The Aesthete's secret shame

Guilty pleasures

A reader recently sent me a pxt of a Lancia Fulvia sitting in a wood pile and the single word 'porno'. This person clearly knows my weaknesses for they are so so plentiful and vile that I would be an ideal candidate for the British Conservative Party. I encourage those of you with similar preferences to send me pictures so that I can view them privately before putting them on the blog.

1967 Singer Chamois Coupe. 'How much?' I hear you shouting. It is well known that Imp prices have languished while Mini Coopers keep climbing. There is no good reason for this. Not only are the Imp coupes far better looking and more fun to drive, rarity is firmly on their side. This example looks ready for road or light track use while fun and games are guaranteed with the bored out Imp Sport motor. I would cut off that nasty chin spoiler though.

For: No-one else has one.
Against: Saloons make better racers as the coupes are heavier.
Investment potential: 2/10. There are Imp fanatics out there but none who are rushing to buy this.

1970 Morris 1800 Utility. Another triumph of product planning from our friends at British Leyland. Here is how it must have gone in the boardroom. "Those colonials like those blasted utility vehicles, don't they? Tell them they can have one but it has to be front wheel drive, have four cylinders and cost more than a Holden. They will flock to it." If they had chopped a few of those awful Austin 3000s into utes they probably would have sold more.

For: I am lost for words.
Against: Sorry, I am still picturing trying to drive it up a steep hill fully loaded.
Investment potential: 4/10. Something for Morris Club days if nothing else.

1974 Ferrari Dino 246. Alright. I know nobody can afford it but with good Dinos outstripping property you might consider selling the house and renting somewhere with a heated garage. This example has the right specification and while oil continues to flow you will not regret making whatever sacrifices need to be made. Pininfarina's highest accomplishment and therefore the best looking car that will ever be.

For: Sublime
Against: Would you use it?
Investment potential; 5/10. The hyperbole is probably true.

1973 Citroen DS23 IE. Once again, the canny Citroen fancier does not mess around with shabby old DSs but lies in wait for the best ones to come on the market. Even 40K is not too much to spend when you think that you are getting the last and fastest of the great DS line for the price of a used Toyota Hi-Lux. There is no better way known to man for getting to Queenstown unless you have a private jet.

For: Magnifique!
Against: Must be kept on top of.
Investment potential: 5/10 Even at the steep asking price it is attracting bids.

1965 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. Oh dear. It looks like someone has fallen out of love with this car but it is is the early shape body with the nice painted steel dash so is surely worth the effort to save. If rust has got into the complex floor structure and you can't weld, you may be forgiven for running off but otherwise it appears to be a good project.

For: Refined Ghia looks on a reliable platform.
Against: Slow as only a 1300 cc VW can be.
Investment potential. 2/10. Needs a lot of work and no photos of the interior.

On some faraway shore...

1965 Sunbeam Venezia. There was a brief craze in the early 1960s for expensive Italian coachbuilt bodies on prosaic British underpinnings. They seldom worked out as elegantly as the Sunbeam Venezia which was built like an Aston Martin with an alloy body on a light tube frame. This partly finished car is painted a horrid colour but it really needs to be a nice graphite grey metallic with a red interior on wire wheels. Grrrwwlll.

For: Aunty Minx in Gucci culottes.
Against: Complex and delicate.
Investment potential. 3/10. Be careful. The owner sounds like an angry man.