Having just returned from Monterey for Car Week – the annual barometer of the collector car market – it seems like everything is rather buoyant right now. Threats of recession, as well as local and international unrest, seem to be having little effect the top end as the market finds both its true audience and its true direction. The former being the enthusiasts and the latter, the low-volume purity-focused supercar or restomod.
There had been a period over the last few years where the market almost felt a little propped up by speculators; buyers sometimes a little under-informed but over-bank-balanced who would pay well above the odds for rare cars and forthcoming build slots. But my experience – and what I saw out in Monterey – tells me that the market is now dominated by genuine enthusiasts, seeking cars that deliver thrills, exclusivity and beauty.
And markets are led by buyers, clearly. So, after a few years of confusion over hybrid hypercars, pure EV performance and turbocharged small-capacity engines, there’s now a clear direction; naturally aspirated, high-revving engines and lightweight, limited numbers production. Walking around the lawns of The Quail, La Preserve and Pebble Beach you could spot the Eccentrica V12, a reimagined Lamborghini Diablo with a 5.7-litre V12; the Touring Superleggera Veloce12, a reimagined Ferrari 550 limited to just 30 units; and the 355 by Evoluto, a reimagined and lighweighted Ferrari 355 revving to 8500 rpm and limited to 55 units. There’s a good reason both the former models make a point of noting the number of cylinders, and there’s a good reason why I found myself asking not how much horsepower a car has but how high it revs.
The influx of these reimagined models and their creators – some of which are expanding more into the modern supercar space, like Tuthill and its 911 GT1-inspired GT One – is leading us towards an interesting future discussion. When car manufacturers spend millions on crash testing and the development of countless other usability and safety features, how will these smaller “garagista” businesses be regulated? It’s a potential threat to the profitability, and in time perhaps even the viability of these projects but I’m nevertheless delighted to see the explosion of ambitious low volume projects such as these. It’s like the old analogy of the watch-making world; there’s a market for Rolex Submariners but there’s equally one for the low-volume super bespoke manufacturers such as Breguet or A. Lange & Söhne – they’re not mainstream, but they are the enthusiast’s choice.
And while these players seek to capitalise in the ‘new’ car market, the classic collector market also continued on an upwards trajectory. For the past few years I’ve been watching Ferrari F50s as arguably the under-appreciated sibling to the F40, but the market is really beginning to take notice now. RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction saw one sell for 5.5m USD. A 911 Carrera RS 3.0 sold for over 2.3m USD and a Lamborghini Murcièlago Roadster sold for more than 1.3m USD – each one a record for that particular model.
Incidentally, and seemingly controversially, I was delighted to see Fritz Burkard of the Pearl Collection winning Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in his highly original and unrestored Bugatti Type 59 Sports. It was so unexpected for a non-restored car to win the overall prize that he had already packed up his family and left the show when he received the call, having to frantically rush back in. Perhaps it’s a sign of the maturing collector car market that values patina and originality over perfect restoration; I’ve always thought that a lot of restorations sanitise the car’s charm a little, despite them being a marvel of craft and attention to detail.
Many restorers are recognising this shift, and while they continue to serve those that do want a completely accurate ground-up restoration to perfection, many are diversifying to capitalise on the trends. Our partner Thornley Kelham is perhaps the perfect example; both concours-standard restorers and now pioneers of the European Collection. Their team of specialists is combining traditional craftsmanship and modern day technology and engineering to deliver contemporary interpretations of Porsche 356 and 911, Jaguar XK and Lancia Aurelia.
And, incidentally, if you’re coming to the final concours of the UK season – the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace next weekend – I’d be delighted to introduce you to the team at Thornley Kelham. They’ll not only be displaying the European RS – a vision of the 911 – but also hosting the world debut of the European GT, which is a reimagined iteration of the Jaguar XK. Both naturally aspirated, lightweight, hand-crafted over more than 6,000 hours and designed to offer the purity of a classic sports car with the luxury, convenience and performance of a modern supercar.
