Collector & Events
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The art of the automobile

Collector & Events

The collector car world sits at the intersection of art, history and money — and it's never been more interesting. Record auction results, concours events, road trips in machines that shouldn't still exist, and the stories behind the cars that defined their eras. John Connolly has attended the auctions, driven the classics and talked to the collectors.

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106 more Collector & Events articles

Spanning 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

For the aesthetes among us: sex, leather and motorcycles
9-Jun-18·3 min read

For the aesthetes among us: sex, leather and motorcycles

The MV Agusta is the sexiest bike in the world at $31,000, plus Marianne Faithfull in The Girl On A Motorcycle and celebrity bikes at auction.

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Classic cars: Nice to gawk at but do check the backstory
8 Feb 2019·1 min read

Classic cars: Nice to gawk at but do check the backstory

What's going on? The credibility of the whole classic car universe is at stake.

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Kezza Toron, rescued from the lantana, is finally on the loose
7-Apr-18·4 min read

Kezza Toron, rescued from the lantana, is finally on the loose

Road test of a Mercedes C300 plus preview of Winton Historics and Targa Tasmania, and the story of the Toron, a homemade Australian sports racer.

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Even if you've Bean there, driven that, avoid service plans
7 Jun 2019·1 min read

Even if you've Bean there, driven that, avoid service plans

There are a lot of well-known classic car collectors.

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Get the silly season into top gear with gifts that keep giving
6 Dec 2019·1 min read

Get the silly season into top gear with gifts that keep giving

Good morning elves.

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The Legend Hershel McGriff still racing at 90 years, not km/h
5-May-18·3 min read

The Legend Hershel McGriff still racing at 90 years, not km/h

90-year-old Hershel McGriff competes at Tucson Speedway, plus the Hyundai i30N wins Wheels magazine hot hatch megatest.

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Hitler roadster under hammer
4-Aug-18·2 min read

Hitler roadster under hammer

The 1941 Mercedes Benz 540K Cabriolet delivered to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs goes to auction at Pebble Beach for $6 million.

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Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche 356SC up for sale
31-Oct-2015·1 min read

Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche 356SC up for sale

Here's today's question. Why did Janis Joplin sing, "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends", when her daily driver was a psychedelically painted 1964 Porsche 356SC cabriolet?

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Geelong revival holds its own
31-Oct-2013·1 min read

Geelong revival holds its own

While Geelong came about third in the recent Melbourne football competition, it's the winner when it comes to autos. The second annual Geelong Revival — out Goodwooding Goodwood — features two days of sprints, shows, fashion, food markets and a $79 gala dinner.

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DeLorean's Banshee: fast, sexy silver bullet so good GM had to kill it
31-May-2015·1 min read

DeLorean's Banshee: fast, sexy silver bullet so good GM had to kill it

Hands up if you remember John DeLorean. If you do, you probably remember him for the stainless steel car with the flux capacitor from Back to the Future, and for being busted for $24 million worth of cocaine.

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Stocks in Bonds
31-Mar-2014·1 min read

Stocks in Bonds

Around the corner from Balthazar in London's Covent Garden is the little known London Film Museum. For the next nine months just about all the Bond cars you ever wanted to see are yours for $25.

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All the news I could think of today
31-Mar-2012·1 min read

All the news I could think of today

Mecum Houston auction results, the Ford Cobra Shelby 50th birthday reunion, a New Jersey police escort scandal dubbed "Death Race 2012", and a Chrysler recall on Dodge Charger police cruisers.

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It's getting very arty-farty as Beeple Crap pumps out the non-fungible tokens
31-Jul-2021·2 min read

It's getting very arty-farty as Beeple Crap pumps out the non-fungible tokens

You don't get much for $20m these days. A quarter share in Everydays: The First 5000 Days, a digital product by the artist known as Beeple Crap that sold as a non-fungible token for $84m. Our recommendation for the $20m burning a hole in your bank account is the 1995 McLaren F1.

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Shopping for Steve McQueen's wheels at the Petersen Automotive Museum
31-Jul-2014·1 min read

Shopping for Steve McQueen's wheels at the Petersen Automotive Museum

There are three keys to happiness in southern California: great tan, great body, great car. The Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard is pretty cool — it's near where the Notorious BIG was murdered in his Chev Suburban after a party there.

