Burnt-out shell of 1954 Ferrari fetches $2m at auction
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66563807
puts a new perspective on that burned out flightmaster
Vehicle identification number (nowadays it contains 17 digits with the 1st indicating country of origin/production, 10th letter indicating modelyear and last 6 are only no's).
As I also know nothing about car auctions, is that the horological equivalent of switching out a Omega serial plate into another movement?
In car land, that's all kosher?
That must be the ultimate barn find -quite literally.
What does « VIN tag » mean? I know nothing about cars.
Wow. Would they be able to restore the frame so that at least part of the original car - aside from that plate— still survives in the new car? If the plate is the only subsisting element it would all seem a bit like a fallacy.
It’s a fluid world in vintage, high-end cars.The plate is sacrosanct. Cassis numbers can be faked, not that this is going to happen here. People that love this stuff and spend $2m are also v protective of the provenance of a car, so I’m sure that as much of this original that can be saved will be saved. Switching plates, forging numbers, making claims is pretty tough to do w top-notch cars in the internet age. Tho’ none other than Jay Leno was recently in an awful situation; I can’t recall how his Porsche sale was “resolved,” but it cost someone a boatload of money I’m sure.
Burnt-out shell of 1954 Ferrari fetches $2m at auction
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66563807
puts a new perspective on that burned out flightmaster
Yeah, some racing cars are very much like Trigger's broom...
I've just spent the last few months researching the history and provenance of an ex-Howard Cole Superstox, and when you put all the photographs I managed to pull out of various archives in chronological order, it's bonkers how much the car changed in its nearly 20-year racing career prior to being dumped in a barn and abandoned. It's currently undergoing a full restoration with an aim to return it to its original specifications.
The trouble with the short oval cars of 40-ish years ago, is that they were largely self-built with no traceable identification like what you got if you bought a Reynard or a Van Diemen say, in order to race on the circuits. So it's much harder to establish provenance, especially since these cars tended to go through the hands of multiple owners.
Having said that, Ferraris are a law unto themselves. Not my area of expertise though.
FWIW there's a Jaguar XJR-14 that's been up for sale recently, put together (mostly) from the parts left lying around when TWR pulled out of sportscar racing at the tail end of 1991. And likewise, there's a V16 BRM "remake" built from the original blueprints. Where these fall on the spectrum is up for debate. But never mind that, the howl from that 1.5 litre V16 engine just has to be experienced. (Owwww, my ears!!!)
