with those 

miles—this car is likely destined 

for a life of static display in a collection rather than scaring the pants off its 

occupants at track days. 

82


1974 Porsche 911 S Competition Car 

NOT SOLD AT A $160,000 HIGH BID | LOT S212 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. 9114101035. Ex-Paul Newman race car with white and pink livery, 

Carrillo rods, dry sump, 24-gallon fuel cell, fire system, whale-tail rear spoiler, 

BBS wheels, AutoMeter gauges. 

EVALUATION Competition Restoration | The Newman/Freeman car raced at 

Sebring in ’77 (to an unremarkable 30th place finish), then embarked on a long, 

long career in IMSA GTO and GTU as well as Camel GT. Restored from 2006 to 

2009, then more recently refurbished and set up for competition. Not a super 

successful car, and Paul Newman had minimal seat time in it. (And there’s no 

telling how much Newman–era 

componentry remains in the car 

after years of wear and tear in 

top-level competition.) Even so, 

it’s an awesome widebody 911 

race car with some neat history. 

BOTTOM LINE This car hammered 

not sold at a $325,000 

high bid at Mecum Houston in 2014. It wore orange and yellow paint at the 

time, and has since been repainted in its ‘77 Sebring livery. Given that previous 

high bid and the huge surge Porsche prices have experienced in the meantime, 

refusing the reported high bid here was an obvious choice. The car may have 

better luck at a more Porsche-heavy venue. 

1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 

NOT SOLD AT A $36,000 HIGH BID | LOT T195 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1G1YZ23J7L5802103. A one-off put together by Penske, Chevrolet, 

and Larry Shinoda for Indy driver Rick Mears with body kit, Boyd Coddington 

wheels, Goodyear tires, and CD stereo but apparently no performance upgrades. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | From the Lingenfelter collection. Represented 

with 600 miles and looks new. 

BOTTOM LINE It’s hard to pinpoint the value on a one-off but not particularly 

special build like this. That said, the same car sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 

in 2008 for $58,300, so 

Mecum’s $60,000 low estimate 

here seems reasonable. 

As does the consignor’s 

decision to hold out at 

this reported high bid. 

83


2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 


Chassis No. 1G1YR26R495800254. Jet Stream Blue over black and gray. 

Canadian export car (one of 43) with carbon-ceramic brakes, magnetic selective 

ride control, 1SD equipment group, dual-zone climate control, Bluetooth, 

chromed wheels, blue calipers. 

EVALUATION Original | Just 438 miles. Still has the plastic on the seats. 

BOTTOM LINE The window sticker on this factory-fresh ZR1 reads $145,315, but 

mid-70s isn’t out of the ordinary today, even for one this good with such a low 

odometer reading. Serious value in speed per dollar. 


1973 Triumph Stag 

SOLD FOR $15,400 | LOT T318 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. LE23738UBW. Yellow over brown vinyl. 3.0-liter, 145-hp V-8. 

Automatic. Goodyear tires, power windows, cassette stereo, tools and books. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Used but tidy and maintained 

engine bay. Good original chrome. Dull, possibly original paint with numerous 

touch-ups and scratches, particularly on the front. Beat-up exhaust tips. 

Tidy and maintained but unrestored underneath. Good interior other than worn 

switchgear and seatbelts. Used, but well-kept considering how little these cars 

are worth and that most of them rotted away long ago. 

BOTTOM LINE The Stag was a cool idea meant to take Triumph upmarket, but 

it just didn’t work. Early cars broke a lot, even by Triumph standards, and their 

reputation never recovered. Triumph should have put a Rover V-8 in it rather than 

its own finicky proprietary unit, 

and many owners have fixed 

that with engine swaps. This 

mostly original, well-kept example 

is therefore something 

of an oddity, but it did not bring 

an out-of-the-ordinary price. 

84


1993 Ford Mustang 5.0 SVT Cobra 

SOLD FOR $48,400 | LOT T200 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1FACP42D4PF142123. Vibrant Red over gray. 5.0-liter, 235-hp V-8. 

5-speed manual, 3.08:1 Traction-Lok. Fog lights, Goodyear Eagle tires, sunroof. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Just 3042 miles and clearly treated as a 

collectible since new. 

BOTTOM LINE This first-year SVT Cobra sold for $39,600 at Auburn Fall last 

year. Prices for the best examples have only grown in the proceeding months, 

as this even more staggering result shows. 

2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe 


Chassis No. 1G2MG25X99Y107095. Silver over black leather, 2.0-liter, 260-hp 

turbo four-cylinder, 5-speed manual. 

EVALUATION Original | 7266 miles and looks like a new car aside from a tiny 

scratch on the filler cap. One of the last cars to wear a Pontiac badge, GXP 

coupes are quite rare. 

BOTTOM LINE The GXP coupe did not meet Mecum’s ambitious $45,000 low 

estimate. Considering it was worth about $31,000 new, this result is nonetheless 

one the seller should be happy with. 


85


1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda 


Chassis No. BS23R1B109833. Rallye Red over black vinyl with cloth inserts, 426- 

ci, 425-hp Hemi V-8. Automatic. Shaker hood, hub caps, Polyglas GT tires, pushbutton 

radio, hood pins, Tic-Toc-Tach, power steering, power brakes, console. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Not numbers matching but represented as 

a genuine Hemi car. Very good and fully restored—but not overly detailed— 

engine bay. Good older paint and chrome. Light wear on the door handles. 

Even gaps. Good older restored interior. An attractive and inherently collectible 

Hemi Cuda with just a few strikes against it. 

BOTTOM LINE Not at all overshadowed by the ‘70 Hemi Cuda convertible (Lot 

F120) that sold the day before for $1.98 million, this car defied its lack of matching 

numbers and handful of flaws to reach a surprisingly high price. 


1973 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia 

SOLD FOR $6,600 | LOT G267 | #3 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1432622097. Green over brown vinyl. Hub caps and trim rings, 

aftermarket stereo, upgraded electrics. 

