Full-size luxury classics have been the orphans of the classic car world, but their unique appeal is growing
Stars of film, music and industry spend fast-paced lives racing between helipads, parties, appointments and romantic liaisons in a dizzying blur of wild V12 supercar fury, right? In the public imagination maybe. Reality for such exotic machinery is a life of air-conditioned storage, punctuated by rare trips out for a spot of posing. The greatest jeopardy is not somersaulting off the edge of a hillside road after an intoxicant-fuelled party, but having the wrong detailing products applied by the hired valeter. To arrive at those appointments fresh and ready to perform, life’s high achievers will waft in air-conditioned, air-suspended luxury. Greeting one’s followers with eyes out on stalks and shirt plastered to your back with sweat doesn’t create the right impression.
James Hunt ran a Mercedes S-class, as did baseball star Reggie Jackson and the Kennedys favoured Lincoln’s fourthgeneration Continentals in assorted forms. Don Mclean has had two Bentley Arnages. Eddie van Halen and Sylvester Stallone had Lamborghini LM002S, giving the outrageous-looking but civilised ‘Rambo Lambo’ its nickname, and the notorious Kray twin gangsters liked a Jaguar MKX for its ability to exude an air of successful businessman, laced with a hint of menace in case anyone disagreed.
Of course, all of that luxury can make such cars intimidating to own as they tumble down the secondhand market into the hands of owners on sub-superstar incomes, shedding value like autumn leaves. Until, that is, they start to be appreciated for their uniquely pampering classic appeal. That’s where we come in, armed with the right knowledge and the urge for a different kind of classic car experience. Lamborghini LM002 values underline how more buyers are thinking big, and the other real estate in our test is becoming more expensive, but they still represent appealing value compared to their lesser-sized contemporaries.
Time to indulge ourselves.