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Vintage car market is breaking price barriers
31-Jan-2015·1 min read

Vintage car market is breaking price barriers

ONE of the great things to do in clog land is the Race Planet experience at the Zandvoort Circuit. Former F1 racer Michael Bleekemolen lets you drive a Lambo Gallardo, Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche around the track in the sand dunes for $600.

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Colour me yellow: Tips to secure the best person magnet money can buy
31-Dec-2021·2 min read

Colour me yellow: Tips to secure the best person magnet money can buy

I know you're disappointed. All year and maybe all your life you've been dreaming you could buy a car that would make you the person you've dreamed of becoming. A car that's power, shape and noise loudly makes both it and the driver have such strong sexual potency that the most desirable persons will instantly fight each other to sit beside you.

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Vintage Harley-Davidsons and other motorcycles are thriving at auction
31-Dec-2015·1 min read

Vintage Harley-Davidsons and other motorcycles are thriving at auction

It's Australia Day on Tuesday so let's talk about bikes. While the market, the dollar, commodity prices, the yuan, your superannuation and the value of your house have been going down, motorbike prices have been going up faster than the petrol pirates' bank accounts.

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Test for the quest
31-Dec-2014·1 min read

Test for the quest

The real test of the beauty of any car, classic or modern, is the hot date test. You've spruced yourself up, hit the Old Spice, put on your best frock. Now the big decision: which car should you take? The Jaguar E-Type says style, class and oil leaks.

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Driving all the way to the bank
31-Dec-2013·1 min read

Driving all the way to the bank

Coutts is the Queen's own bank. So it's surprising that a bank which started up two years before the Bank of England has started a passion index. Good news: classic cars have been the biggest winner, rising 257 per cent since 2005.

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Mr Lamborghini rules Singapore supercar market
31-Aug-2015·1 min read

Mr Lamborghini rules Singapore supercar market

Right now there is $1 billion worth of Lambos driving around Singapore. Given there's only 164km of fast roads, the whole place would fit into Canberra, and a Lambo costs nearly $2 million (only $754,600 here), that's not a bad effort by Andy Goh.

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Some truly awful cars by the seaside
31-Aug-2014·1 min read

Some truly awful cars by the seaside

I was at Seaside, California, watching Jay Lamm organise another great motor classic — the Concours d'LeMons. Jay describes his show as "an ugly oil stain on auto week, with rust buckets, misfits, mistakes and the worst of the automotive world on display".

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Reverse of gold
31-Aug-2013·1 min read

Reverse of gold

Melbourne's Rod Maher paid $187,000 for a gold Nissan GT-R at a global charity auction. I don't mind the price. I don't mind that Usain Bolt signed the glove box. What I do mind is that it's gold.

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Old Jag heaven
30-Sep-2015·1 min read

Old Jag heaven

So the new owners of Jaguar rang me and said "John (they call me that because its my name) we have a problem. All our new cars are fine but we have a warehouse full of these old ones."

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Ford GT 40s, Eckland's Mini Cooper among classics at Ascot
30-Sep-2015·1 min read

Ford GT 40s, Eckland's Mini Cooper among classics at Ascot

Everything in London costs a million quid. Ride on the tube? A million quid. Bangers and mash? A million quid. Walk past Betty Windsor's palace? A million quid. No wonder classic cars look cheap.

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Chev Corvette, '66 Ford Fairlane lead Las Vegas sales
30-Sep-2015·1 min read

Chev Corvette, '66 Ford Fairlane lead Las Vegas sales

While you've been obsessed with reading about VWgate, Fiat Chryslergate, F1Melbournegate and lobby group T&E's test showing that new cars are guzzling 50 per cent more fuel than their lab test results, there's been really important stuff going on in the world.

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Mad reality takes hold in Las Vegas
30-Sep-2013·1 min read

Mad reality takes hold in Las Vegas

We were somewhere around Strip Steak on the edge of the Boulevard when the alcohol began to take hold. Then I remembered we were here to cover the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas auction with 675 cars, 70,000 bidders and $32 million worth of sales.

