Looking back through the Unique Cars classifieds...
Alfa Romeo GTV6 – Advertised Novemnber 1998
Loading up Alfa’s GTV with a big lump of engine seems to have done no harm to V6 version’s desirability or value. In 1987 one even ran away from a bunch of 4WD contenders to win the Australian Rally Championship. GTV6s were sold locally in decent quantities and owners seem to have been diligent in preserving their cars, so condition is typically good and values during the past five years continue to climb. This example is presented in a fairly unusual hue which might hurt its chances, however $40k should still be feasible.
Then: $14,900. Now: $35,000-40,000
Morris Cooper S – Advertised April 1993
People who back in the 1960s drove two-tone brown Mini Coopers were quite often police officers and you did not want one of those popping up in the mirror because they were hard to outrun. This car, being Tasmanian, probably isn’t ex-Police and even the colour wouldn’t have harmed its chances of selling for around the $12,000 asking price. Today of course, demand for authentic Cooper S Minis has become endemic and that figure could have easily quadrupled, ensuring that Mark 1s in this kind of condition have a bright future.
Then: $12,000. Now: $45,000-50,000
Ford Zodiac Mark 3 – Advertised April 1990
With its Falcon well established by 1963, Ford Australia didn’t need the Brit-built Mark 3 Zephyr, but a few were imported anyway. Zodiacs were the ‘Futura’ version with four headlights, leather seats and extra chrome. Today they are keenly sought by UK Ford enthusiasts and fans of rockabilly music, building a buoyant market with strong prices. Mark 3s are scarce here and even in overseas markets, good cars have been hard to find. Of the ones advertised recently in Britain and New Zealand, most looked to need work and were priced in the $16-20,000 bracket.
Then: $7800. Now: $30,000-35,000
Bugatti Type 40 – Advertised September 1995
Back in the mid-1990s when the Bugatti brand was undergoing a high-profile revival, Unique Cars offered a slightly older model at around a tenth of the money
you might have spent on an EB110. The Type 40 dates from 1926 and came with a low-tech (for Bugatti) 1.5-litre engine and four-speed gearbox. It was a popular
model though with over 800 built, of which auction house Bonhams suggests around 200 survive. Locally there have been a few sold during the past decade and at least one well-known local car has returned to Europe. Who has this one now?
Then: $98,000. Now: $400,000-450,000
From Unique Cars #457, Sep 2021