EVALUATION Cosmetic Restoration | Dirty engine bay with old-looking belts 

and hoses. Surface rust on the exhaust. Decent older respray with some masking 

issues around the headlights. Thick old undercoating. Light track scratches 

in the side glass. Good interior other than some cracks in the dash top. A 

20-footer, meaning it’s pretty 

from a distance but nothing to 

write home about up close. 

BOTTOM LINE Better than a 

project car, but it brought a 

project-car price—closer to 

10 grand would not have been 

expensive. 

86


1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet 

SOLD FOR $107,250 | LOT S119 | #2+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. H125985. Burgundy over burgundy leather. 292-ci V-12. 3-speed. 

Hub caps and trim rings, Firestone wide whitewalls, fender skirts, boot cover, 

column shift, radio, dash clock. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Classic Car Club of America Full Classic. Sizable 

scratch on the right rear, but otherwise gorgeous older paint and chrome. 

Minuscule wrinkling to the seats; the rest of the interior is gorgeous. Tidy underneath. 

A major detailing away from being showable again, but it’s a gorgeous 

car as it sits, not to mention quite rare. 

BOTTOM LINE Sold by RM out of the Cappy collection in 2006 for $176,000, 

then hammered not sold at a $100,000 high bid at Mecum Monterey last year 

and again at a $95,000 high bid at Kissimmee this January. The three most recent 

numbers are consistent and fair, which the seller apparently realized in letting 

it go at Indy. One of the bidders from Kissimmee was the buyer here. He 

had been thinking of the car since January and luckily sealed the deal. The car 

will go well with the similarly gorgeous 1941 Zephyr coupe that he did take home 

from Kissimmee. 


1965 Triumph TR4A 

SOLD FOR $13,750 | LOT G283 | #3- CONDITION 

Chassis No. CT68671. White and red over red piped in white. 2138-cc four-cylinder. 

Hub caps and trim rings, luggage rack, hardtop, banjo-style steering wheel, 

original radio. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Older paint that looks great from a short distance 

but reveals plenty of small scratches and nicks up close. Uneven panel 

87


gaps. Tired chrome with light pitting in places. Tidy, restored underbody. The 

tires look ancient. Good upholstery and gauges, but the dashboard wood is 

cracked and the steering wheel is worn. The gaskets around the glass on the 

hardtop are dry and cracking. 

Restored in 1996 and driven a 

lot since—not that there’s anything 

wrong with that—it’s still 

a usable driver but is rough 

around the edges and could 

use some TLC. 

BOTTOM LINE This is a better 

car than the price suggests. The 

work may be old, the car may be used—and have a less desirable solid rear axle 

(TR4s with independent rear suspension carry a slight premium)—but this result 

is favorable to the buyer by a few bids. 

1953 Buick Roadmaster Skylark 

Convertible 

SOLD FOR $82,500 | LOT F213 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 17142626. Mandarin Red over red-and-white leather, Kelsey-Hayes 

wire wheels, whitewalls, factory radio, dash clock, heater, power windows. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | The older paint is holding up very well, but the 

bumpers have picked up some scratches. Erratic door fit. Paint chipping off the 

convertible top’s frame. Very clean and restored underneath. Lightly but visibly 

wrinkled seats. Fully restored to high standards, but that was a long time ago. 

BOTTOM LINE This car sold for $143,000 at Worldwide Auctioneers’ Hilton 

Head sale in 2006, but its restoration was a lot fresher then, and people were 

actually paying more for Skylarks than they are now. These days, cars from this 

era that are anything less than fresh struggle to bring big prices. Leaving off the 

reserve did little to entice more bidding. 


88


1953 Singer SM Roadster 

SOLD FOR $14,850 | LOT W270 | #3- CONDITION 

Chassis No. L4AD1717V. Red over beige, 1497-cc four-cylinder. Hub caps, 

Firestone blackwalls, wood-look dash, floor shift, dash clock. 

EVALUATION Enthusiast Restoration | Tired, flat old paint with numerous deep 

and long scratches. Dull but presentable chrome and brightwork. Older undercoated 

chassis with light oxidation. Uneven gaps. Good interior with sound 

upholstery, although the dash, 

while attractive, isn’t real wood. 

A rare, interesting, charming 

little car, but it’s a bit rough 

and not all the details are right. 

BOTTOM LINE A Singer is for 

someone who wants something 

a little bit different—and 

is willing to explain repeatedly 

why they didn’t want an MG. Indeed, this price is about what an MG TD in this 

condition could expect to bring, but parts will be harder to find, and this car has 

definite needs. All things considered, it’s hard to call this a deal. 


2012 Local Motors Rally Fighter 


Chassis No. AZ336306. Gulf Blue and Orange over black piped in orange. 

LS3 V-8. Automatic. Cross-drilled and slotted rotors, Momo steering wheel, 

Pioneer stereo. 

EVALUATION Original | 2012 SEMA car in Gulf colors. No mileage represented, 

but it has clearly never gotten into the rough and tumble that these things were 

designed for. No wear to speak of. 

BOTTOM LINE Part off-roader and part supercar, Rally Fighters are a bit of a gimmick. 

But they’re a cool, fast gimmick that started new at around $100,000. This 

one sold for $66,000 

at Barrett-Jackson Las 

Vegas in 2017, which 

seemed like a deal at 

the time. And although 

this is a higher result, 

it’s still less than the 

other ones on the market 

right now are asking 

and seems like a 

solid value. 

89


1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu 

SS 396 Convertible 


Chassis No. 136679B346284. Monaco Orange over black vinyl. 396-ci, 325-hp 

L35 V-8. Automatic. Power steering, factory 

air conditioning, bucket seats, horseshoe 

shifter, factory radio. 

EVALUATION Recent Restoration | Represented 

as matching numbers. The engine 

bay is freshly finished but not overly detailed. 

A small piece of the grille is broken, 

but the paint, chrome, interior, and top are all very good. Straight body with even 

gaps. Finished recently and done to high but not over-the-top standards. 