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Short supply and high demand add up to boom times
30-Oct-2021·2 min read

Short supply and high demand add up to boom times

If you're thinking of buying a new car and looking for a bargain or even a good deal, wait until June next year. Most new cars are in such short supply that some buyers are paying dealers a "delivery fee" of $10,000 on top of the full retail price.

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Shelby Cobras, Steve McQueen, Mazda MX5, Toyota 86: Xmas gift ideas
30-Nov-2015·1 min read

Shelby Cobras, Steve McQueen, Mazda MX5, Toyota 86: Xmas gift ideas

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the house, the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Santa Petrolhead soon would be there. Lucky you. Here I am.

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Arizona car auctions cure post-Xmas blues
30-Nov-2014·1 min read

Arizona car auctions cure post-Xmas blues

You really need to get your mind up above Christmas and focus on the best month of the year for those of the car persuasion — January in Scottsdale. Dave Gooding will be selling a 1956 Maserati A6G/200 Allemano-bodied coupe. Expect north of $800,000.

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Tasty pickings and Arizona meaty buys
30-Nov-2013·1 min read

Tasty pickings and Arizona meaty buys

Many readers ask me how I handle jet lag. To be truthful I don't see the problem. As soon as you get on the plane you have a glass or two of the Krug or the Dom Perignon. I am in serious training for Scottsdale auction week next month.

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Pebble Beach: classic cars for the rich and famous
30-Jun-2015·1 min read

Pebble Beach: classic cars for the rich and famous

It's only 24 days until the start of the whole Pebble Beach motorgeddon, complete with five auctions, four concours d'elegances and not so elegances (the concours d'Lemons), two art shows, one film festival, one retro Ferrari race and a motorsports reunion with 550 invited classic racers.

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Holland clogged with classic cars
30-Jun-2014·1 min read

Holland clogged with classic cars

The second week of August in Pebble Beach is to car persons what New Year, Chanukah, Eid ul-Fitr and Jamshed Navaroz is to non-motorists. The classic car bubble won't burst at Pebble Beach — but the Dutch are buying every decent classic car in Australia.

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Bentley bling
30-Jun-2013·1 min read

Bentley bling

The most iconic hip hop car of all time is not the Benzo, Beamer, Cad or Rolly — it's the 1964 Chevrolet Impala convertible. JAY Z has the best car collection in Hip Hop history, better even than Teddy Mangue, Second Vice President of Equatorial Guinea.

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California dream
30-Jun-2013·1 min read

California dream

Not everyone can afford the $325 entry to Gordon McCall's Motorworks Revival at the Monterey Jet Centre. But they do throw in free wine and food — if you can find the waitpersons amongst the supercars, super private jets, superbikes and super people.

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Watch out! Time is money for these classic cars with not much on the clock
30-Jan-2021·2 min read

Watch out! Time is money for these classic cars with not much on the clock

Last month the largest Rolex store in the Southern Hemisphere opened in Sydney. Since then, the watch shop has basically run out of stock. In the classic car caper we're seeing the same thing — record prices for rare metal.

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Rock stars and their heavenly rides
30-Apr-2015·1 min read

Rock stars and their heavenly rides

If you think about heaven, you probably think about being a rock and roll superstar, having a collection of great cars, the money to enjoy them and a few other pleasures that we can't mention in a family newspaper.

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Caught by a spider in Maserati's web
30-Apr-2013·1 min read

Caught by a spider in Maserati's web

Like fine wine, fine cars are an acquired taste. Early on you like the E-Type, any Ferrari, any Porsche. But then you move on to real beauty — the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, with only 19 ever made by Gianni Zagato.

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Deathtraps of desire: motorcycle mania becomes an art form
29-Feb-2020·2 min read

Deathtraps of desire: motorcycle mania becomes an art form

QAGOMA in Brisbane will feature a world-exclusive exhibition: The motorcycle — design, art, desire. 100 innovative deathtraps from the 1860s to present day.

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A numbers game: old plates overtake classic car market
29 Nov 2019·1 min read

A numbers game: old plates overtake classic car market

Look I don't want to alarm you, but the backside appears to be falling out of the collector car market.

