Chev Camaro Z28 + Austin A95 + BMW 2002 + Dodge Superbee - Ones That Got Away 439

By: Cliff Chambers

Date: 08.05.2020

Cliff Chambers looks back through the Unique Cars classifieds...

CHEVROLET CAMARO Z28 - Advertised June 2006

Maybe not the most collectable muscle car but a genuine rarity and one of few US models that was specifically built to contest race series where the track turned in both directions. The first 600 Camaro Z28s were built in 1967 to qualify for TransAm racing but by 1969 when cars like this one appeared, annual production exceeded 7000 cars. Lots of those survive, however only a few have made their way to Australia, thus explaining this car’s relatively high price. Today and based on a US market where Z28s needing work sell for around A$60,000 it won’t have made significant gains.

Was: $79,000 Now: $90,000-95,000

AUSTIN A95 - Advertised April 1988

By 1988 in a market where some old cars had suddenly become items of value, big Austins from the 1950s were still worth next to nothing and being slaughtered in their hundreds. Why? Because under that massive bonnet was a six-cylinder engine shared with the far more illustrious Austin-Healey 100/6.

A National Austin Club meeting held in 2017 brought together four excellent examples of the A95 and A105 but they are still scarce. Same story in the UK where rust and speedway ‘banger’ racing have claimed almost the entire population.

Was: $1000 Now: $11,000-12,500

BMW 2002 - Advertised May 1997

What a game-changer BMW’s 2002 was, Not just here but in every market where these mesmerising cars appeared. They were the kind of thing people who outgrew Cooper S Minis would step into; not all that fast, plain to the point of austerity but a car that could happily be driven until you ran out of fuel or places to go. Early 2002s with round rear lights are more valuable than later ones that use rectangular clusters and now more difficult to find.

Prices since 1997 have risen very significantly and cars of this age and in this condition should show 500 percent gains.

Was: $7000 Now: $35,000-40,000

DODGE SUPERBEE - Advertised August 2003

Not top-spec but this Superbee appears to be a very decent example of the popular and budget-priced muscle car. The history books reveal that around 27,000 Superbees were built in 1969; almost all with the basic 6.3-litre ‘383’ V8. ‘Nevada car’ is a metaphor for ‘not too rusty’  – Nevada being a mostly arid US State – and this Bee certainly looks to be in decent shape. Very few would have come to Australia as new cars, although we did see Chargers in quite decent numbers. This one in 2003 would have been a rarity, although likely struggling to manage $32,000. Different story today.

Was: $32,000 Now: $55,000-60,000

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