BOTTOM LINE This car was an auction regular in the early 2000s. It sold for 

$83,600 at Russo and Steele Scottsdale 2006, for $84,700 at Barrett-Jackson 

Scottsdale 2007, then hammered not sold at a $65,000 high bid at Kruse Denver 

in 2007, and sold for $66,550 at Russo and Steele Scottsdale 2008. A lot has happened 

in the collector car market and the wider world since then, but crossing 

the block again after its most recent restoration, the Chevelle brought a similarly 

high and appropriate result. 


1957 Heinkel Kabine 

NOT SOLD AT A $22,000 HIGH BID | LOT U71 | #3 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1534867. Light blue over plaid cloth. 198-cc four-stroke single-cylinder, 

steel wheels, reverse gear, front-opening door (like an Isetta), folding sunroof, 

bubble side windows. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Tired old paint. Dry window 

rubber. A bit grubby underneath. Decent seats, but the upholstery in the back is 

90


coming apart. Like an Isetta but more obscure and even more bulbous. This one 

isn’t so bad that it isn’t cute 

and attention-grabbing, but 

it’s fairly rough. Good luck 

finding parts. 

BOTTOM LINE Just a few 

weeks ago at Mecum Houston, 

this car sold for $28,600, 

a generous number. The offer 

here is more realistic. A 

Kabine may be more unusual 

than an Isetta, but it’s not necessarily worth more. A $6600 hit in a matter of 

weeks is hard to stomach, but the Houston result will be hard to replicate. 

1966 Shelby GT350H 


Chassis No. SFM6S1005. Candyapple Red with gold stripes over black vinyl, 

4-speed (originally an automatic). Radial T/A tires, hood pins, factory radio. 

EVALUATION Recent Restoration | Some light scratching on the bumpers but 

they’re still shiny. Sound older paint. Erratic panel fit. Very good interior. Lightly 

used but restored engine bay and underbody. Desirable 4-speed Hertz renta-racer 

and noteworthy for not being painted black, as most of them were. Restored 

well but showing some age. 

BOTTOM LINE Reported sold at Mecum Glendale a few months ago for 

$121,000. Once out of the Hertz inventory, many GT350Hs were quickly converted 

to 4-speeds. That technically detracts from their value, but it makes them 

more fun, as does the desirable Candyapple Red and gold livery, which offsets 

some of the value loss of the 4-speed conversion. An appropriate result. 

CAMERON NEVEU (BOTTOM); COURTESY MECUM 

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1970 Dodge Coronet R/T Convertible 

SOLD FOR $56,100 | LOT W135 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. WS27U0G120610. Bright Red and black over black vinyl, 440-ci, 

375-hp Magnum V-8. Automatic. Radial T/A tires, power steering, bucket seats, 

console, floor shift, factory radio. 

EVALUATION Cosmetic Restoration | Good older paint despite a chip on the 

nose, some blisters along the rocker panels, and some orange peel on the right 

front fender. Paint coming off the R/T badges. Sound old chrome. Good convertible 

top. Light track scratches on the side glass. Older restoration underneath. 

Aged original dash, switchgear, and console but good newer upholstery. 

Restored to decently high standards. Sure to make a good driver. 

BOTTOM LINE This car sold here 11 years ago for $44,000 and again, for the 

same price, at Russo and Steele Scottsdale in 2009. A couple of months ago, it 

sold for $44,000 once more at Mecum’s sale in Glendale, Arizona. The Glendale 

result was a lot more realistic. Any final price over 50 grand makes this a very 

expensive car. 


1970 AMC Rebel Machine 


Chassis No. A0C190Y206695. Frost White with red and blue accents over 

black vinyl. 390-ci, 340-hp, V-8. 4-speed. Wide Oval tires, hood tach, original 

space-saver spare. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Paint 

looks very good with only a few minor 

blemishes from poor preparation work. 

Panel fit is very good (for an AMC product, 

anyway). The brightwork is very good, 

other than some very minor scratches and 

some pitting on door handles. The interior 

is very good, showing little wear aside from slight discoloration of the rear 

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seat belts. The engine compartment looks good, with some use showing on the 

exhaust and near the cylinder heads. Underneath looks good, with undercoating 

peeling off in a few spots. Would be a great and attention-grabbing local 

show car. 

BOTTOM LINE Despite its in-your-face paint job and competitive performance, 

the Rebel Machine is a bit obscure in the muscle car world and, like most AMCs, 

is undervalued compared with its competition. There must have been at least 

two deep-pocketed AMC fans in Indy this year, however, as this is an expensive 

result. Then again, it would be hard to find another Rebel Machine as clean and 

well restored as this one. 


1973 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 


Chassis No. 1Q87T3N119596. White with black vinyl roof and black stripes 

over black vinyl. 350-ci, 245-hp V-8. 4-speed manual. Rally wheels, Wide Oval 

tires, spoilers, pushbutton radio, console, power steering, power brakes. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Spotless, fresh engine bay. Unfortunate, tiny 

crack near the top of the nose but otherwise fantastic new paint. Very good interior. 

This is a fresh-looking 

and gorgeous car even if 

it doesn’t have the performance 

of an earlier second-gen 

Z. 

BOTTOM LINE A ‘73 Camaro, 

even a Z/28, hardly 

ever gets such royal 

treatment in a restoration, 

since they were emissions-choked. 

Sold for the exact same $49,500 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 

seven years ago. It was lucky to get such a strong number in 2012, and—even 

luckier to get it now. 

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1979 Ferrari 308 GTS 

SOLD FOR $47,300 | LOT U73.1 | #3 CONDITION 

Chassis No. F106AS28683. Rosso Corsa over black and red leather, Speedline 

wheels, Daytona-style seats, power windows, air conditioning, Alpine CD stereo. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Sound but not high-quality older repaint. 

Odd cracking on the right A-pillar. Dirty engine bay, at least by Ferrari standards. 

Dull exterior plastic. Newer seats, but the switchgear is lightly worn. Represented 

with 32,900 actual miles, but no other info at all. It’s a driver-quality 308 at best, 

and it doesn’t take a psychic to predict that given the condition and lack of service 

history, it has some hefty bills in its future. 