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Caveat emptor with cars said to have belonged to the famous
28-Sep-18·3 min read

Caveat emptor with cars said to have belonged to the famous

Questions about Peter Brock's Ford Sierra plus Marilyn Monroe's 1956 Ford Thunderbird sells for $675,000 at auction.

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RM Auctions D-type Jaguar is high art on wheels
28-Feb-2015·1 min read

RM Auctions D-type Jaguar is high art on wheels

THINK Cezanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire, the Parthenon sculptures, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Now you're ready to think about Curt Lincoln's 1955 Jaguar D-type, which RM Auctions is giving an art lover the opportunity to own.

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US classic car auctions: cool, sunny but the prices are hot
28-Feb-2015·1 min read

US classic car auctions: cool, sunny but the prices are hot

Yes it was 7C in the sun in New York on the weekend of the Amelia Island Auction, but at the home of the Ms Shrimp Festival 2015 it was all serious cars, sunshine, smiles and record prices.

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What's Chinese for French toast?
28-Feb-2014·1 min read

What's Chinese for French toast?

Bonjour from Paris where we are reporting on Retromobile 2014 — 41,000 square metres covered in 500 cars, three tanks, two auctions, Brigitte Bardot's Roller and Steve McQueen's Packard. What's not to like?

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Wizardry of speed-setter
28-Feb-2013·1 min read

Wizardry of speed-setter

Two good reasons to go to New Zealand: Peter Webb is auctioning 60 serious motorbikes in Auckland, including a 1954 Vincent Series D and a 1970 Velocette Venom Thruxton 500 — one of the great collector bikes of the twentieth century.

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Classic proof there is a God
28-Feb-2013·1 min read

Classic proof there is a God

The Knight Frank 2013 Wealth Report proves it: classic cars have outperformed every investment class over the past ten years returning a whopping 395%. Over the same period shares only went up 54% including dividends.

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Enough socks and jocks? Here are two classic car experts' five gift ideas for Dad
28-Aug-2021·2 min read

Enough socks and jocks? Here are two classic car experts' five gift ideas for Dad

You're not going to get him a bottle of whisky, a pair of socks, slippers and you'd never think of Fluffy Dice or a Hawaiian Hula Dashboard Person. No, ungrateful sons, daughters and others, you're going to take out a home-equity loan and show Dad you really care.

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The good oil on a good oil and the naked truth on auctions
28-Apr-18·3 min read

The good oil on a good oil and the naked truth on auctions

Modigliani nude painting vs classic cars at Shannons Melbourne Autumn Classic Auction, plus Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 at Monaco for $3m.

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The ultimate work-from-home experience, complete with Oval Office
26-Sep-2020·2 min read

The ultimate work-from-home experience, complete with Oval Office

How much would you pay to be leader of the free world? Plus Queensland's sunshine lemon laws and the Bonhams American Presidential Experience auction.

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Stars align in Europe, but at home someone smells a rat
26-Oct-18·4 min read

Stars align in Europe, but at home someone smells a rat

Anita Ekberg 1956 Jaguar XK140 SE Roadster at Bonhams Padua auction, plus the WART Nissan Pulsar at the 24 Hours of LeMons at Wakefield Park.

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The best cars, motorcycles, subs and underseaboten to sink your savings into
25-Sep-2021·2 min read

The best cars, motorcycles, subs and underseaboten to sink your savings into

When you talk we listen! This week more than 20 per cent of readers (4) said they wanted more of the column devoted to alternative investments. So get your self-managed super ready because we'll be looking at everything from jewellery, to submarines to, very unfortunately, motorcycles.

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Timeless tale of how a flying wombat landed in London
23-May-2020·2 min read

Timeless tale of how a flying wombat landed in London

The world's only Flying Wombat — a saga of self-made fortunes, divorces, suicides, alcoholism, fatal car crashes and tomato sauce.

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Doubts over Ford Sierra linked to Peter Brock
22-Sep-18·2 min read

Doubts over Ford Sierra linked to Peter Brock

Serious questions about the provenance of the 1989 Mobil 1 Racing Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 in the world's largest Peter Brock car collection auction.

