Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[badhuis]

For some types of car there is a version which is very sought after, worth many times the value of the basic car.

Take for example the Sunbeam Tiger. Basically an Alpine with a Ford V8. Worth many tens of thousands whereas the ordinary Alpine in mint condition struggle to reach the 15-20K limit.
Pity the Alpine owner who must be fed up with hearing "I would love to have one if it would have the V8"

Same for the Mini Cooper S.

But not for other, for example the Rover P6. You can still find a perfectly good V8 for the same kind of money compared to a 2000 or 2200.

Are there more examples of types with huge value differences?
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[mikeC]

I suppose the most obvious one within my experience is the Austin Seven; like the Alpine/Tiger, a standard 1930 tourer (chummy) might be around £12-15,000, whereas a genuine Ulster is in the high tens of thousands, and I know of a supercharged version which has recently changed hands for over £100,000 (and it isn't even a pristine one!).
I suppose you could also quote the AC Ace against the Cobra,or a standard E-Type Jaguar compared to a Lightweight ...
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in the garage: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Recently departed: 1953 Lancia Appia, 1931 Austin Seven, 1967 Singer Chamois, 1914 Saxon, 1930 Morris Cowley, 1936 BSA Scout, 1958 Lancia Appia coupe, 1922 Star 11.9 ... the list goes on!

[Rick]

[mikeC]

I suppose it's a combination of desirability and rarity; there were tens of thousands of Alpines against a few hundred Tigers, similarly with Minis and Cooper Ss or Escorts and Twin Cams, whereas P6 V8s were/are far more common relatively speaking.
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in the garage: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Recently departed: 1953 Lancia Appia, 1931 Austin Seven, 1967 Singer Chamois, 1914 Saxon, 1930 Morris Cowley, 1936 BSA Scout, 1958 Lancia Appia coupe, 1922 Star 11.9 ... the list goes on!

[Rootes75]

Looking at it the other way round, are there many standard bodied cars that would out price the special versions?
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[lowdrag]

I found this car fifteen years ago, tyres flat, covered over in the corner of an industrial unit, but all attempts to buy were rebuffed. Now the owner has had a stroke it has been sold. The price? Nearly £100,000. Somewhat different to a cooking Cortina!

Lotus Cortina Medard by Tony Brown, on Flickr

[BigJohn]

Couldn't he find a bigger torque wrench for the head bolts?

[badhuis]

I cannot understand why someone would prefer this over, or why it is worth so much more than, a genuine Lotus with the same engine. Like an Elan, or Elite or Eclat.
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[alastairq]

There must be something in the British motorists' psyche that has them surging for their wallets at the mention of ''V8''...

SHove the words 'V8' into the description, and the drool is overwhelming.

Quite why, I have yet to fathom...maybe I'm not on the same planet?

Certainly, to me....ignoring BHP figures [which are meaningless in everyday driving].....a V8 means a lot more cylinders, spark plugs, heads exhaust bits, and stuff, to break or go wrong. They rarely have enough bearings on the crankshaft as it is...compared to a well-engineered 6...for example.

On topic.....compare the so-called 'classic Mustang' range?

A sound, basic, 6-pot Mustang..either I or II, [pre-'67, or '67-'68]....will never fetch the same money as an identical example with even a basic V8.
Yet, arguably, the 6-pot, being that much lighter, is a 'nicer' drive than a V8.
Not forgetting the better fuel consumption, cheaper to service, easier to work on [space-wise, under the hood]....I never have heard of problems working on the steering gear of a 6 pot, yet, with a V8, there are constant nigges concerning access, and the proximity of major, quite hot, bits of metal...as an example.
There is tuning material for the 6 pot....just not as much, or so much more keenly-priced, than for the V8s....[not forgetting the Australian versions, which dealt with the drawbacks Ford USA imposed.].....

It must all be down to noise, in the end? The offbeat, disjointed rumble of the V8, or the harmonious, balanced warble of a good 6?
I know which I'd prefer to batter may eardrums with over a long distance!


To look at a typical UK example.....take the Skoda Felicia?
These were pretty much the first offspring to truly sprout from the unholy VAG alliance Skoda found themselves in. [FAvorit was a Skoda child, pure & simple]

The Felicia [quite a lot of Polo bodyshell]....could be had with a diseasel [VW-VAG], an 1600 petroil[VAG], or the 1300 engine, which was, again, Skoda, pure & simple.
The 1.3...the Skoda 136 engine, which first saw light-of-day in the rear engined Skoda Rapid [followed by the Estelle].....was a development of the 130-120-105 Skoda-designed engines.
It boasted all alloy construction ..almost as easy to pick up by hand, as the Hillman Imp engine]....8 port head, etc. The Felica [and Favorit] 136 motors also shared the same combustion chamber & port design [arrived at by, I believe, Bill Blydenstein, for the older Rapid engine....so a cheap way of getting a modified cylinder head...swap it for a Felly head!]

To drive, the fuel infected 136 engine revved well, but, being so much lighter than larger VAG options, meant the car handled so much more nicely.....no gert heavy lump of iron stuck out over the front wheels, to encourage chronic understeer.
Yet, folk paid more for the bigger engined versions.

As an aside, I still think the 136 Felicia is a worthy leader for a banger to run about in.

From personal experience of the 1.3 felly [the engine went on to power the Fabia...and VW made the crankcase even more rigid, to up the capacity to 1.4]......and the Skoda Rapid....I noted how technology, when applied to the same engine, could really pay benefits...not so much in dramatic power increases, but in fuel consumptions.
My Rapid [136, on carburettor]...could average around 35-38 mpgs....the Felly [136, mpi fuel infection, coil pack ignition]...could easily top between 50 & 53 mpgs.

Weight is everything, in my book..the less of it, the better...and less weight to lug around, means high power outputs aren't essential...people forget what driveability really is all about these days.

[Ellis]

Three almost identical cars :

1. Austin 1300GT
2. Riley Kestrel 1.3
3. MG 1300

The only difference being that the MG 1300 was sold as a two door only.

How do you value these individually as they are all now rare?

The Wolseley 1100, Vanden Plas 1100 and their 1300cc successors are again rare but the Vanden Plas is regarded as an icon, almost.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[Ray White]

I don't know if it counts but you can pick up a tidy Rolls Royce Silver Shadow for relatively little money. The 2 door FHC, on the other hand, will fetch at least twice as much but is, mechanically, essentially the same car...with all the same attendant problems.