Here are ten cars which fetched ridiculous prices at auction last year — most of which are unlikely ever to leave the garage for longer than a few minutes because of their now-rarified [sic] prices.
Ignoring the prices, though, I have to say that I like most of them — we all know of my fondness for the Dino 246 GT, especially — but the Merc 300 SL and Porsche 928 are also quite toothsome.
The sky-high prices, of course, are largely owing to the low mileage of each car — the Dino was calculated to have done an average of 289 miles per annum over the past 48 years — which, as I said earlier is why they’ll all be wrapped in silk and stored in a climate-controlled room somewhere.
Feel free to offer up your top 3 picks of the ten listed — ignoring the silly auction prices thereof, of course — in Comments.
Kim,
Good morning, greetings from ILL-annoy-istan …
Auction prices? I’ll give you an auction price. Just recently, the 427 Cobra owned & driven by Carroll Shelby sold .. for something like $5.9 million … lemme see if I can find a link … be right back … got it … here you go … https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a35014641/carroll-shelby-personal-427-cobra-for-sale/
(/time for more coffee … and unashamedly, I prefer my coffee 3 ways … Hot, Strong, Black).
Of the 10 cars in the article the only one(s) would maybe be a Miura.There were two there, but I don’t want a RHD one thank you. The 190SL was a dog, and I wouldn’t want one as a gift. Clearly there are people for whom money means nothing.
The funny thing Brad, is there were a bunch of people who bid up that Cobra to $5.9 million (plus buyer’s premium, I imagine) a whole bunch. Imagine the guy who said at 5.8 million, not another penny! So the 5.9 million won. Wow. The winner probably said, sell some of my Apple stock I paid $10,000 for in 1990, that will cover it.
Having a beautiful car in your garage that you don’t drive so as to keep it perfect is the same as having a beautiful wife that you keep virgin so she will remain perfect.
Or, as ex-Drummer Knob puts it, like dating a supermodel but never having sex with her, so as to make her more attractive to the next guy.
Yes — they are all low mileage garage queens that will spend their time waiting for the next greater fool looking to pad his questionable taste in automobiles. They certainly can’t be driven, as they all likely have Rock hard too old tires and dried out seals , stale gas and other fluids (assuming they have fluids at all) ,
hopelessly deferred maintenance and old belts and all except the Muria’s are not particularly rare or special.
I expect to see that 1960 Merc at the Goodwood Revival or even the Festival of Speed – probably in the Cartier Style et Luxe compound – if it was sold to a UK owner.
Speaking of crazy prices….
https://www.driven.co.nz/news/million-dollar-ute-hsv-maloo-sets-new-australian-auction-record/
And can someone please explain to me why Datsun 240z prices are going ballistic? I know it’s seen as the Japanese e type and all but still.
As to those cars, you can’t go wrong with investment grade 70s Italian cars it seems.
My goodness, my Uncle had a, brought back from German, in the 1950’s, 190 SEL with the removable hard top that he drove when he was an Artillery Colonel at Fort Sill and he drove it carefully until he passed away in the 1980’s and then it went to my cousin, his son, who never got around to restoring it an has it in his garage in Virginia next to a WWII Kubelwagen that also need to be restored. Since my cousin is in his 80’s and has enough other silly stuff going on I guess someday his kids will mess around with those things and maybe sell them. Last time I saw those fun vehicles ten years ago they were clean, straight and real dusty.
I would drive the hell out of that M3 on the track, or possibly in a rally. And while I would love having that Dino, I don’t know how much I would drive it…because it’s so beautiful just to look at.