What the Aesthete really wants is...

As you are probably aware, the Aesthete's choices are determined by the earning power of a mid-career academic so I tend to avoid the wilder fringes of motoring mania. Hence no McLarens or Pagani Huayras for this boy. The real world of car ownership is much more interesting although some of these purchases may stretch the budget out of shape for a few years.   

 

A 1940s streamliner. 

Keep your monstrously over valued Bentley Continentals and give me a Packard Clipper Super Custom Coupe in gunmetal grey. Preferably the straight eight version although the short nose of the six actually helps the proportions. One of the last American cars with any sort of dignity and now available at laughable prices compared to where they were originally situated in the market. Alternative? A 1934 Airflow Desoto Coupe in the same colour.

A US/Italian hybrid.

A Gordon Keeble would fit the bill here although strictly it is of British parentage. Styled by the inimitable Georgetto Guigiaro and fitted with cheap Chevrolet running gear, the Gordon Keeble was the best looking of all the attempts to bring these two motoring cultures together. One of the only cars ever made to look good in white. Alternative? An Iso Rivolta would do.

A buzz bomb.

Eteceterini are defined as small, hand built Italian sports and racing cars constructed in minute numbers. This Moretti 750 Grand Sport squeezed over seventy screaming horse power from its twin cam 750cc engine and the Michelotti styled coupe looked like a Ferrari built for a rich small child. Not cheap, needless to say. This one had an estimate of EUR135,000 on it three years ago. Alternative? For one twentieth of the price you could have a Fiat 850 Coupe.

A modern.

Everyone wants to stick the key in and go sometimes so I wait with anticipation for the new Alfa Romeo 4C. Everyone seems to have forgotten that Lotus was doing this fifteen years ago with the Elise but it looks like their day is done, leaving the field to the company that invented the small grand touring car in the first place. Alternative? A Tesla probably.

A wild card.

I will reveal the Aesthete's true desire which is to own a Fiat Dino Spider. The Pininfarina styling is awkward rather than elegant but I would put up with that for the dynamics and rarity. A true Dino would be better but they have receded from my grasp, leaving far less interesting Ferraris behind. Why not have the most exiting Fiat ever built instead? Alternative? A Lancia Flaminia GTE 3C Touring Coupe.

The Aesthete's picks for Labour Weekend

The Aesthete's Fleet

Well, the Lancia has been fettled to a high standard and is showing its appreciation by reporting all engine functions through the correct warning lights and instruments. I spent a long night under the dash panel with Gary the auto electrician. We got to know each other quite well down there and discussed modern philosophy while trying to get the fuel gauge to work properly.  Having dismissed the hopeless relativism of most post-modern theory, the gauge now works perfectly. 

1966 Humber Scepter. The Aesthete has always had a weakness for these attractive variations on the standard Rootes Group theme. It is probably something to do with Sunbeam Talbot 90s for which the Sceptre was the much more modern replacement. The four door coupe roofline is charming and the interior looks like a stray black Maserati has got at old Aunty Minx after the stable door was shut.

For: Smooth, great looking and surprising fun.
Against: Nothing much really. Would you rather have a Ford Corsair 2000? Thought not.
Investment potential: 3/10. I think these should be worth more but no sporting pretensions keeps the prices low.

1976 Peugeot 204 Estate. The pictures do not really do it justice for here is one of the sweetest driving small cars of the period and engineered to within an inch of its life. The 204 was an alloy OHC front wheel drive berline that remedied all of the design problems of the BMC range but at a cost. Buy one for the superb road comfort and pity the poor benighted Brits having to drive around in their preposterous Vanden Plas Princesses with sagging suspensions and howling gear trains.

For: Formidable!
Against: The vendor says parts are easy to get. On the distant frozen planet Peugeot perhaps.
Investment potential: 5/10. This is so cheap.