BOTTOM LINE Hammered not sold at a $50,000 high bid at Mecum Monterey 

last year, which was a perfectly fair offer for a mediocre 308. The crowd in Indy 

was even less generous, but not unfair. 


1966 MGB Mk I Roadster 

SOLD FOR $18,700 | LOT T54 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. GHN3L86850. British Racing Green over black vinyl. Centerlock wire 

wheels, dual fender mirrors, tonneau cover, banjo-style steering wheel, heater. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | A few light scratches on the front bumper, two 

small dents in the right body-side trim, and a few small scratches on the hood, but 

the paint is very good overall, as is the chrome. Very clean and restored underneath. 

Very good restored interior with 

no serious wear. Wear on the windshield 

frame. A very good, if not flawless early B 

treated like a more valuable car than it is. 

BOTTOM LINE When it comes to 

MGBs, the gap between driver-quality 

cars and excellent cars is a big one. Drivers 

can be had for somewhere around 

10 grand, and really good ones for around 20. Considering the quality of the 

restoration on this one but also its age and use, it brought a spot-on price. 

94


1978 Mercury Bobcat Villager 

Station Wagon 

SOLD FOR $12,650 | LOT F11 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. 8T22Z500713. White and woodgrain over blue vinyl and plaid 

cloth. V-6, narrow whitewall tires, roof rack. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Older repaint peeling on the 

front fender, and there is a fisheye in the left mirror. Pitting on the window trim. 

Scratches on the rear window trim. Pitting 

on the roof rack. Very clean interior. The 

22,680 miles are represented as actual. 

BOTTOM LINE When was the last time 

you saw a Pinto–based Mercury Bobcat 

in any kind of condition, let alone with 

barely 20,000 miles? Anything over 10 

grand seems like a strangely high price for this car, but considering that Gooding 

& Company sold an even more immaculately preserved ‘74 LTD Country 

Squire wagon back in March for $45,920, it doesn’t seem quite so ridiculous. 

1958 DeSoto Firesweep Sportsman 


Chassis No. LS13701. Coral with white roof over brown, beige and tan. 250-ci, 280- 

hp V-8. Wheel covers, whitewalls, dual mirrors, dual antenna, pushbutton radio. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Represented as a two-owner, matching- 

numbers car with 32,448 actual miles. Tired but presentable original chrome. 

Light pitting around the taillights. Sound original paint with some rub through 

on the hood, a handful of small dents on the body sides, and a few small scratches 

throughout. Original but tidy and maintained underneath. Very good original 

interior with clear plastic covers on the front seats. A remarkably well-preserved 

car that’s arguably too good to restore. 

BOTTOM LINE And at this price, it’s also too expensive to restore. This number 

would buy one that has already been redone. 


95


1967 Ford Bronco U13 Roadster 


Chassis No. U13NLA45076. Rare doorless roadster model (only built until 1968) 

finished in Poppy Red over white vinyl, 289-ci, 200-hp V-8. 3-speed manual. 

Wheel covers, AM/FM radio. 

EVALUATION Recent Restoration | Spotless engine bay. Very good paint and 

chrome. Excellent interior. Nothing to nitpick. Just a rare 289 U13 roadster with 

627 miles since a thorough body-off restoration. 

BOTTOM LINE There were 

two U13 roadsters here. This 

was by far the better example, 

as reflected in the whopping 

$96,800 price difference between 

the two. For the seller, 

all that time, effort, and money 

in getting the details right 

during restoration certainly 

paid off. In the grander scheme of things, it’s a way-over-the-top result. Firstgen 

Bronco prices seem to be plateauing, as they were bound to do eventually, 

but nobody told the person who bought this one. 


1973 BMW 3.0 CS 


Chassis No. 2250587. Blue over blue interior. Kumho tires, automatic, power 

windows, Nardi wood-rim steering wheel. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Represented with recent 

engine work, but it looks all original under there and a bit grimy, although the 

transmission was supposedly rebuilt. Large scratch on the left front and a few 

small chips on the passenger’s 

door, but the paint is the car’s 

biggest strength. Unrestored 

underneath but has newer 

exhaust. Good seats, lightly 

worn switchgear. Just a driver, 

no more and no less. 

BOTTOM LINE While it’s a 

far cry from the high-winged, 

race-bred 3.0 CSL, the more pedestrian U.S.-market 3.0 CS is a surprisingly valuable 

car, and not many are left since they were rust-prone. The bidders ignored 

this one’s transmission choice but didn’t get carried away, either, resulting in a 

number that is fair to both buyer and seller. 

96


1988 Porsche 911 Turbo 


Chassis No. WP0JB0931JS050410. Black over black leather, factory slant nose, 

aftermarket exhaust, polished chrome Fuchs wheels, air conditioning, rear defrost, 

power seats. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Represented as a three-owner factory slant 

nose with 29,721 actual miles. The body looks clean and good, but the wheels 

are beginning to lose their black paint. The weather stripping is still soft and 

dark, as is the rear spoiler. 

The engine bay has been 

detailed. The driver’s seat 

has large cracks but is free 

of tears. 

BOTTOM LINE A factory 

slantnose (as opposed to 

an aftermarket conversion) 

can fetch a 30 percent premium 

over a contemporary 911 Turbo, so this is a relatively modest result. Only 

the cleanest, lowest-mile 930-generation Turbos have been getting strong prices 

lately, however, and this one is unfortunately neither of those things, even if 

it isn’t a bad car. 


1990 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 

SOLD FOR $24,200 | LOT T129 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. 1G1YY3387L5110574. Turquoise Metallic with pink graphics over 

black leather. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Represented as an official Indianapolis 500 

festival car (specially decorated cars used in the parade that precedes the race, 

not to be confused with a pace car) with 2,995 miles. Looks new other than light 

wrinkling to the seats and light 

age to the paint. Festival cars 

don’t differ materially from a 

standard Corvette—it’s just 

graphics. 

