Hot, Racy...Pricy

[tomcat]

See the 1980s Ferraris, Lancias, and Porsches That’ll Star at Pebble Beach

As the car world gathers for its most glamorous event, the “youngtimers” take over

By Hannah Elliott (Bloomberg)
Monterey, Calif., is about to greet tout le monde of car society.



Billionaire collectors from Saudi Arabia will swan with Rodeo Drive real estate tycoons as they take in world debuts from Pininfarina, Pagani, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lotus, and Aston Martin.
They will saunter over to the white tents housing the multiday, multimillion-dollar auctions hosted by RM Sothebys, Bonhams, and Gooding & Co., among others. The top seller will certainly likely be a 1994 McLaren F1 (estimate $21 million to $23 million) or the controversial 1939 Type 64 (estimate $20 million-plus) made for Nazi propaganda purposes by Ferdinand Porsche himself.
Auction faithful see similarly priced blue-chip vehicles such as those with every visit to the Monterey Peninsula festivities. But this year, more than any other, will showcase what has become a subtle, but persistent, shift in what some buyers want.

“Collector cars from the 1980s with a low-bid estimate of at least $250,000 are making a comeback this year,” says John Wiley, the valuation analyst for the Hagerty Price Guide. “After falling to just 12 offered in 2018, 21 are for sale this time around.”

It’s the standard 40-year rule that has to do with human nature that things are hot, then not, then hot again, says Jakob Greisen, vice president of Bonhams.
“That whole generation is becoming very exciting and sexy again, in a way,” Greisen says. “Some of the racing drivers from the era are now featured in films and documentaries, and the clients that saw them as they were growing up, when these cars were new, now maybe they can afford them. It takes them back to a time they remember.”

All told, Hagerty predicts $378 million in total sales from the Monterey collector car auctions next week. That’s a total spread across 1,400 vehicles on offer from six different auction companies through the Monterey peninsula leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. But the smart money will keep an eye on those ’80s and ’90s “youngtimer” cars. Here are a few of our favorites.


1987 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup

Estimate: $90,000 - $120,000
Offered by: Bonhams
This car represents the start of a third kind of Porsche—not a road car or track car, exactly. The 270-horsepower, five-speed, manual 944 Turbo was Porsche’s vastly important first and original cup car from the customer racing department, based on the four-cylinder production model but stripped of weight-adding extras such as a sunroof and air conditioning. Instead, it came with a harness and a roll cage. “Since most 944 Turbo Cup cars were raced when new, pristine examples are rarely seen,” Wiley says. “This one could set a record.”

Source: Bonhams

1984 Lamborghini Countach LP500 S

Estimate: $300,000 - $350,000
Offered by: RM Sothebys
This is rare (only 321 were made) and iconic—it was created by Marcello Gandini of Bertone Design. And it was an engineering marvel, with a wide and low body style, “scissor” doors, and a forward-placed passenger compartment to allow for the large, 375-horsepower, V12 mid-engine. Top speed was 160 mph. “In between the earliest Countach LP400s of the late ‘70s, and the pump-them-out 1988-1989 25th Anniversary Edition under Chrysler’s ownership, the Countach in LP500 S guise was near its ideal form,” says John Wiley, valuation analyst for the Hagerty Price Guide. This particular model comes with a rear wing (currently removed) and fewer than 34,000 original kilometers at the time of sale.

Source: RM Sotheby's




1984 Lancia Rally 037 Stradale

Estimate: $475,000 - $600,000
Offered by: RM Sothebys
This famous and rare (one of 216) Group B stunner was developed for Lancia by Abarth and Pininfarina. It’s special in part for its low miles (fewer than 6600 km from new) and the nature of its original body form, but also because of who owned it. Finished in the traditional racing Rosso Corsa red, it belonged to Giancarlo Gianetti, a legendary enthusiast and primary contributor to Lancia’s racing program. Group B cars have experienced a renaissance in recent months, with a significant Lancia selling for more than $1 million earlier this year. It will be telling to see how this one fares in Carmel. “Almost a junior Ferrari F40, the much rarer Lancia Rally 037 Stradale has captured the attention of enthusiasts in the U.S.,” Wiley says. In January 2018, one sold for a record $451,000; this car could beat it.

Source: RM Sotheby's




1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage ‘X-Pack’

Estimate: $375,000 - $475,000
Offered by: RM Sothebys
As automakers in the ‘80s started using turbochargers and fuel-injection in order to gain efficiency, Aston Martin did not. This car—widely considered Aston Martin’s first “supercar”—has a huge 5.3 liter-engine and four massive old-school Weber carbs. Its 432 bhp V8 engine could even hit 200 mph. Wiley notes: “The V8 Vantage ‘X-pack’ became England’s first 200 mph supercar and is now one of the most desirable Astons from the 1980s.” This one for sale is fully restored, one of just 137 built.

Source: RM Sotheby's

1988 Porsche 959 Sport

Estimate: $2 million - $2.4 million
Offered by: Gooding & Co.
This was Porsche’s attempt to build the car of the future … in the early ‘80s. It’s special in part because of the racing heritage: In 1986, competition variants captured first and second at the Paris-Dakar Rally, and finished 1st in Class at Le Mans. It has a flat-six, 450 bhp engine, a six-speed manual transmission, and came in only two colors: Guards Red and Silver. “The 959 Sport model stripped some of that tech away to save weight, and that purity has put it near the top of modern Porsche collector’s wish lists,” Wiley says. This is the last of only 29 U.S.-specified models built and has fewer than 5,000 miles on it in total.

