DRIVEN TO ENJOY
Sharing ’s belief that cars are primarily made to be driven and enjoyed, Founder & CEO of Collecting Cars, Edward Lovett, runs through some of his driver-focused favourites that have recently gone under the hammer of the online auction platform for less than you might expect. Writen by: Edward Lovett
It wasn’t that long ago that many dealers, speculators, and even those in the media were regularly talking about what cars to buy as ‘investments’, and some still are. However, from day one on Collecting Cars, we banned the word ‘investment’ from our platform. Our team believes that cars are first and foremost to be driven and enjoyed, and we know that most of our followers agree with that wholeheartedly.
We’ve now sold more than 2,200 lots on the platform and generated more than £75 million for our sellers, but because every consignment is curated by our team, we develop great relationships with our buyers and sellers, and we know what makes them tick.
Now more than ever — in part because of the current socioeconomic climate, but also because of the proliferation of ludicrously expensive hypercars — we know that buyers are seeking not just great value in the market, but great driving experiences too.
Many supercar owners are returning to cars they might have first driven years or decades ago — purist, analogue machines that now seem like rare breeds. We’ve sold more than 20 examples of the 911 Carrera 3.2 as people recognise a rewarding air-cooled Porsche for VW Golf R money — a stunning Cassis Red with burgundy velour Targa just sold this month for £35,250. Elsewhere, an E46 M3 is about as good as an ‘everyday’ performance car gets, with average cars going for £10,000, great cars won with bids nearer £20,000, and
for those with bigger budgets, the M3 CSL is as popular as ever.
Walking up the price range, seven Ferrari 550 Maranellos have sold through Collecting Cars, including the well-known ex-Harry Metcalfe and Richard Hammond example. In February 2021, a beautiful Grigio Titanio car with 29,000 miles went to a new home for £77,501. We suspect that in 20 years’ time, a naturally-aspirated V12 Ferrari with a manual gearbox is still going to be Manna from heaven, not because of what it’s worth, but
because of how it makes you feel from behind the wheel.
For those looking for a little more finesse and a little less weight, the Porsche 996.2 GT3 is looking like a sweet spot in the 911 back catalogue at the moment. Collecting Cars has sold three in the last few months, including a superb Cobalt Blue example in March this year, which had just been retrofitted with genuine Recaro bucket seats, going for a winning bid of £58,000.
Collecting Cars recently opened a base in Los Angeles, joining Sydney, Munich and our London HQ, though the platform has been selling to international bidders since 2019. Our favourite recent global sales story is the European gentleman who snapped up the period-perfect white-over-tan Ferrari Testarossa from the UK for £70,777, collected it in person when they were allowed to do so, and blasted it home across the continent. If that’s not living the supercar dream, then we don’t know what is. @collectingcars
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