Machines

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

There's been an obsession among the more-money-than-they-know-what-to-do-with crowd, to unearth hot rods, customs, and race cars that had 15 minutes of fame and restore them.

How people spend their money is a matter for them, but I struggle to understand what makes someone spend more money than most of us will see in a lifetime on a car. Each to his own.

'Exceptional' Aston Martin found 14 years after theft



An Aston Martin racing car with "an exceptional history" has been found by police 14 years after it was stolen.

The DB2, which competed in the 1949 Le Mans 24-hour race, was taken in 2002 from Baldock, Hertfordshire.

Police used intelligence to track it down to a storage facility in Eindhoven, Holland, in March this year.

The car's owner at the time of the theft died before it was found so it was returned to a relative. It is being auctioned off for up to £900,000.*

Two men convicted of stealing the car in 2003 failed to return to court for sentencing and have never been caught again.

Det Sgt Jo Goodson, from Hertfordshire Police, who travelled to Holland to seize the car, said it was "extremely satisfying" to get the vehicle back.

"It was quite emotional because it's a lovely car with an exceptional history," she added.

The green prototype, which was built as a test-bed for the later production of the DB2, was the only one of three Aston Martins in the 1949 race to cross the finish line.



Ashley Mack, who is now the rightful owner, said his relative Christopher Angell had been left "devastated" by the theft of his vehicle.

"Just before he died in 2003 he was still asking 'has that nice policeman got my car yet?'" he said.

"Even at this stage my heart will be pleased if it doesn't sell, but my head has to acknowledge that it will cost many thousands to restore."

The vehicle will go under the hammer at Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed sale later this month.

* £900,000 = $1,320,000 (In round figures)

BBC link

[xoxoxoBruce]

Although it has some historical significance and would be a good Museum piece, to who ever buys and restores the car it will be a trophy, a display of wealth, and a step up the social standing ladder in the small circle of high end collectors. Some of these guys make money on these acquisitions as the auction prices climb into the stratosphere. But the prices are at risk of collapse at any time. As much as they tout the value of this or that car, the reality is it's worth not what you paid, but what someone is willing to pay you.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

.......Some of these guys make money on these acquisitions as the auction prices climb into the stratosphere. But the prices are at risk of collapse at any time. As much as they tout the value of this or that car, the reality is it's worth not what you paid, but what someone is willing to pay you.

A few years back, so-called classic cars were seen as the next big thing in alternative investments.
The whole thing seemed to be built on sand as the cars were bought and sold within a small pool of investors aka 'mugs' and eventually the market, such as it was, seized up and many suffered severe financial loss.
I get the feeling that things are now back to normal, if you can use that word in this context, and it's now the domain of multi-millionaires once again.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I think you're right although there are a lot more millionaires than ever. At a lower level, guys who's kids are out of college and daughter's weddings are paid for, want to own a car that they wanted/had that was cool when they were in high school. So the prices seem to ebb and flow along a timeline about 30 years behind that demographic except for a few milestone cars that are always popular like the '57 Chevy, or '65 Mustang.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I can't even...

[xoxoxoBruce]

There's Fageol again in 1922...

[xoxoxoBruce]

A Jeep Liberty on fire. Watch what happens when the water hits the hot magnesium transfer case at 1:10.