Looking back through the Unique Cars classifieds
Maserati 3500GTi – Advertised December 2005
The Maserati brothers much preferred racing to road cars but to keep racing they needed cash and adding an elegant GT coupe to the schedule didn’t hurt. The engine was derived from Maserati’s six-cylinder race motor and top speed was a claimed, likely ambitious, 215km/h. Almost 2000 GT and fuel-injected 3500GTi coupes were made plus 232 Spider convertibles. Coupes were listed in Australian dealer guides from 1960-64 but just how many were sold isn’t known. Several later imports have been recorded with one, a rare Spider, selling at auction in 2021 for $733,000.
Then: $75,000. Now: $220,000-250,000
Datsun Super Six – Advertised August 1999
Sharing their engine with the vastly more valuable 2000 Sports made early Super Six Datsuns a threatened species, however there was less demand for 2.3-litre cars that arrived in 1969. These were mostly allowed to rust away because when something failed or was damaged the owners couldn’t see value in repairing a car that hardly anyone else wanted. Someone must have though because a dealer in South Australia was recently offering a car similar to this but (hopefully) in far better condition at a price ten times higher than the 1999 value.
Then: $3000. Now: $12,000-15000
Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 coupe – Advertised November 2007
The appeal of truly classic design never wanes and the W111 Series Mercedes-Benz coupe has a genuinely immortal shape. The first coupes appeared in 1961, based on the 220SE sedan but without that car’s distinctive ‘fintail’ rear. In various forms, it lasted more than a decade, with final versions gaining V8 power and some extra exclusivity. 280SE 3.5 coupes at $18,285 in 1971 cost more than a modest house and took their time to appreciate. The surge did come though and by 2018 an excellent car was worth $175,000. Growth continues too, with a top auction price this year of $245,000.
Then: $55,000. Now: $220,000-250,000
Reader’s One That Got Away
HSV VL SV88
Gabriel Russo
My colleague owned a super neat SV88 in the late 90s, he offered me the car in ’98 for $10K, but I declined as I wanted a VL turbo and I was not a fan of the lairy blue leather interior back then. I’m still kicking myself today…
From Unique Cars #478, May 2023