1972 Lotus Elan Sprint. The Elan coupe does not have quite the Emma Peel hair blowing in the wind despite the French silk scarf and sunglasses factor of the open cars but you may appreciate that when the weather is inclement and your partner will not move away from the fire. Which is why you never use your sports car, isn't it?

For: NZ new, etc.
Against: Nothing. Shoot him please, Mrs Peel.
Investment potential: 3/10. The price matches the international going rate.

1990 Audi Quattro. The restyled second series Quattro is less of a 'Take me as I am' proposition than the earlier cars but they are also a lot cheaper which makes me like them more. It depends if you see yourself as Walter Röhrl kicking up great plumes of gravel or Frau Röhrl on the school run. With this model Quattro, both roles could be yours. Bwahaha.

For: NZ new, etc.
Against:  Check carefully for expensive mechanical noises.
Investment potential: 2/10. Will never be as desirable as the ugly ones.

1966 Rover 3 Litre Coupe. The dream road test that I have never read would pit a 3 Litre Coupe against a Lancia Flaminia. They are remarkably well matched in terms of refinement and market niche and I would have either in my shed in an instant.  I could even stand the Tory accusations. If I was inclined that way I would paste a little picture of Margaret Thatcher onto the inside mirror. Yes, you know what I am talking about, don't you? Naughty boy.

For: All that aromatic leather. Grwwwllll.
Against. It is an automatic so you will create no mayhem on the dragstrip.
Investment potential: Approaching top money for a six cylinder but nothing outside a Flaminia would do instead.

On some faraway shore...

1965 BMW 700 Coupe. If you have looked at the new Alfa Romeo 4C you will have gathered that small is the new black. Working backwards from that point you get to my favorite era for European buzz bombs where the combination of slinky Italian styling and two cylinder engines causes me to fidget with my finger over the 'Buy' button. I almost bought a Deutsch Panhard, remember?

For: Getting close to the Aesthete's ideal car.
Against. Noisy, slow, queer looking and no parts. Perfect.
Investment potential: Oh, I dunno. 3/10 but less when you factor in shipping.

The Aesthete scratches an itch

The Aesthete's Fleet

I experienced mixed fortunes reassembling the Lancia's dash after the instrument repairer decided I should be the one to return it to going condition. Despite me asking who the auto electrician was between the two of us, I attacked the task with gusto and managed to get the oil pressure light to flash merrily in time with the indicators. There are eight warning lights and six instruments to deal with so you would need to be a mathematician to work out the potential number of errors if you reconnected everything at random. As I was doing this, there was a fantastic hailstorm so I had to push the car to another space in the workshop to avoid the flood. Of course I reversed it into a large red Massey-Ferguson tractor and broke the tail light. Total for the day with a new tail light? $700.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint. This is the first time one of these exquisite coupes has been offered on Trade Me, at least while I have been writing this blog. Someone is well underway turning it into a racer and it is probably too late to stop him so we will consider its merits for that purpose. Light, aerodynamic and as keen handling as any later rear wheel drive Alfa, this would be a delight on the track. It is not painted red and needs final fitting out and fettling. 15K is a steal in my view.

For: What do you expect me to say? The best small coupe of the period.
Against: A lot of expensive work done but could you rely on it?
Investment potential: 5/10. The vendor says quadruple your investment. Maybe.

1990 Ferrari 348 TB. Not everyone's favorite Ferrari but then they say that about a lot of them, making you wonder if all the fuss is worthwhile. This one looks like a cut down Testarossa which is a blessing really as the bigger car is just so unforgivably ugly. This one is being offered at no reserve which makes you think...

For: Its a Ferrari!
Against: So what!
Investment potential: 1/10. Derisory.

1974 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE5A. All the letters and numbers mean is that this is the nicest looking narrow-bodied Scimitar before they ruined Tom Karen's peerless and original styling with a series of awful face lifts. Scimitars are very cheap now but they have much to commend them, rust free bodies being just the start of it. The vendor is full of hooey but at least the car looks honest.

