Circulates throughout the world Established 1903

What price history?

The moral side is not for me to comment on, though I am interested in the ‘sum of all parts’ question. What makes this vehicle, this mode of transport made of metal, leather and rubber essentially, worth so much? To take the same argument on though, in the same vein what makes a Van Gogh, a Cezanne or whatever, a Ming vase or a Stradivarius violin, worth so much? In those terms, actually, the Ferrari is worth much, much more, simply because its parts are worth more broken down than the component parts which make up a painting (ie paint, canvas and wood), a vase (er, clay) or a violin (wood).

However, similarly surely the Ferrari is worth less than a Vauxhall Cresta or similar, as the Vauxhall weighs more, so its metal is surely worth more (though of course then we can get into the values of certain metals...). It’s an argument which is riddled with complexity and impossible to quantify – which makes it all the more interesting. Likewise, it can lead to question that can be applied to motorcycles – why has, for example, a Matchless-engined SS80 Brough Superior become so highly valued, whereas comparatively a Matchless Model X V-twin (with the same engine) is worth a fraction? I’ve just looked on eBay and a search under Vincent brings up a Black Shadow and Steib sidecar, listed for £80,000.

So, by that reckoning, surely the Comet and sidecar in this issue must be worth at least £40,000? It makes the Series C Comet sold at a recent H&H sale for £16k seem a bargain, all of a sudden... Basically, though, it’s all impossible to rationally understand and down to myriad factors (demand, fashion, availability, to name three...) but it’s still fascinating. Puzzling, but fascinating, like so much in the classic vehicle world.

James Robinson
Editor