CHASING CARS Russ Smith’s market news IN THE TRADE
MAZDA TO RESTORE MX-5S Hot on the tailpipes of Jaguar and Land-Rover starting to restore its own early cars comes Mazda’s announcement of a restoration programme for early MX-5s. For now the service is only being offered to Japanese customers. A trial restoration has taken place and work on customer cars is set to begin in 2018. No prices have been mentioned yet, but one factor expected to benefit all early MX-5 owners is the reintroduction of various currently unavailable parts.
Top 15 classic climbers revealed Thought everything cooled off in 2014? These rebels prove not
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commentators is that the classic market hit its peak in late 2014. And that is largely true at the very top end of the market, where super-rich collectors deal in seven- or eight-figure sums. But at a lower level a large proportion of classic cars have actually continued to rise in value since then, in some cases by considerable amounts. Taken as a percentage, we found 14 classics that have actually more than doubled in value, with our ‘winner’, the Porsche 924 Turbo, trebling in price during that period. In fact three of the top five are Porsches, which is no surprise given the growth of interest in the marque. Lamborghini also seems to have benefitted from growing factory support for its heritage. And it’s good to see some former boy-racer Eighties favourites in there, such as the Ford Capri and Peugeot 205 GTI.
BONHAMS HEADS TO ITALY Bonhams is to hold its first classic car auction in Italy. It’ll take place alongside Auto e Moto d’Epoca – Italy’s bestattended classic car show – on October 28. The event is held annually in Padua, near Venice, and last year attracted 4500 vehicles and 90,000 visitors. Early entries include a rare Zagato-bodied Lancia Flaminia Sport 3C. Restored in the early Nineties and used sparingly but regularly since, it’s one of 70 examples built with the ultimate 2.8-litre triple-carburettor engine. Estimate is £360-450k.
TOP 15 BY PERCENTAGE Porsche 924 Turbo 200% Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth 175% Porsche 928 GT 150% Peugeot g 205 GTI 1.9 138% Porsche 944 Turbo 136.4% Lamborghini g Espada p 131.6% Maserati Sebringg 129.0% Lamborghini g Silhouette 114.3% Rover P6 3500S 108.7% Volkswagen g Golf GTI MkI 106.9% Maserati Bora 106.3% BMW 3.0 CSL 100.0% Fiat 124 Sp pider 100.0% Ford Capri p 2.8i 100.0% Lancia Flaminia conv 93.9%
WHAT THE K500 MARKET INDEX SAYS ABOUT THE… Ferrari F50 K500’s Simon Kidston says, ‘Who saw this one coming? Values of the F50, Ferrari’s third – after the 288 GTO and F40 – ‘analogue’ hypercar have accelerated nearly as fast as the 512bhp missile itself. And much of that increase has been post-August 2014, which many consider to have been the market’s peak. After only 273 288 GTOs and frankly too many (1311) F40s, the run of 349 F50s – in a variety of colours – struck the right note but arrived during the Nineties stall. Massive footprint and gloopy looks not for everyone, but there’s no denying its engine’s close links to Prost’s F1 V12 and its driving fizzle.’ 18
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PININ FARINA XK120 RESTO Shropshire-based Jaguar specialist Classic Motor Cars (CMC) has announced it will be unveiling its top-secret restoration project at Pebble Beach. The car is a one-off 1954 Jaguar XK120 coupé that was bodied by Pinin Farina for New York luxury car importer Max Hoffman. Bought from a German collector who never got round to restoring the car – shown pre-restoration above – the car has been rebuilt by CMC over the last two years.