BOTTOM LINE Just graphics, 

but limited-production and official 

association with the race 

make them collectible. This 

one got about twice what a run-of-the-mill 1990 convertible in this condition 

would expect to bring. It certainly didn’t hurt that the car was being auctioned 

in Indianapolis. The seller was wise to bring it here. 

97


1967 Volkswagen Beetle 


Chassis No. 117777588. Blue over black 

vinyl, whitewalls, roof rack, 12-volt electrics, 

1300-cc flat-four. 

EVALUATION Enthusiast Restoration | 

Average-quality respray with dirt and a 

scratch on the hood as well as chips around 

the fitment of the roof rack. Scratches and 

dents on the window trim. Track scratches 

in the side glass. Grimy but maintained 

engine bay. New vinyl seats. Visible rust on the backs of the bumpers. Lightly 

scratched wheels. A driver-quality Beetle. 

BOTTOM LINE One wouldn’t have to look far to find a better Beetle for the 

same money. 


1966 Pontiac GTO 

SOLD FOR $90,750 | LOT F287 | #3 CONDITION 

Chassis No. 242176P326780. Starlight Black with black vinyl roof over black vinyl, 

389-ci, 360-hp Tri-Power V-8. 4-speed, 3.55 Safe-T-Track rear differential. Center 

console, power steering, bucket seats, hub caps, Redline tires, power windows. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | The 35,115 miles showing are represented 

as original. Remarkably good original paint and interior. The black vinyl roof is 

in good condition as well. Some pitting around the rear window trim, but the 

rest of the brightwork is in good condition. Some paint chipping and oxidation 

under the hood, but nothing is rotten. The wheel wells are in good condition. A 

gracefully aged survivor with desirable equipment. Too good to restore. 

BOTTOM LINE Something is only original once, and that resonated with the 

bidders here. Even a concours-restored ‘66 GTO would be lucky to fetch as 

high a bid. 

98


1953 Chevrolet Series 3100 Pickup 


Light green with dark green fenders over tan. Inline-6. 4-speed. Oak bed, tinted 

glass, chromed running boards, fog lights, artillery wheels with hub caps and 

whitewalls, later cassette stereo, 12-volt electrics. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Solid and clean paint, chrome and wood 

bed. Some of the Chevrolet script on the tailgate is peeling. Engine bay has 

been fully redone and is very clean aside from a few fluid leaks. Restored in 

2001, but clearly not used very much since. A charming, honest vintage pickup. 

BOTTOM LINE A lot of classic pickups keep getting more and more expensive, 

but this result seems well ahead of the curve, especially for a restoration 

that’s so old. 

99


MECUM HOUSTON 

D 

espite what you may assume about Texas—and the fact that 

Houston’s NRG convention center also hosts the world’s largest 

livestock show and rodeo—Mecum’s annual sale here isn’t 

all pickup trucks and Camaros. This year’s 1001 lots included everything 

from late-model exotics and vintage Porsches to a 2006 Chevy school bus. 

The most interesting vehicles came from the collection of Guatemalan 

businessman Mario Sueiras. His eclectic assortment of microcars, prewar 

American luxury, and ’60s muscle cars were offered at no reserve. In all, 

Mecum sold 725 lots at an accessible average price of just over $25,000. 


1965 Austin-Healey 3000 

Mk III Ph2 Convertible 


Chassis No. HBJ8L29264. A final-series, Phase II Big Healey from the Mario 

Sueiras collection, finished in white over red with a black top. Painted wire 

wheels, dual wing mirrors, boot cover, banjo-style steering wheel, BMC radio, 

Lucas driving lights, badge bar. 

EVALUATION Enthusiast Restoration | Tidy and restored but used engine bay. 

The grille and bumpers are a bit dull; the paint is good but older. The driver’s 

door sticks out, and the weather stripping is coming loose. The driver’s-side 

outer seat bolster is worn and lightly ripped, but the rest of the interior is good. 

A casual driver. 

BOTTOM LINE This isn’t a great Healey, but it’s a better one than this low 

no-reserve result suggests. The new owner got a sweet deal on a car that’s 

ready for enjoyable weekend drives. 

100

AUCTION REPORT | MECUM HOUSTON 

1998 Ferrari 550 Maranello 

NOT SOLD AT AN $80,000 HIGH BID | LOT F116 | #3 CONDITION 

NART Blue over white leather. Modular wheels, Michelin tires, clear bra on the 

nose, 6-speed manual, Tubi exhaust, Kenwood CD stereo. 

EVALUATION Original | Showing 49,214 miles and represented with a belt service 

last year. There are several chips on the nose and hood, including under 

the clear bra. Tiny dent on the passenger’s door. The rest of the paint is lightly 

scratched from detailing, and there are a few larger cracks on the trunk lid. 

Lightly wrinkled driver’s seat and lightly warped dash top. A late stick-shift Ferrari 

GT car is inherently collectible, 

but by Ferrari standards 

this is a rough car. 

BOTTOM LINE The 550 is still 

a decent value in terms of performance 

and style—especially 

since V-12 stick-shift cars have 

gone extinct. In the right condition, 

it can be a six-figure car. 

But a worn one doesn’t deserve much more than the reported high bid here. It 

should have sold at this price. 


2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello 

SOLD FOR $83,600 | LOT F158.1 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. ZFFBV55A220126972. Grigio Titanio over black leather. Michelin 

tires, Daytona-style seats, factory radio, clear bra on the nose. 

EVALUATION Original | Represented with 15,000 miles and a service 800 miles 

ago. Very good paint. Clean wheels. Light wrinkling to the driver’s seat. Pampered 

in typical Ferrari fashion and seldom driven. 

BOTTOM LINE This auction regular sold here last year for $99,000, then reeled 

off no sales in quick succession: Monterey at an $85,000 high bid, Dallas at 

101


$90,000, Kissimmee at $80,000, Glendale at $70,000. All modest numbers for a 

low-mile 575, but a Bring a Trailer online listing reveals the CARFAX reported 

damage to the right front in 2006. The seller decided to cut losses and drop the 

reserve, which was a prudent choice. 