Photographer: Mike Maez, courtesy of Gooding & Company




1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale

Estimate: $600,000 - $700,000
Offered by: Gooding & Co.
After Lancia won the World Rally Championship in 1983 with the rear-wheel-drive 037, it needed something fast to join the all-wheel-drive revolution happening in Group B. The 1985 Delta S4 was its answer. Adding a turbocharger to the already supercharged engine of the 037 gave it 300 horsepower on the small four-cylinder engine—and exemplified the arms-race nature of Group B—which was canceled in 1986 because of safety concerns. But this car is one of the few remaining vestiges of the famously rough rally series and is expected to sell well, Wiley says. It is one of only six S4 Stradales painted in silver metallic, four of which were fitted with a red Alcantara interior, according to RM Sothebys.

Photographer: Ronen Topelberg, courtesy of Gooding & Company




1985 Ferrari 288 GTO

Estimate: $2.550 million - $2.8 million
Offered by: RM Sothebys
This stunning exotic has nearly twice the horsepower of its cousin, the 308 GTB, and for decades was considered the “finest sportscar Ferrari ever built,” as the RM Sotheby’s auction catalogue puts it. The 2.8-liter V8 engine produced a then-astounding 400 horsepower and had a top speed of 189 mph, making it the fastest road car ever produced at the time of its unveiling. It could reach 60 mph from zero in 4.8 seconds. “With just 272 built, it is also the rarest of the Ferrari supercar set (288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo, LaFerrari), so expect lots of bidding when it crosses the block,” Wiley says. This was the first of its kind ever offered in Japan; it has fewer than 14,000 km on it.

Photographer: Stephen Kim 2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SL

Estimate: $45,000 - $55,000
Offered by: Bonhams
Here’s an example of a car far more ubiquitous than the others on the list, and far less expensive. But it’s special in its own right, as one of the longest-running Mercedes models sold; it first appeared as a 450SL in 1973 and became the 560SL in 1986. It had a long run for good reason—the 225bhp V8 engine and four-speed transmission are reliable, even nimble. “The model got caught up in the buy-buy-buy everything SL craze a couple of years ago but values have since sobered up,” Wiley says. “Nice examples in colors like Midnight Blue are now a reasonable value.” This one had a single owner for more than 30 years and is in pristine condition, with fewer than 40,000 miles on it. The hard-top comes with the car as well.

Source: Bonhams




1986 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe

Estimate: $125,000 - $150,000
Offered by: RM Sothebys
This marked Porsche’s first foray into turbocharging—a controversial step at the time—and has become the most coveted portion of vintage Porsches in recent years. The car was fast then, and it’s fast now: a 3.3-liter engine with 282 horsepower capable of zero to 60 mph in five seconds. Top speed is 160 mph. And this black-on-black example has fewer than 15,100 miles on it. “It changed the world with outrageous performance in a practical package,” Wiley says. “The 930 prices have been soft lately, but low-mileage examples like this one continue to be sought after.”

Source: RM Sotheby's

[Luigi]

^ That Ferrari 288 is sex on wheels.

he top seller will certainly likely be a 1994 McLaren F1 (estimate $21 million to $23 million)

Didn't know they were worth that much nowadays. Would have guessed $8-10 mill.



A good 5 minutes.

Interesting to hear it was worth 2 million quid in the 10 year old video. Not a bad investment.

[baldrick]

These will fade into the past like horses as the car generation dies out

The number of under 25s who don't hold a license and will never get one is rising

Maybe a highly modified Correllian YT-1300 light freighter might turn their heads

[NamPikToot]

The number of under 25s who don't hold a license and will never get one is rising

True, i am amazed by the kids who don't want to or won't drive - in my early teens the first thing i wanted to do was get a motorbike and passed both bike and car tests as soon as i could.

[Neverna]

I'll take the Aston Martin.

[Topper]

^ I agree....

However, the fastest car is......

A Tesla just hit 75,0000 miles per hour.....

[Neverna]

[Luigi]

Probably gonna be doing it for a few million years.

[Luigi]

The Aston styling is certainly classic.

Looks a lot older than 1987.

Which isn't a bad thing.



The Lambo looks like a spaceship in this day and age, can only imagine what it looked like puling into a gas station in the early 1980s.

[Topper]

The Lambo looks like a spaceship in this day and age, can only imagine what it looked like puling into a gas station in the early 1980s.

It didn't pull into stations....stations pulled up to it.

[Dragonfly]

amazed I could named those cars without looking at the caption,

and even tried a few of those, some as a passenger

amazing how the ugly ones are the most expensive

[Luigi]

amazing how the ugly ones are the most expensive

The top seller will certainly likely be a 1994 McLaren F1 (estimate $21 million to $23 million)

We've all woken up next to 30 year old mingers.


Wouldn't mind waking up next to that one though.

[Dillinger]

Wouldn't mind waking up next to that

A hell of a lot more chance of waking up next to Big Ears you poisoned dwarf

[tomcat]

...^I owned a deux chevaux for a few years in Iran...dashboard shift and top speed of 50kph...

[Dillinger]

My dad used to buy, do up cars and flog them. Had a 2cv for a while . Think they were called puddle jumpers

[Luigi]

Little Dilly's still butthurt.

[reddog]

Put a BMW 100cc boxer engine in a 2CV and they are the perfect sleeper car.

[Dragonfly]

We've all woken up next to 30 year old mingers.


Wouldn't mind waking up next to that one though.

remember that one when it got out, did nothing to me then, still doesn't do it for me now, horrible car but handsome engine