For: Princess Ann had one. So did pater.
Against: Some cheap parts from new spoil the effect. Like the plastic dash.
Investment potential: 3/10. Oh, come on. It's cheap.

1986 Audi Quattro Coupe. These are an acquired taste as well, at least in respect of the aesthetics. It looks like two cars brought violently together in some sort of Star Trek transporter beam mishap but they hold the road like nothing else from the era. Or nothing else that we mere mortals can afford, Porsche 959s being out of the question.

For: Vorsprung durch something or other.
Against: You would have to look at it.
Investment potential: 2/10 although they usually ask more than this.

1985 Fiat Strada 105TC. Not the mad bad Abarth 130TC but the slightly less eye rolling, foam flecked version without the torture chamber seats. Very few Strada of any type survive but not too many people are worried by that. There are a few flaws in the body – what is that odd defect along from the left door handle ? – but it looks promising if you want an alternative to a Peugeot 205.

For: A diminishing resource.
Against: Good riddance did I hear you say?
Investment potential: 3/10 if the panels are good. -3/10 if not.

One for the tasteful truck fancier.

1946 Hudson C-28 3/4 Ton Pickup.  I went to the Dunedin Autospectacular today, hoping I might see something as interesting as this Hudson truck. No such luck of course. It was full of shiny American imports that looked fresh from some Puerto Rican-run chop shop in East LA. Many and sad are the stories of 'show winners' that are little more than carefully shaped body filler in car form. Caveat emptor.

For: Somehow I can't imagine someone lashing up a Hudson.
Against: It's not a Packard.
Investment potential: 2/10 but who really knows.

 

 

More distractions from the Aesthete

The Aesthete's Fleet

I have got to say looking through the later years on Trademe is a godawful task. The cars sound either like a notifiable disease (HSV), your alcoholic auntie (Sylvia), an unsavory part of the body (Eunos), a dodgy therapy (Emina). someone blowing their nose into a handkerchief (Ciferro) or squeezing a spot (Vitz).  I am not sure how long I can keep it up so I am going back to my old ways.

 

1988 Lotus Eleven. This is a worthwhile sort of thing for those of you that have the time and a decent workshop at your disposal. The fruit of your labours will be one of the best looking race cars ever conceived although the box of bits that is being offered here has a somewhat chequered past. It looks like your 12.5K will buy you the right to register your creation as a Lotus 11. The rest of the hard work is up to you.

For: Look upon it as a Lotus 11 starter kit.
Against: No mention of an engine, wheels or gearbox.
Investment potential: 4/10. Depends how you go about it.

1960 Dadbuilt Special. The vendor's father got busy in the shed one afternoon and turned out this delightful special based somewhat loosely on the lines of a 1960 Corvette. He was going well until he got to the nose where a grill of unknown provenance produced an unhappy effect. Is it worth 5K? Perhaps not but individuality is yours for the price.

For: There has not been another and never again will be.
Against: Many things, I imagine.
Investment potential: 2/10. Te Papa may be interested for their shed collection.

1968 Volvo 122S. This comprehensively re-engineered Volvo is just the thing for the gentleman racer who might be right now rifling the small sum of 17K between his fingers and wondering what to blow it on next.  Look no further, James Hunt wannabes. Here is your car.

For: Lovely old thing. Might be decently quick too.
Against: More a classic rally prospect than a track car.
Investment potential: 6/10. The engine must have cost that to build, surely.

1951 Studebaker Champion. It looks like it needs a bit of finishing but then you would have a modern design classic of impeccable credentials that you could also drive. The jet nosed Studebakers knocked them dead in Turin, producing imitations on Lancia chassis that sell for a vast fortune. I suggest that if you showed up in this today, they would still whistle and throw their hats in the air.

For: Oh come on, look at it.
Against: The vendor is yelling something about a rare car. No price. Bad combo.
Investment potential: If he won't name a price I cannot say.