2001 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster 


Chassis No. 1B3ER65E31V702791. Viper Red over black leather. Nitto tires, 

CD stereo. 

EVALUATION Original | Later RT/10 offered on salvage title—might be a victim 

of Hurricane Harvey or one of the other flood events in Southeast Texas. A little 

dirty underneath. Wrinkled seats. 

Some cracks on the nose, and 

the paint on the hardtop is very 

tired. Looks like a used car despite 

showing only 18,202 miles, and the 

title issue is of course a red flag. 

BOTTOM LINE This car sold for 

$30,800 at Mecum Dallas in 2016, 

and although it looks decent, it 

will never be able to escape the salvage-title stigma. It’s destined to trade for 

rock-bottom dollars. 

2000 BMW M Coupe 


Chassis No. WBSCM9341YLC61535. Black over black and gray. Aluminum 

wheels, Kumho tires, S52 (3.2-liter, 240 hp) engine, power windows, air conditioning, 

CD stereo. 

EVALUATION Original | Showing 178,651 miles, but even without looking at 


102


the odometer it’s easy to see that 

the car is clapped out. No service 

history represented. The paint is 

rough even from a distance, with 

numerous chips and scratches. 

Light crack on the left rear wheel, 

and the tires look old. Lightly worn 

seats and dull, faded seatbelt 

buckles. M Coupes can bring big 

money these days, but it’s the ones with the more powerful engine, far fewer 

miles, and much better condition that get the attention of deep-pocketed buyers. 

BOTTOM LINE This is probably the lowest price anyone has paid for an M Coupe 

in a while, but it bought a thoroughly worn-out car. 


1971 Jaguar E-Type SII Roadster 

NOT SOLD AT A $70,000 HIGH BID | LOT F238 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. P1R12662. White over black leather. Chrome wire wheels, Goodyear 

tires in back, store brand tires in front. Boot cover, Nardi wood-rim steering 

wheel, wood shift knob, factory pushbutton radio. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Represented with 12,710 

believable miles and original other than a repaint 20 years ago. Tidy, maintained, 

and correct engine bay. The paint is starting to show its age, but it’s sound 

and has no major blemishes other than some discoloration below the driver’s 

door. Erratic panel fit. Lightly aged leather, but there’s no reason to replace it. 

The dash and switchgear are very good. Tidy underneath. Dull but presentable 

chrome. An attractive, usable Series II E-Type. 

BOTTOM LINE While it is commendably well-preserved, it’s not quite a “timewarp 

car” survivor. And, no matter the condition, a Series II E-Type isn’t as desirable 

as a Series I. The reported high bid wasn’t generous, but it was fair—and 

it’s not likely to get much higher at another venue. 

103


1993 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur II 


Chassis No. SCAZN02D0PCX46277. Light blue with dark blue vinyl roof over 

beige leather piped in blue. Wheel covers, narrow whitewalls, rear seat tables, 

cassette stereo. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Well-kept Florida car showing 51,175 miles. 

All the interior lights and power features work. Dull brightwork. Two small chips 

in the clear coat on the left 

front but mostly good, original 

paint. Clean roof vinyl. 

Very good interior with remarkably 

nice leather and 

wood, but the controls for 

the power seats are worn. 

BOTTOM LINE Silver Spurs 

have been a low-cost ticket 

to Rolls ownership for years 

now, and many of them are very rough and neglected as a result. Although this 

one looks well-taken care of, it doesn’t have a service history represented, which 

is a concern. A four-figure shop bill could very well be right around the corner. 

The bidders seem to have prudently taken that into account with this middle-ofthe-road 

price for an otherwise good-looking car. It sold for the same amount at 

Auburn Fall two years ago. 


1986 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62 

SOLD AT A $31,900 HIGH BID | LOT F298 | #2 CONDITION 

Chassis No. FJ62052533. White over brown vinyl and pattern cloth. All-Terrain 

T/A tires, 5-speed manual, Old Man Emu offroad suspension, aftermarket Blaupunkt 

stereo, power windows, air conditioning. 

EVALUATION Truck Restoration | Foreign-market FJ62 represented as a recent 

restoration. Very clean but not overly detailed engine bay. New exhaust. Lightly 

scratched bumpers and 

window trim. Fresh paint 

looks very good, and the 

restored frame is nearly 

spotless. Very good interior 

with newer upholstery. 

Nearly like new. 

BOTTOM LINE FJ62s are 

starting to get old enough 

that they’re transitioning 

104


from rugged workhorse to collector truck, so we shouldn’t be surprised if we 

start seeing more restored examples hitting the market soon, especially if they 

keep selling for prices like this. 

2017 Shelby F-150 Super Snake Pickup 


Chassis No. 1FTEW1CFXHFC21849. Shelby Blue with white stripes over 

black leather. Sunroof, chromed wheels, Toyo tires. 

EVALUATION Original | 321 miles and essentially new. Represented as truck 64 

of 110 built in 2017. 

instead, it depreciated like any other (very lightly) used truck. 

BOTTOM LINE Ford hasn’t 

offered a Lightning in years, 

but Shelby has scratched 

the muscle truck itch with 

the 750-hp Super Snake. 

The base price for this one 

two years ago was about 

$100,000. Given how rare it 

is, one could argue that it 

should have sold for more; 

1954 Chevrolet Corvette 


Chassis No. E54S003349. Sportsman Red over red vinyl. Spinner wheel covers, 

whitewalls, pushbutton radio. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration 

| Very clean but not overly detailed 

engine bay. Several small 

cracks in front of the hood. Otherwise 

good but older paint and 

chrome, although some of the 

window trim is a little dull. Good, 

lightly worn interior. Fully restored 

in 2008, but that probably 

wasn’t a concours-quality redo to begin with, and it’s starting to show its age. 

BOTTOM LINE The 1954 Corvette is essentially identical to the first-year ’53, 

but GM built more than 12 times as many and offered four colors instead of just 

Polo White. Discounted for the age of its restoration, this is still a fairly strong 

price for a ‘54. The seller should be pleased. 