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Gavel poised as WhatsApp founder unloads a few Porkers
22 Feb 2019·1 min read

Gavel poised as WhatsApp founder unloads a few Porkers

You all know where Amelia Island is.

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We're in love with our cars: from Monterey, the Arctic Circle and art museums
21-Aug-2021·2 min read

We're in love with our cars: from Monterey, the Arctic Circle and art museums

If you're wondering what the sale of $475m worth of classic metal last week at Monterey meant for the price of your 1964 EH Holden then let's separate the fake news, spin, dissimulations, misinformation, lies and taradiddles and focus on the real facts.

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Frenzied bidding puts McLaren coupe on fast track to super price
2017-09-30·3 min read

Frenzied bidding puts McLaren coupe on fast track to super price

<p>Look, I know you think that buying a car for $4 million five years ago and selling it for $20m this year is not a bad trade. As Sports Car says, "0-60 in 3.2 seconds, $US3m to $US16m in five years".</p>

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Jaguar E-type: sexiest car in the world
2017-07-31·3 min read

Jaguar E-type: sexiest car in the world

<p>The minute it appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, Enzo Ferrari called it "the most beautiful car in the world". Fifty-six years later and the Jaguar E-type is still the most seductive, sexual and sensuous car ever built.</p>

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On track to catch the auction action at magnificent Mallala
2017-07-31·3 min read

On track to catch the auction action at magnificent Mallala

<p>You don't face the choices I do. Look at the conflict this weekend. There's carzamania on the Monterey Peninsula with the Pebble Beach Concours, multi-million-dollar car auctions, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the Concours d'Lemons and much, much, more. Or there's Mallala.</p>

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Good luck finding like for like if your limited edition goes west
2017-07-31·3 min read

Good luck finding like for like if your limited edition goes west

<p>Now I know you want to read about all the action from last weekend's Monterey Classic Car Week auctions, concours, Motorsports Reunion and free drinks but we have more important things to discuss first. Like how you are getting done over by car insurers.</p>

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Torana: the bogan's ride fit for a millionaire
2017-04-30·2 min read

Torana: the bogan's ride fit for a millionaire

<p>On May 28, Australia's newest million-dollar supercar gets launched. Except that it's 41 years old and it's a Torana.</p>

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Timeless classics on the menu should whet your appetite
2017-02-28·3 min read

Timeless classics on the menu should whet your appetite

<p>Hmmm. It's hard this week. Do I write about the ACCC instituting proceedings in the Federal Court against Audi for dieselgate, or the class action brought by 91,000 Australians against VW with first hearing in April?</p>

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Trabant put smoke, if not heat, in the Cold War
2016-12-31·1 min read

Trabant put smoke, if not heat, in the Cold War

Look, real motoring writers like our own Phil King get to test Ferraris, Aston Martins, Lamborghinis and McLarens in exotic locations like the south of France and on legendary racetracks. This week I paid my own fare, flew Aeroflot and tested a 1963 Trabant on the wintry streets of East Berlin.

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From early Beatles to posh cars: motors inspired Fab Four
2016-11-30·1 min read

From early Beatles to posh cars: motors inspired Fab Four

Ringo Starr bought a Ford Zephyr to transport his drums around. Look, I know there are readers out there who thought the Zephyr could have rivalled Holden at the time. But let me say just one thing. They built them in New Zealand.

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New vroom of the 2016 Trumpster sweeps all before it
2016-10-31·1 min read

New vroom of the 2016 Trumpster sweeps all before it

Now I know you appreciate the hard grind I put in for you attending collector car auctions around the world. It's tough. Free champagne, glamorous persons of all sexes and even better looking, legendary pieces of multi-million-dollar metal.

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Chaos: it's French for auction; Mondial de l'Automobile
2016-09-30·1 min read

Chaos: it's French for auction; Mondial de l'Automobile

You know all about Paris. Some people drive on the wrong side of the road, most of the people speak French and not many drive Citroens any more. Anyway I was there last weekend so you didn't have to put up with all that.

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Smog-chasing Superbird went all the way with the EPA
2016-09-30·1 min read

Smog-chasing Superbird went all the way with the EPA

Did you wake up this morning thinking: I have had enough of multi-million-dollar, achingly beautiful cars — I want to hear about really weird metal that only strange dudes would own?

