The Aesthete finds joy in simple things

The Aesthete's Fleet

Dinner in Oamaru on Saturday is confirmed for 6.30 at Cucina. Those of us leaving from Dunedin will meet at 4.00 at the start of the Northern Motorway for a leisurely amble up the highway with a few cultural high points to stop at along the way.

1965 MGB Costello. It is difficult to see why this MGB carries an early date when it was reshelled around an American car about the time it was originally constructed. Ken Costello saw the advantages of the Rover V8 which was not a great deal heavier than the old boat anchor it was originally fitted with. The BL engineers finally got onto the job themselves with Costello's workshop having already done what little R&D was required. The Aesthete does not love the pin-striping but it is authentic in a medallion man sort of way.

For: A step above the ordinary B
Against: It would probably need to make 180 hp to double the old four's efforts.
Investment potential: Check the provenance as they say in the old pictures trade.

1967 Mercedes Benz 220 SE Coupe. Nothing at all lairy about this however. Paul Bracq's elegant coupes were just the thing for wafting around the Dordogne on some sort of degustation tour of ancestral vineyards and village bistros. If you can live with that ridiculous posturing version of yourself, I suggest you buy it right now and get packing.

For: You will arrive feeling smug, I guarantee it.
Against: If it has not been restored yet, it will soon need to.
Investment potential: 6/10 if you can use it as it is.

1972 Rover P5B 3.5 Litre Coupe. There was really very little like the Rover Coupe before, during or after its production run although you could say the other manufacturers tried to emulate its formal splendour with lowered roof lines and fish bowl windscreens. The Rover coupe did not need these egregious fripperies but stood high and vaguely threatening like a QC with a taste for the dark side.

For: This or a Lancia Flaminia. Oh what to do...
Against: I bet there is a copy of Enoch Powell's speeches in the glove box.
Investment potential: 7/10. Cheap really.

1961 Dodge Seneca. The drab paint does it no favours and this unusual right hand drive Dodge wagon deserves better. This was the sort of thing driven by South Auckland funeral directors to the Papakura lawn cemetery so it probably has not had a great deal of use. Paint it primrose yellow with a white roof and quieten the ghosts of the weeping bereft.

For: One of the more impressive US wagons. Look at those tail lights.
Against: Needs a large shed.
Investment potential: 2/10 but has potential.

1979 Fiat 131 R. It looks presentable but there are many places that rust can hide under all that stuck on plastic so inspect carefully when appraising anything from this era. You will be rewarded with the Italian equivalent of a hot Escort which, as we know, allows all manner of shenanigans. If you insist on behaving some way short of the maturity expected of your age and class, here is your car.

For: Loud and shouty.
Against: Some tidying to do here.
Investment potential. 2/10 at that price.

On some faraway beach...

1959 Sachsenring P70 Coupe. We have not had a European two stroke uglybug on the list for a while and this one is being held for you in Slupsk, Poland so you can do some cultural tourism as well. The Sachsenring, better known as a Trabant, was constructed by VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. The neat fibreglass shell was apparently made from recycled fabric and other waste materials but this one has held together for 60 years so we do not yet know everything here in the west.

For:  I think it is sweet.
Against: You may disagree.
Investment potential: Once you get it here, -42/10 and it is not cheap now.