105


2012 Porsche 911 Turbo S Coupe 

Edition 918 Spyder 

NOT SOLD AT A $100,000 HIGH BID | LOT S201 | #2- CONDITION 

Chassis No. WP0AD2A94CS766209. Black and Acid Green over black. 

Black centerlock wheels, 

Acid Green calipers, Potenza 

tires, sunroof, clear bra on 

the front. 

EVALUATION Original | 

Number 34 of the small batch 

of special-edition 911s made 

for 918 buyers. Represented 

with 13,600 miles, so this 

wasn’t a collector’s garage 

decoration—someone actually drove it to tide them over while waiting for their 

hybrid supercar. There is a sizable scratch in the left front part of the nose, but it 

may not have made it down to the paint. Otherwise very good paint and interior. 

BOTTOM LINE Limited-production 911s tend to defy usual new car convention 

and get more expensive than MSRP very quickly, and yet there’s something a bit 

poseur-ish about buying an Edition 918 Spyder without actually owning a 918. 

That limits the appeal here. The high bid was well off the 160-grand original price 

but wasn’t unreasonable. 


2000 Ferrari 360 


Chassis No. ZFFYU51A5Y0120207. Rosso Corsa over tan leather piped in 

black. Paddle shifters, Alpine stereo, books and tools. 

EVALUATION Original | The Scuderia shields are aftermarket, and the right one 

has paint chipping off it. The headlight lenses are cloudy, and there are lots of 

chips on the nose. The rest of the paint isn’t terrible, but by 20-year-old Ferrari 

standards it should be better. Slightly flattened driver’s seat, but interior is 

mostly good otherwise. The 360 is one of the more usable Ferraris, so this one’s 

34,687 miles aren’t unusually 

high, but it clearly 

wasn’t pampered along 

the way. 

BOTTOM LINE While 

easier to live with and 

maintain than the F355 it 

replaced, the 360 is still a 

modern, tech-heavy Fer- 

106


rari, so this one’s wear and tear—and its lack of a service history—aren’t reassuring. 

The price was low, but no less than the car deserved. 

1956 Fiat 600 Multipla 


Chassis No. 202944. Two-tone green over green and white vinyl. Hubcaps, 

whitewalls, Veglia gauges. Among the least tiny of the tiny cars offered from the 

Mario Sueiras collection. 

EVALUATION Enthusiast Restoration | Dull grille trim. Good older paint, other 

than light cracking around the door hinges. Clean, lightly run engine. Good interior. 

A sound, basic restoration. 

BOTTOM LINE While few would 

call it elegant, the 600 Multipla is 

a charming little car that’s surprisingly 

roomy (they were popular 

taxis in their day), with space for a 

few friends. For casual enjoyment, 

this one needs nothing, and it 

brought a fair price for what it is. 


1967 Austin Mini Cooper 1275S 


Chassis No. CA2S7L931704. Blue with white roof over black vinyl. Fender mirrors, 

aftermarket steering wheel, hydrolastic suspension, Minilite wheels, Falken 

tires. From the Mario Sueiras collection. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Decent older chrome. Good older paint other 

than several big chips right behind the front bumper. The right side of the car 

sits slightly lower than the left. Tidy engine bay with a correct, S-spec 1275-cc 

four-cylinder. Excellent interior. Represented as a real-deal Cooper S with tons 

of charm. 

BOTTOM LINE A topnotch 

1275S can bring 

more than 40 grand. 

This, however, is a realistic 

number for a clean 

and correct car with a 

number of small issues. 

The seller can be satisfied 

with the price, and 

the buyer can go have 

a blast. 

107


1965 Honda S600 Roadster 


Chassis No. AS2851007397. Red over black vinyl. Hubcaps, narrow whitewalls, 

dual wing mirrors, wood-rim steering wheel, original radio. From the 


EVALUATION Older Restoration | Good newer replacement top. Dull chrome. 

Good older repaint. Tidy, lightly used engine bay and underbody. Cracked steering-wheel 

center cap, but the rest of the interior is very good. A good, basic 

older restoration. Styling like an MG Midget and about the same size, but rarer 

as well as more sophisticated, and interesting with its twin-cam, four-carb engine 

and chain drive to the rear wheels. 

BOTTOM LINE This is a very high result, but it isn’t easy to find an S600 in any 

condition. And it was one of the nicest cars offered here from the Mario Sueiras 

collection. Mecum got even more for a restored S600 at Monterey in 2014, with a 

black over red car selling for $44,100. 


1971 BMW 2002 


Chassis No. 2579949. Tan over brown vinyl. Wheel covers, Vredestein tires, 

aftermarket radio. From the 


EVALUATION Enthusiast Restoration 

| Clean, correct engine 

bay. Older chrome, but very 

good, relatively fresh paint. 

Very good restored interior. 

The underbody looks restored, 

although there’s some dirt and 

grime, and the exhaust looks 

108


almost brand new. A basic car, equipment-wise, and finished in boring colors, 

but it’s well-kept and has those attractive round taillights. 

BOTTOM LINE A deservedly strong result for one of the nicer, driver-quality 

2002s you’ll see. If it wore a more exciting ‘70s color (Inka Orange, perhaps) it 

conceivably could have brought even more. 

1955 Jaguar XK 140 Fixed Head Coupe 


Chassis No. W32868. Ivory over red leather. Painted wire wheels, whitewalls, 

Lucas driving lights, spare, dual wing mirrors, leather hood strap. From the 


EVALUATION Older Restoration | Tidy, lightly run engine bay. Uneven door 

gaps. Very good interior. Very good but not show-quality older paint. Undercarriage 

looks like it was restored some time ago. Attractive colors and mostly 

very good presentation, other than a few details. A great car for driving events. 

BOTTOM LINE Appropriate result for an attractive but older restoration of a 

fixed-head coupe. It’s one of the better cars out of this collection, and it brought 

one of the strongest results. 