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Charlie McCarron collection Canowindra's calling card
2016-09-30·1 min read

Charlie McCarron collection Canowindra's calling card

When it's summer in Malibu, it's midnight in Monte Carlo, when Rio strips for the day Canowindra hits the auction heights. The Weekend Australian, your international passport to motoring pleasure.

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Wendel the artificial elephant yours for $300,000
2016-08-31·1 min read

Wendel the artificial elephant yours for $300,000

No, the big news this week isn't that the motorist's friend, Roddy Sims, has started a court case against VW. No, readers, it's bigger than that. Yes, here at The Weekend Australian business section we have solved the motoring world's problems.

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Tequila, caviar and beautiful metal: engines purring at Monterey
2016-07-31·1 min read

Tequila, caviar and beautiful metal: engines purring at Monterey

I guess I'll see you there on Wednesday night. Yup, Gordon McCall is doing it for the 25th time. It started as a BBQ and now it's the kick-off party for Monterey Car Week.

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Jaguar fetches $11.2m as post-boomers drive grand marques higher
2016-05-01·1 min read

Jaguar fetches $11.2m as post-boomers drive grand marques higher

I know you weren't in Monte Carlo last weekend but you should have been. Bonhams' Monaco sale at the Fairmont Hotel was going off with the 1953 Jaguar XK120C 'C-Type' fetching a staggering $11.2 million.

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Classic Mustangs, Corvettes and world's best burgers
2016-03-31·1 min read

Classic Mustangs, Corvettes and world's best burgers

I know many of you think what you read here every Saturday is a work of fiction fuelled by illicit substances. Earlier this year, regular reader Howard S took a road trip across the US to check out some of the must-see sights.

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My Ford Falcon BA ute is no GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight
2016-03-31·1 min read

My Ford Falcon BA ute is no GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight

Now on the long list of mistakes I have made and tried to blame on team member and sub-editor Mark Southcott, continually telling you the Corvair was made by Ford ranks pretty high.

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Peter Brock's 1977 Spa 24-Hour Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 coupe: bring it home
2016-02-29·1 min read

Peter Brock's 1977 Spa 24-Hour Vauxhall Firenza Magnum 2300 coupe: bring it home

The fact last week's London Classic Car Show was held at the ExCel London says it all. Next month at Goodwood, Bonhams will be selling one of the world's great race cars, the ex-Gerry Marshall-Peter Brock 1977 Spa 24 Hour class-winning Vauxhall Firenza.

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DeLorean comes back to the future, this time in Texas
2016-01-31·2 min read

DeLorean comes back to the future, this time in Texas

Stop! Don't buy a car. You have to wait. It's coming back from the future. Yes, the 1981 DeLorean will be on sale again in 2017.

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Going, going, gone: how to spend a fortune on fine old cars
20-Jan-18·4 min read

Going, going, gone: how to spend a fortune on fine old cars

Seven classic car auctions around Scottsdale this week hoping to sell more than $350m worth of metal to investors.

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Greatest bull market in pre-owned vehicles of all time to wane soon
20-Aug-2022·4 min read

Greatest bull market in pre-owned vehicles of all time to wane soon

Risking what's left of my reputation, today I'm calling peak used-car prices. There'll be no sudden collapse of the greatest bull market in pre-owned vehicles of all time, just a gentle slide into normalcy.

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Put your pedal to its metal, kids: investing becomes child's play
2-Jun-18·3 min read

Put your pedal to its metal, kids: investing becomes child's play

Children's pedal cars are the hottest items at real car auctions, with a 1925 American National Deluxe Coupe pedal car selling for $62k.

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Get a slab of Defibrillators and settle in for election night
19 May 2019·1 min read

Get a slab of Defibrillators and settle in for election night

Given the importance of this day to the future of Australia we are rising to the occasion.

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Kelvinator gave us Food-A-Rama and some tidy cars, too
19 Jul 2019·1 min read

Kelvinator gave us Food-A-Rama and some tidy cars, too

Looking at a warehouse full of classic cars is better than looking at porn.