1964 Bond Equipe GTS. These smart little fastback coupes were based on a Triumph chassis and scuttle so are something like a cross between a Herald saloon and a Spitfire. Still with the rather scary rear axle location that made wet weather driving a life and death adventure, they are capable of development. I would like to see this on wire wheels with a 1500 engine and overdrive gearbox with the later rear end.

For: Fun for those that can see its charms.
Against: Can you be bothered?
Investment potential: 3/10. Parts are cheap.


For the brave...

1965 Glas GT 1300. Now all but forgotten, Glas was an independent German maker that was snapped up by BMW for their toothed belt OHC engines. Prior to that, they made modest numbers of these pretty Frua styled coupes. I only bring it to your attention as there is a very similar looking ASA coupe elsewhere on Bring a Trailer for a cool US195K. That's what a bit of Ferrari heritage will do for a car's value. No such luck for BMW though.

For: Beautiful, rare and cheap.
Against: Club evenings will be lonely.
Investment potential: 2/10. You do the work and I may buy it off you.

The Aesthete curates his selection

The Aesthete's Fleet

I went to see Rush last night. The scene I most enjoyed was Niki Lauda driving a Lancia 2000 Berlina very fast with two excited Italians in the back seat shouting "Niki Lauda, Niki Lauda!" There was also a great divers' meeting where actors were clearly selected for their eerie resemblance to Emerson Fittapaldi, Jochen Rindt and others. I was waiting for Brian Eno's Baby's on Fire to appear on the sound track but that opportunity for period similitude was missed.

1974 Mini De Joux. Ferris DeJoux was an Auckland based designer and builder of refined specials with an output that got close to small scale series production. He was an ex-window dresser and so had a good eye for form. His fibreglass bodied Mini is almost as nice as David Ogle's SX 1000 but I am not aware of one of those here. This wreck certainly needs work but you would then have a piece of New Zealand design history to drive about in.

For: Clever and stylish local product.
Against: Most were built by the owners. Results may vary from the image on the pack.
Investment potential: 2/10. The parts you can actually buy are cheap enough. Who knows about the rest though?

1969 Fiat 850 Sport. Or you could just say "Shag all that. I will have the best looking small coupe of the 1960s and save myself a lot of hard work." And who could blame you? This 850 Coupe is absolutely the right colour and has clearly been treasured. You can tell very quickly if they have not been so chose well.

For: Bellissimo!
Against: Nulla!
Investment potential: 7/10. Even if they frack the whole country wide open petrol is never going to get cheaper.

1960 Lotus Elite Super 100 S1. I interviewed the New Zealand designer John Frayling in Wales many years ago and he related various tales of the development of the fibreglass monocoque Elite, including having to start again after they failed to use the correct release agent and the moulds stuck fast to the styling buck. It was all very Lotus. Hardly anyone got paid but the project was guided by some of the smartest minds in the business. I am not sure if there was a cleverer car made in England until the McLaren.

For: A true landmark in style and dynamics.
Against: Fast but noisy and fragile.
Investment potential. No price but I would hazard upwards of 120K.

2002 Peugeot 406 Coupe. Old friend Buck took me to task for my narrow selection of contemporary classics and he is quite right to say that the Pininfarina designed 406 Coupe is one. Colour makes all the difference so the Giallo Fly example I had ready to go this week has been snapped up. Well equipped, decently quick in 3-litre form and becoming ridiculously cheap. Many have run up high milages already which suggests their owners can't keep out of them. It is a good sign.

For: Glorious looks.
Against: Not much that I can think of.
Investment potential: 0/10. The lift is still going down, sadly.

1963 Studebaker Lark Cruiser. This was Studebaker's last effort to capture part of the luxury compact trade and they looked to Europe for ideas. Although many see an American Mercedes, I suspect they had a picture of a Lancia Flavia saloon pinned up by the drawing board as many of that fine but ugly saloon's eccentricities are evident here. This one is the desirable small V8 with manual gears so might be quite fun to drive. The Flavia pic is for reference only.

