Editorial

Borrowing from a British Prime Minister of the past, “Events dear boy, events” would aptly summarise one of the influences on what classic car is (and isn’t) ‘in’ at the moment. Having enjoyed an absorbing presentation of the latest Catalogo Bolaffi market guide to Italian car prices, based on exhaustive analysis of auction results of the last couple of years, and listened to market experts Rupert Banner of Christie’s and Simon Kidston of Bonhams, one thing is clear – eligibility for a desirable event will add value to any car. And it’s a factor becoming more important every year.

Hence the popularity of pre-1966 cars for FIA racing, the influence the Le Mans Classic organisers have had on values by extending the threshold to entry ever more recent, and the decision by Ferrari to organise deluxe tours for a single model (the 275 in 2004, and look what has happened to the price of those…) with more in the pipeline.

Add to this a general desire to want something that can be driven in more or less the manner of a modern high-performance car and you come back to what I hope is staple fair at Classic Driver: post-war, high-performance cars from the Grande Marques. And I would also agree with the experts, more modern cars like the Ferrari 288 GTO and Porsche 959 are going to really take off in the near future.

The period from bedroom wall to garage floor is becoming ever shorter, and the new money in IT and its like is going to be looking for supercars of the 70s and 80s (cars that have almost modern performance) for investment as well as enjoyment.

You probably haven’t heard it here first, but it’s nice to know we’re on the right wavelength.

Steve Wakefield Managing Editor sw@classicdriver.com