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Magic Mustang faster than a speeding Bullitt
18-Jan-2020·2 min read

Magic Mustang faster than a speeding Bullitt

The green Mustang Steve McQueen drove in Bullitt sold for a record $US3.7m at Mecum's Kissimmee auction.

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The getting of classics old, new and restored
18 Jan 2019·1 min read

The getting of classics old, new and restored

I'm sorry but you are going to have to pay attention today.

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Chapter and verse on the right royal hearse
17-Sep-2022·2 min read

Chapter and verse on the right royal hearse

I promise you today there'll be no mention of the Windsors, funerals or family succession dramas. Hold on. I just did! I bet you thought the royal hearse looked like a black Holden panel van with big glass windows. Nup. Wrong again. It's a Binz. Chapter and verse on the right royal hearse.

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Gold, frankincense and purr: how the Porsche was born
17-Feb-18·3 min read

Gold, frankincense and purr: how the Porsche was born

Celebrating the birth of the first Porsche sports car in Gmund, Austria, and the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.1 Turbo going to auction for $10 million.

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GFC: sad, tragic but enough of that, now for the awards
15-Sep-18·3 min read

GFC: sad, tragic but enough of that, now for the awards

The first Weekend Australian Motoring Arts and Culture Awards, the Wammies, plus the Aston Martin V8 Vantage wins most beautiful new car.

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Lamborghini lovers livin' large in the fast lane
15-Aug-2020·2 min read

Lamborghini lovers livin' large in the fast lane

The Volkswagen-owned Lambo has become the brand for young professionals, property developers and business owners. Folks who earn their money the hard way.

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Page-turners for petrolheads and those with a passing interest
14-Sep-2024·2 min read

Page-turners for petrolheads and those with a passing interest

Polish up the pince-nez, suss out the smoking jacket, plump up the pipe and settle in for this special literary edition of motoring in The Oz. Yes, 20 readers we're going to be blabbing about books and muttering about mags.

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Need for speed: Poms say thank goodness for Goodwood
14-Jul-18·3 min read

Need for speed: Poms say thank goodness for Goodwood

Silver Jubilee Goodwood Festival of Speed with 250,000 visitors, plus Bonhams selling a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato and George Clooney's motorcycle accident.

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When you have more money than sense try a Pagani Zonda
14-Dec-2024·2 min read

When you have more money than sense try a Pagani Zonda

Be surprised! Don is a petrol head. Well, that makes up for everything else, doesn't it? Under the carports at Mar-a-Lago sits a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Diablo, a Mercedes SLR McLaren and two Rolls-Royces.

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James Bond shaken, not stirred, as DB5 pays the price of fame
14 Jun 2019·1 min read

James Bond shaken, not stirred, as DB5 pays the price of fame

What do you think the most famous car in the world is?

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Sydney Harbour Concours d'Elegance
13-Mar-2024·2 min read

Sydney Harbour Concours d'Elegance

On Sydney's Cockatoo Island last weekend the Sydney Harbour Concours d'Elegance had all the stuff Tay Tay didn't. Concours founder James Nicholls managed to barge 75 classics on to the island.

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A word to the wise on buying and selling as coronavirus corrupts the market
13-Jun-2020·2 min read

A word to the wise on buying and selling as coronavirus corrupts the market

The full impact of the pandemic has only just become apparent. Is now a good time to sell part of a classic car collection?

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A little Steve McQueen in all of us
12-Oct-18·3 min read

A little Steve McQueen in all of us

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Bullitt the movie, Steve McQueen Husqvarna 400 Cross sells for $324,000, and Maserati Quattroportes for PNG APEC leaders.

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Ninety years of building our main highway, and it is still not finished
12-May-18·3 min read

Ninety years of building our main highway, and it is still not finished

Ninety years since the Pacific Highway was announced and it is still not finished, while Australians pay $72.5bn in fuel excise over five years.

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Holy car chase Batman! Bullitt's Steve McQueen wins the race every time
12-Jun-2021·2 min read

Holy car chase Batman! Bullitt's Steve McQueen wins the race every time

The unofficial arm of the British secret service, Uswitch.com, put Steve McQueen's car chase in Bullitt near last in their list of best car chases of movie history! First, The Dark Knight Rises. ScoMo should tell Boris: "McQueen last? You're pushing your luck little man."