For: If I had to attend a beach hop it would be in this.
Against: You have to want one but relatively few seem to.
Investment potential: 1/10. No-one under the age of 65 knows or cares about Studebakers any more.

Something for the weekend, sir? *

1953 Healey Alvis 3-Litre. Considerably more rare than the Nash Healey that it is based on, this big sports car features the smooth Alvis motor and the all synchromesh gearbox for which they were justly reknowned. I doubt if many were sold in period when you could have bought an XK120 but I am quite taken with its Anglo-American-Anglo heritage. Oh, and when looking at the dealer's pictures, observe the honey taking them. Grwwlll.

For: Odd but strangely attractive.
Against. A bit of a duffer in the sports car stakes.
Investment potential: 1/10. A tough sell, then and now I imagine.

* Apparently a question asked by barbers who were allowed to sell prophylactics but could not say so directly. 

The Aesthete goes modern

The Aesthete's Fleet

I work with another car enthusiast although I would not describe what he drives as classical in any sense. He often sends me links headed up WTF!!! and other expressions of utter disbelief. He tells me that all of the European cars predating 2000 are about to be tossed on a large bonfire on the Central Plateau as they are now officially worthless.  Consequently I overcame my prejudices and looked into the recent past on Trademe. I saw terrible things no one should ever have to see...

2003 Volkswagen Passat W-8 4Motion. There is hardly anyone who does not know that a Bugatti is just a big expensive Volkswagen. Likewise Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche. The anodyne looking Passat saloon also packs the kind of technological wallop that commands wicked prices in those other brands. Seeing as the engines are modular you are buying 4/5ths of a Lambo. The 4-litre W8 is governed to 250 KPH apparently. Yours for something over 7K.

For: Again, vorsprung durch dirty big engine.
Against: The next major service bill will have you questioning your decision.
Investment potential. 0/10. It will burn merrily on the fire though.

1995 Fiat Coupe. Or you could fix up this one owner NZ-new Fiat Coupe which has sadly defiled itself with a cam belt failure and bent its valves. The Aesthete much prefers these daring Chris Bangle styled coupes over their bug eyed Alfa GTV counterparts which are also heading down the trail to worthlessness. Bids are stuck below $800 with reserve already met so remember, fortune favours the bold.

For: Unlike almost everything else from the period, characterful and great fun.
Against: Dare I say it, a bit temperamental?
Investment potential. 2/10 as long as the engine is not completely wrecked.

1990 Porsche 928 S4. You could pay a lot less than 28K for a 928 now but this one appears to be brand new with one previous New Zealand owner. As regretful purchasers of rough 928s find out, an engine rebuild can consume the greater part of that purchase price so if you want the best example of one of the best cars ever built, it is not seemly to quibble.

For: A modern Porsche has few real advantages.
Against: Big and heavy.
Investment potential: 2/10 given that there will always be a market for the best ones.

1991 Nissan Silvia Mitsuoka Le-Seyde Coupe.  I imagine this vile creation was built to allow Japanese porno stars to pretend they were driving an Excalibur in Miami so now you can repeat whatever illicit sensations they experienced right here in Dunedin! I will go and have a look at it tomorrow but I will be disinfecting the seats before I get in.

For: Words escape me.
Against: I told you I have seen terrible things.
Investment potential: Bwahahaha.

1973 Fiat 125T. I could not have paused in benighted era for one second longer so back to my happy place with a nice boxy Fiat 125 saloon.  The vendor purports this to be a genuine 125T which was a local variant fitted with desirable extras by the Fiat agents. High back bucket seats... grwwwlll. In my car spotting teens, I always gave myself an extra high score if I saw one during my parent's interminable drives to that nice pub that they kept forgetting the location of.

For: Make sure it is a real one and then buy it.
Against: Any good 125 is desirable now so nothing much.
Investment potential: 3/10. The cachet of the letter T commands a premium


Something for the Stan Getz fans... 

