1988 Ferrari Testarossa
There’s nothing quite like a Ferrari starting up, especially when it’s in an enclosed space. It rips the air apart before settling into an “I mean business” growl.
At Ferrari specialists Rosso Sport in Bryanston, it’s a sound you never tire of… nor do you get bored with the sight of the gorgeous examples of the Prancing Horse’s finest.
What a perfect venue, then, for what is aiming to be a collectible classic car auction which takes the genre to a new level in South Africa.
Next Saturday, Aspire Art will be open to the public to witness the sale of a mouth-watering collection of just 23 collectible classic cars, ranging in estimated value from R10 million to R12 million (a 1997 Lamborghini SV) to R180 000 to R240 000 for a 1967 MGB GT Coupe.
The concept of a high-end auction came from Aspire Art, a company whose normal business is in auctioning high-end art pieces, but especially those with a South African flavour or heritage.
Earlier this year, for example, the company sold an oil painting by artist Irma Stern from a private collection for R5.6 million.
Jake Gore, a director of Aspire Art, says: “While there are people who says cars are a modern art form, we think that vehicles can be as desirable as art works and they celebrate human technical innovation while providing a significant investment opportunity.”
That is why there was a rigorous evaluation and selection process for the cars on the auction.
“They had to be interesting, or unusual, or with a history and more than just a footnote in automotive history that provides. Secondly, they had to be absolutely of the highest quality.
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Finally, they had to be genuine, legal examples that provide a sound investment opportunity for potential collectors and motor enthusiasts.”
Gore says the cars were divided into specific genres – British, Italian and German, with a dash of an American muscle tribute thrown in for good measure.
From England’s green and pleasant isle, the star is a 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series1 Roadster, once described by Enzo Ferrari himself as “the most beautiful car in the world”.
As a “no expense spared restoration”, it has an estimated price of between R3.1 million and R3.5 million.
There’s also a cheeky 1965 Austin Cooper – the famous giant-killing Mini – which is expected to go for between R380 00 and R420 000.
The Germans are well represented with older and newer Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes.
My favourites are a 1969 Merc 280 SL “Pagoda” sports car, estimated at R2.5 million to R3.2 million and a very rare Merc 190E 2.5-16 Evolution from 1990, which tore up the world of German Touring Car racing in the 1990s.
You have to drool over the Ferraris, the newest of which is a showroom mint condition 599 GTB Fiorano, from 2008 which, with a 6.0 litre V12 engine, is capable of well over 320km/h and which is expected to go for between R2.7 million and R3 million.
Then there is a rare 1976 fibreglass-bodied Ferrari 308 GTB – one of only 712 produced and one of only five left in SA – expected to fetch between R3 million and R4 million.
Big ticket item is the 1997 Lamborghini Diablo SV which is collectible because of the small numbers in which it was made but more for the fact it was the last “real Lamborghini” before the Italian maker was taken over by the massive VW-Audi group.
The car has just 23 000km on the clock, which makes it almost new – hence the estimate of between R10 million and R12 million.
“But,” adds Gore, “you never know what will happen on the day – who is in the room, who is on the phone and on the Web and how much they want a particular car.” So, the Diablo and other cars could well exceed the estimates.
My heart, though still belongs to Alfa Romeo and the car I drooled over as a kid – and one I never thought I’d see in South Africa – is the V8-powered Montreal from 1974, which is valued at between R1.3 million to R1.6 million… something of a bargain when you consider that top of the range bakkies are going for not much less than that these days.
Another interesting Alfa is the 3.0 GT V6 once owned by famous racer and Alfa dealer Arnold Chatz. The 3.0 litre was a unique-to-SA model, made in small numbers.
Gore says Aspire Art is encouraging people to view the auction in person at Rosso Sport or catch it online at aspireart.net, “because if you’re a car nut, or even if you just like beautiful objects, then this will be very satisfying.”
As far as the market for collectible cars goes, Gore makes the point that people buying cars like these are generally “those who want to drive them and enjoy them”, especially at a time when so many modern cars are almost indistinguishable from one another.
“Prices here seem to track overseas trends although our cars can be in demand for overseas collectors because they generally tend to be rust-free because of our climate.”
He hopes, though, that most of the cars will stay in SA… “there are enough people who appreciate these cars locally who have the financial means”, he believes.
Overall, he adds, the idea is to “set new standards when it comes to auctions for collectible cars and to show that South Africa is just as capable of putting on a world class auction show that can compete globally”.
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