The Aesthete finds the cupboard bare.

The Aesthete's Fleet

Having once again applied myself to smoothing out the GTV's multifarious rattles, resonations and sympathetic vibrations, I tracked one down to a loosely fitted piece of stainless rear window trim that was lifting under aerodynamic force and beating out a lively rhythm on the steel hatch. This was amplified by the empty chamber of the open tube that forms the interior but only while the car was on the move. No one said owning an Italian car was easy.

1962 Fiat 500D. If you want to get a head start on your classic Cinquecento restoration, here is the ideal candidate. Looking a lot like a steel 1:1 scale Airfix kit is this early rear hinged door model with boxes of new parts to help keep the project rolling along. Wheels are not mentioned so get on the web now and find yourself a set of Campagnolo alloys. Go on, get to it.

For: A restoration project that you could actually finish.
Against: Nothing that I can see.
Investment potential: 8/10 and rising.

1968 Triumph Vitesse. Most Vitesses offered for sale on Trademe are frankly awful but this looks more respectable. Being a 1968 car it lacks the scientific rear suspension fitted to later cars so is deserving of respect when poised on the edge of traction. 100 HP is roughly three time what the original Herald had to cope with so let's not have your screams of terror added to howling tyres.

For: Its like a BMW 2002 but made out of ride on mower parts.
Against: See above.
Investment potential: 3/10 with a retirement age fan base.

1964 Buick Riviera. The crisp details of these early Rivieras mesmerise the Aesthete, more so when rendered in Primrose Yellow with a black leather interior. God is in the details and the originator of that phrase, novelist Gustave Flaubert, is said to have 'avoided the inexact, the abstract, the vaguely inapt expression, and scrupulously eschewed the cliché.' Well, exactly.

For: Leave a copy of Flaubert's Madame Bovary on the seat and I will run away with you.
Against: It will end in tragedy.
Investment potential: 6/10

1973 Mercedes Benz 280E. $3.50 seems quite good value for this twin cam saloon that sat midway up the MB product ladder back in the day. The vendor is clearly tired of fiddling with it and its lack of go could probably be cured with fresh petrol and a good spruce up in the fuel pump and filter department. You will then enjoy engineering efficiency from a period when engineers wore ties at work.

For: A serious sort of car.
Against: Are you a serious sort of person?
Investment potential: Have a look at the 230E with an asking price of 30K and threats of legal action if you waste the vendor's time. What gets into them?




On some faraway beach...

1990 Nissan Autech Zagato Stelvio. Looking like the misbegotten offspring of an Aston Martin Zagato is this Italian coach built Nissan, part of the weird and exotic small run specials produced for the home market. Powered by a turbo V6 but mated to an automatic gearbox, it is somewhat akin to the Subaru SVX but predated that other Italian designed GT. This one somehow got to the UK but it would be interesting to see if there were any for sale in Japan.

For: A Zagato rarity.
Against: Soooo ugly.
Investment potential: 3/10: The 90s are on their way.