Classic Cars

Recently, we worked with an engineering company in the Midlands who use additive manufacturing - 3D printing to you and me - extensively. One of the key applications for this, they explained, was to re-manufacture parts for classic cars when the originals are no longer available. They digitally scan and rebuild original components and then 3D print new parts in metal, using techniques pioneered in the aeronautical industry.

So IX Magazine attended the Goodwood Revival again this summer and once again it delivered a sizzling slice of a glorious age, an anachronistic extravaganza, a fantasy of Britain from a bygone age, enhanced by imagination, wealthy sponsors and superb organisation.

The car that won Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd its first Royal Warrant, the magnificent 1954 Lagonda 3 Litre Drophead Coupe that H&H will be offering for sale by public auction on April 20th 2016 at IWM Duxford, Cambs was built to the special order of HRH, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
 

The Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), founded in 2007, has chosen new avenues to analyse the collectors’ market for rare classic cars. Following the motto “driven by knowledge” the approach is based on financial analysis, adjusted to the specialties of this niche collectors’ asset class. HAGI is known in the market to produce a series of indices charting the top levels of the classic car market.

The Mille Miglia in Italy.
Those two words are so onomatopoeic, four consonants which evoke the greatest car race in the world, this thousand mile rally around Italy. The quintessential race in a country that can rightly claim the greatest passion for the motorcar. The home of the “red” car, Ferrari, Lambhorgini and Maserati.

New market index reveals Mercedes are classic performers Classic Mercedes-Benz models perform as strongly in the market as they do on the road, according to an international research organisation that has just released the first ever index to comprehensively measure the brand’s value progression. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Index (MBCI), created by classic car market research company The Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI), gained 11.65% in 2012. Moreover, a market back-test to 1980 reveals a solid annual average growth rate of nearly 9%.

The Mille Miglia starts in Brescia in the north of Italy, descends down the east coast to Rome over two days, and then ends with a single day dash from Rome back up to Brescia on the west coast. It is a magnificent cortege of the greatest racing cars and classic road cars ever built. To enter, the cars must have either been in the original Mille Miglia, or a car of sporting history listed in Palmares Winner’s Lists of international significance. This is about as exclusive as it gets even before the costs of the race and the cars come into it.