Ferrari ups and downs

As Foskers of Brands Hatch, the UK’s oldest independent Ferrari specialist, reports in its informative review of Ferrari trading in 2015, the last year has been one of contrasts for both classic and modern Ferraris alike. Certain models have done very well over the last 12 months, it says, including carburettor-fed 308s, Berlinetta Boxers, the F355, 550 and 575, and the rare Superamerica, in particular.

The Kent dealer cites the examples of a 950 mile HGTC pack F1 car achieving £339,000 at RM in Arizona in January and a left-hand drive Superamerica with the six-speed manual gearbox (one of just 43 in this spec) making a whopping £661,900 in a pre-Christmas shop last month. Meanwhile, F355s that were changing hands for around £70,000 at the beginning of 2015 have been trading for six figures, it claims.

It does point out though that not every model has experienced such amazing growth, and any temporary stability in values is a natural market adjustment for certain models, while many others are still on the rise. One of its predictions for 2016 is that the market will see a purge of the large numbers of sub-par, left-hand drive Ferraris that have been imported to the UK in recent years.

Many of these cars had been purchased cheaply in Europe with little thought or due diligence, it believes, as some non-specialist traders try to make large profits on the back of perceived-to-be continually-rising values in the market. But most British buyers are savvy enough to know that excellent UK-supplied, right-hand drive examples are much better buys.

Originality and ‘correctness’ will continue to be of major importance to buyers, it feels, especially with classic Ferraris from the 1960s and ’70s. Foskers has also had a number of enquiries from owners of Testarossas, 328s and even late Berlinetta Boxers in non-original red paint, who are interested in restoring cars back to their factory hues.

Cars in the £300,000-600,000 bracket may well see the most growth in 2016, the firm predicts. Various models in this segment, including almost all Berlinetta Boxers and Dinos, are still popular with buyers – and it also expects to see high demand for the very best, totally restored cars, with many willing to pay a substantial premium for a car that is fully sorted by the right experts.

Richard Hudson-Evans has been reporting on classic car sales for more than 25 years.