Volkswagen SP2. The 1972 World Cars Annual that I used to take on those drives with my parents was full of oddities like this and safe to say I never saw any of them on our roads. I would have given myself a score of 14000 if I had spotted this Brazilian-built Volkswagen SP2 that looks like a cross between a Lancia Fulvia Zagato and a 240Z.

For: Just the thing for slow drives to Ipanema.
Against: VW Variant bits.
Investment potential: Who would know? Quite sought after in Brazil, apparently

The Aesthete hits the track

The Aesthete's Fleet

The Aesthete's dreams occasionally lurch into lurid fantasies of competition, ironic when I can't keep the current fleet registered, WOFed and on the road when all they get is a gentle flogging up to Central Otago from time to time. The actual cost of serious racing does not bear thinking about, as the parade of money hungry projects through Wonderboy's workshop attests. Even so, here are some ways in that offer pleasure without penury.

1964 Volvo 122S. Imagine the Aesthete as the Swedish chef on the Muppet Show to gauge my response to this rather superb Amazon. The scaled down Chrysler lines have weathered the years far better than the models that replaced them and this one has all the expensive pieces of kit that you would need for the Targa or other gentlemanly (or ladylike) track pursuits. The price seems completely reasonable for such a capable classic rally mount.

For: Yah, dot's nice.
Against: Don't resist. Just buy it.
Investment potential: 6/10

1972 BWM 3.0 CS. Or you could finish this immaculately prepared CS racer and scare yourself completely witless. Offered with a choice of potent power plant and gearbox combinations, it has the look of a project that, for some doubtless sad personal reason, must be sold despite the vast sum of money that has been forked into it. So now you can exercise your own fantasies of track domination until your bank manager reaches into his desk for his revolver.

For: Vorsprung durch dirty big engine.
Against: Are you a race mechanic? May I suggest Wonderboy might like to assist?
Investment potential: 3/10. Any race car is a money pit but this looks more than viable.

1993 Porsche 968 Clubsport.  I know I featured this car recently but it was in another context altogether. If you want factory reliability in a race car that is drivable on the road, you have few options but to buy a Porsche. At a nudge over 40K, this is value but it will need a roll cage for serious work and that would be a shame. You choose.

For: Immaculate and capable
Against: Poseur image.
Investment potential: 1/10 and diminishing if you start using it.

BMW 2002Tii. I don't wish to sound like a snob but it is probably not smart to buy an old race car from someone with missing teeth and living in a caravan in Clinton. Better by far the North Shore where no one is worth less than a million and they can afford the upkeep on something like this smart 2002 Tii. The owner fitted a new factory engine which has done 5000 KMs and sounds honest about the car's minor flaws.

For: Just right for getting around in the middle of the pack.
Against: You will probably not be satisfied with that.
Investment potential: 1/10. This has been for sale for ages so bargaining skills may be called for.

Begg Daimler 250. The Aesthete squares the circle with this classic New Zealand built single seater that was built around Edward Turner's brilliant alloy V8. Rarely has something so good arisen from such disparate origins but it was typical of the approach of the day. Comes with a Chevrolet V8 for 'reliability' so one might assume the Daimler is feeling a bit tired. You could go out and find a Majestic Major motor for it.

For: Local and significant piece of history.
Against: Arguably better ways of spending 80K
Investment potential: If you could afford it you should not give it a thought. For everyone else 0/10.

Bargain of the year so far...

1975 Citroen CX. I usually keep this spot for off-shore treats but just look at this. Bidding has crawled to a desultory $1240 for this ravishing early CX with the highly desirable red cloth interior looking like a Verner Panton installation (Look him up). The rest of the car is more than presentable and someone needs to buy it right now as the owner seems not to have a clue.

For: Oh, that interior definitely.
Against: Not a top line model but so what.
Investment potential. 7/10 if you can get it for that.