LOOKING OUT FOR CLASSICS

From this desk, the world of classic cars looks very interesting. Whether it’s a multimillionpound or -dollar car owned by a billionaire on display at Lord Haw-haw’s estate or it’s something worth far less, only a few thousand dollars at best, it can hold a special place in our memory because of associations we have with it. We just find them captivating.

Sometimes it’s difficult to understand why they are worth so much. Apparently there’s a ‘mythical’ Bugatti Atlantic that, if it could be found, has a projected value of more than US$100M. This car could have been destroyed or could be hidden or lost. ‘Lost’ can mean genuinely lost, or lost as in the ‘lost at sea’ sense of the word. Maybe it was on a ship that was sunk during World War II.

That particular car was Ettore Bugatti’s own version of the Atlantic. Probably no car outside the current Formula 1 grid has ever been worth that amount. The car in itself is interesting enough, but with a story like that, as so many classics do have, it becomes all the more so.

Here in New Zealand, I doubt whether there are any cars worth that much, but, believe me, there are some seriously expensive cars in private collections around the country. There are also some seriously interesting cars that are probably not worth huge money.

Not too long ago, I saw a road-registered Model T Ford — not that unusual, except that it was in original condition. The paint was worn through to the metal in many places, the upholstery was aged, the hood was aged; goodness me, the whole car was aged. It looked magnificent; better than a showroom-condition one, to be honest; one of the best Survivor Class cars I have seen. As far as I know, it’s not kept like that to win Survivor ribbons; the owner likes it as it is for what it is. Maybe its story is not as interesting as the Bugatti’s, but, at around 100 years old, it also has lots of tales to tell.

Secreted elsewhere in collections around the country are Maseratis, Ferraris, Mercedes-benzes,

Rolls-royces, and similar. There are also badges such as Falcon, Holden, Austin, and Morris. Of the second group, some are now seriously valuable. A Falcon GT-HO Phase III sold for well over A$1M in Australia last year. However, most of them don’t have an insurance value to make your eyes water. They’re kept because of a desire to continue the badge name or model into the future. Most collectors are aware of the value of their cars, and very few ‘classic’ cars are dropping in value at the moment.

For the second month now, we are featuring a new column: Local Marketplace. In this section, we aim to increase knowledge of and interest in the local classic car market — what’s hot, what’s not, what’s interesting, whether values are up or down, some of what’s for sale, and news about relevant events. Here in New Zealand, we may not have the selection of cars that can gather at major international events, but we still have some of the world’s very desirable cars. We also have some of Australasia’s very desirable cars, part of a very local market. As these pages develop, we will be inviting experts to comment on all aspects of the local marketplace, so we invite you to read them and consider that you’re part of the classic car scene in New Zealand. If it prompts you to become an owner, that’s good; and we want to help you make informed choices when you do that.

Safe motoring,

Terry Cobham