Just because one of South Australian solar revolutionary, Troy ‘the Sparky’ Ryan’s mates paid nearly $60 million for a used Italian car, I am not being put off going to this season’s auctions and nor should you.
Yes a Spanish person bought the 40 year old Ferrari 250GTO, one of 36 made, from serious Ferrari collector, Paul Pappalardo five years ago for a lot less than the new owner paid last month. Although, if I remember rightly, Paul sent the car back to the factory in Modena for a complete service in 2006 and that wouldn’t have come cheap. The original owner was French person, Jean Guichet, who paid around $18,000 for it. Jean came from a relatively well off family but became seriously wealthy when he started a ship repair business in Marseille. He raced the 250 GTO at Dakar, at the Nürburgring and won the 1963 Tour de France.
So one morning Jean’s wife wakes up and says “ I am sick of going to Carrefour in a car that has no speedo, heater, bumper bars or soundproofing you have to sell it!” Jean said (in French) “Fair suck of the sausage wifey that’s a bit rough” but what else could he do. He got $4,500 for it. Twenty years later a Japanese paid $15 mil for a 250 GTO and three years ago you could have bought one for $17 mil. Over the last nineteen months prices have gone up from $31 mil to $50 mil. How do you feel now Madame Guichet?
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