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Your chance at sporting history: Fangio's Mercedes-Benz trophy up for grabs
12-Feb-2022·3 min read

Your chance at sporting history: Fangio's Mercedes-Benz trophy up for grabs

Imagine you'd taken our advice and coughed up a world record $9.5m for the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe at Scottsdale. You'd be crying now — because RM has just announced Juan Manuel Fangio's personal 1958 Merc 300 SL Roadster is up for private sale for the very first time.

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Dream car: The 1968 Porsche 907 K that can now be yours for $7m
11-Mar-2023·3 min read

Dream car: The 1968 Porsche 907 K that can now be yours for $7m

How could Sunday's F1 race in Sakhir, Bahrain, be exciting when there was not even one snake? We had one red-bellied black snake at Winton, Victoria. Not only were there snakes, the temperature was 13 degrees hotter tha

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From Steve McQueen's Bullitt Mustang to our biggest lemons
11-Jan-2020·2 min read

From Steve McQueen's Bullitt Mustang to our biggest lemons

The dark-green 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback hero car from Bullitt goes to auction, plus your choices for the worst cars ever.

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Auction rivals chasing down the holy grail, Torana A9X
11 May 2019·1 min read

Auction rivals chasing down the holy grail, Torana A9X

What made you wake up one Monday morning and say to the person lying next to you: "Guess what I'm going to do tonight?"

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Concours d'Elegance adds a little panache to Darling Point
1 Feb 2019·1 min read

Concours d'Elegance adds a little panache to Darling Point

You and I know we've been missing out.

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Stellantis: Failures make friends in a grand automotive merger of mediocrity
09-Jan-2021·2 min read

Stellantis: Failures make friends in a grand automotive merger of mediocrity

The shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot voted to merge the two companies. Given 70 per cent of mergers fail and most destroy shareholder value, the new name Stellantis sounds like a product to ease stomach pain.

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Nobody told me there'd be days like these — except John Lennon
08-Aug-2020·2 min read

Nobody told me there'd be days like these — except John Lennon

John Lennon predicted in 1979 that in 2020 the world would be having "Strange days indeed, most peculiar Mama." And he was right.

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Classic cars on the road to a billion-dollar sale
05-Nov-2022·4 min read

Classic cars on the road to a billion-dollar sale

Look, I know we're all going down the toilet together but that's no reason to stop buying classic cars, which are clearly a better investment than Toorak bungalows, crypto (whatever that is), NFTs, coal and paintings.

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Jeff takes out the Snail Racing World Champs and a 1966 Austin Mini Moke
05-Aug-2024·2 min read

Jeff takes out the Snail Racing World Champs and a 1966 Austin Mini Moke

Forget the Olympics in frog land. Megastar gastropod Jeff silenced all his doubters with a commanding victory at the 2024 Snail Racing World Championships. Jeff won in four minutes and five seconds.

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Want to be affluent - then check your effluent lid
04-Nov-2023·4 min read

Want to be affluent - then check your effluent lid

Is paying $2.4m for a double-sided porcelain sign which has not been used as a septic tank lid (which as you know causes one side of the sign to decay from exposure to septic fumes and, in addition, causes a smell that m

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From three-wheeled wonders to rickety rustbuckets: the world's worst cars
04-Jan-2020·3 min read

From three-wheeled wonders to rickety rustbuckets: the world's worst cars

No joyful optimism. No meaningless resolutions. The worst cars ever made, from the Reliant Robin to the Trabant.

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Some telly-communications for all you retrosexual ragers
04-Apr-2020·2 min read

Some telly-communications for all you retrosexual ragers

The Sultan of Stepney has a plan: a live TV show from the Kensi bar. Plus, Ray Patchett's stunning XJS transformation.

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A muscle car and a LeBron James used jersey can't compete with a true work of art
02-Jul-2021·2 min read

A muscle car and a LeBron James used jersey can't compete with a true work of art

Is an old white Torana worth $833,000? Or is a 2017 Holden ute worth a million? And what is Ferruccio Lamborghini's first production car, the Touring built 350GT, worth? It's not only a vehicle, it's a sculpture. It's a masterpiece.

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