1977 Ferrari 308 GTS 


Chassis No. 23003. Rosso Corsa over black and red leather. Cromodora wheels, 

later added Scuderia shields, later digital stereo, power windows, air conditioning, 

aftermarket exhaust, Clifford alarm system. From the Mario Sueiras collection. 

EVALUATION Unrestored Original | Showing 96,401 km (59,900 miles). Dirty but 

maintained engine bay. Lightly wrinkled seats. Dull switchgear. Dull bumpers 

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and slightly tired but presentable 

paint. A desirable early 

carbureted 308 in good colors, 

but a used one with no 

history represented. 

BOTTOM LINE Discounted 

heavily for its level of use and 

its murky history, which is fair. 

The new owner has money left over for the thorough and expensive sorting that 

this 308 will likely need. 

1953 Nash-Healey LeMans Roadster 


Chassis No. 2378. Red over beige leather. 4140-cc, inline 6-cylinder. Wire 

wheel covers, whitewalls, dual wing mirrors, pushbutton radio, side curtains, 

spare. From the Mario Sueiras collection. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Matching numbers. Tidy but clearly used engine 

bay. Dull older chrome. The mirrors are incorrect (they look to be from a 

Jaguar). The shifter is incorrect as well. The door is tough to get open. Good but 

older paint and brightwork. Lightly wrinkled seats. 

BOTTOM LINE Just 162 of these exquisite, hand-built Italo-Anglo-American 

hybrids were built in 1953, and this one, despite a bunch of little problems, is 

a fundamentally good example. Considering their rarity and Pinin Farina lines, 

they’re not worth very much. If they had something Italian under the hood, 

they would probably sell well into six figures these days. Of course, one of the 

reasons Healey partnered with Nash was for practical but not particularly exotic 

American running gear. Given the age of the restoration, some incorrect 

details, and the lack of any type of history with this car, this is a realistic result. 


110


1969 Jaguar E-Type SII Roadster 


Chassis No. 1R9602. Red over black. Wire wheels, modern Michelin tires, boot 

cover, wood-rim steering wheel, later radio. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Terrible bumper chrome, 

especially the rear bumper. Long, light scratch on the left side of the hood and 

chips at the back of it. Reasonably tidy engine, but the frame is dirty and oxidized. 

Decent original interior, 

other than lightly wrinkled 

and cracked seats. The 

doors stick out a little. Not an 

eyesore, but not an E-Type 

you’d be too proud of. A restoration 

would be relatively 

straightforward, though. 

BOTTOM LINE And at this low but perfectly reasonable result, the new owner 

isn’t too far into the car to invest on said restoration. 

1973 Citroën SM 

SOLD FOR $55,000 | LOT T67 | #3+ CONDITION 

Chassis No. 00SD0265. Blue over black. Wheel covers, Goodyear tires, power 

windows, factory air conditioning, later JVC stereo. 

EVALUATION Visually Maintained, Largely Original | Represented with an up-todate 

service. Tidy engine bay. Lightly scratched bumpers. Old respray with flecks 

in the paint. Well-kept original interior. Unrestored but tidy underneath. Good 

enough for casual fun, provided everything works (especially the hydropneumatic 

suspension, fingers crossed), but nothing more serious than that. 

BOTTOM LINE Gooding sold this car for $81,400 in Scottsdale two years ago, 

but this is a much more realistic price. 


111


1966 Chevrolet Corvette L72 Coupe 


Chassis No. 194376S111647. Mosport Green over black leather. 427-ci, 425- 

hp L72 V-8, 4-speed, centerlock wheels, Goldline tires, side exhaust, teakwood 

steering wheel, Vintage Air 

aftermarket air conditioning, 

power steering, power 

brakes, later radio. 

EVALUATION 

Older Restoration 

| Represented as 

matching numbers, but without 

supporting documentation 

on hand. Restored 

but used underneath. The 

chrome is a little tired and 

the headlight doors are a little uneven. Uneven door gaps. Very good older 

paint other than a few small chips behind the passenger’s door. Very good, fully 

restored interior. A fundamentally attractive car that received a body-off restoration 

at some point and has a lot of good equipment. 

BOTTOM LINE This price is a fair balance between the desirable equipment, 

the age of the restoration, and aftermarket features. 

1967 Shelby GT350 Fastback 


Chassis No. 67200F40022. Wimbledon White with blue stripes over black vinyl. 

4-speed, Shelby Magstar wheels, Goodyear Speedway tires, power steering, 

power brakes, wood-rim steering wheel, pushbutton radio, hood pins. 

EVALUATION Recent Restoration | Represented as matching-numbers original 

engine and transmission. Documented history attests to one-family owner- 


112


ship from 1973 through 2016. Restoration finished in 2017 using NOS parts. Fully 

restored and nearly spotless 

engine bay. Excellent paint, 

chrome, and interior. A fantastic 

yet not overdone restoration—it 

looks fresh from the 

factory as opposed to unrealistically 

perfect. 

BOTTOM LINE Showable, 

fresh, gorgeous, and fast. It 

deserves this top-shelf price. 

1965 Lancia Flaminia Coupe 

by Pininfarina 


Chassis No. 826030001693. Silver over red leather. Hubcaps and trim rings, Talbot 

Berlin mirrors mounted on the fenders, pushbutton radio, Nardi wood-rim 

steering wheel. From the Mario Sueiras collection. 

EVALUATION Older Restoration | Grubby engine bay. Dull chrome and brightwork. 

High quality older paint. Scuffs and cracks in the taillights. Original leather 

is wrinkled and cracked, but the rest of the interior is holding up very well. Thick 

old undercoating on the chassis. Shiny paint and the handsome Pininfarina shape 

catch the eye, but this car has some issues. 

BOTTOM LINE Driver-quality price for a driver-quality car. Flaminias aren’t 

worth as much as their vowel-heavy name, Pininfarina lines, and powerful 2.8- 

liter V-6 would suggest. Provided it doesn’t have any needs that are too serious, 

this one’s a good value. 


113

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