That might look like an odd question…
They’re all collectable, surely? Well, they are all desirable to varying degrees, but in terms of being collectable as an investment of your money, they vary immensely. Some rocket in value, never falling back to thier original sale price at any time in their lives. Others depreciate heavily. So heavily that if you stand alongside them, you can actually hear the creaking as it happens. So assuming you’re about to treat yourself, what are the key warning signals that will stop you buying a money pit and ensure you win?
Firstly…
First, and perhaps most obvious, exclusivity. Something that’s unobtainable becomes more desirable, so limited edition cars can become collectable, but only certain models.
Secondly…
Is the manufacturer controlling the supply chain? For an example, look at the world of wrist watches. The Rolex Daytona in stainless steel is a coveted thing. The far more expensive gold version is less desirable and will depreciate a little. But because Rolex control production of the steel Daytona and there’s a five year waiting list, they will always make a premium over list price. In supercar terms, buying in early and being fortunate enough to be one of the very first owners will be a good way to ensure a premium. But don’t hang onto your car for too long, or you may lose that ‘unobtainable’ cache.
Thirdly…
International market forces. Supercars are like aircraft when it comes to markets, they transcend international boundaries. Cars that a few years ago were depreciating as any other can suddenly surge in popularity should there be a demand for international sales. In recent years, this has been driven by the far eastern market, as China, Hong Kong and Singapore all made demands on the export of supercars from Europe, regardless of whether they were right or left hand drive.
Fourth…
Predicting the undesirable and buying it. This is probably the most difficult. The countryside is scattered with men sobbing tearfully in recollection of that car they once owned but sold of a loss, or the opportunity they were offered and declined, “I wish I still owned it” is the mournful cry. It’s the most difficult of all to predict and to show you just how hard, I’ll leave you with this true tale of a very experienced Porshe owner who really didn’t get the judgement call right at all.
Our man has owned twenty Porsche 911′s!!
Based in the UK, our man has owned no less than twenty Porsche 911′s of various vintages across the years. Some, such as his tuned 996 Turbo 4 and his 996 GT3RS, he still owns. They’re keepers. We talked about early Porsches and though I’d met this guy in the past it had been in a non-Porsche context, I’d no idea he was such a Porsche fan, nor as knowledgable as he obviously was. Then he made a startling admission. He turned down the chance to own a GT3RS 4.0. One of the 600 globally and around 40 right hand drive, UK specification cars. A production figure dictated not by demand, but by the parts supply remaining.
A significant oversight…
Oh dear. “Well, I received the letter and didn’t really read it properly. It looked like it was just a larger engined GT3RS. Well, I already have one of those, so it didn’t seem that appealing.” Given that Porsche UK required a £10,000 deposit to secure one of the cars and that, ever since they hit the streets and the first press reports came out, they’ve escalated in value, that was a rather significant oversight. “It certainly was, but you live and learn, I guess”
The asking price has jumped a huge £70,000!!
As I write this, a quick Google gives you several examples for sale, asking price just shy of £200,000, that’s a huge jump from the £129,000 list price, itself significantly up on the 3.8RS. So why the huge premium? At some point in the next twelve months, I’ve been assured a drive in a 4.0RS, but until then, it the most obvious reason is that it’s probably the final chance to own the ultimate incarnation of the Mezger flat six. The new 991 series GT3′s will all have the new, direct injection, engines based upon the new 991 series standard cars.
So in the same way that the 993 series, 911 was the last ‘real’ Porsche for many, the 4.0 RS is assured of immortality by being the last 911 with a ‘real’ engine. So we want to know, what do you think makes a Supercar a collectable?
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