Monday, Nov 07, 2016

Dubai

Feel like investing in a piece — or pieces — of automotive history? Then the process may just have got a lot easier for car aficionados in the UAE. And they don’t even have to hope for an invitation to a private auction to get one and take it on a spin.

A dedicated showroom for “nostalgia cars” is to open in Dubai within the next few weeks, with the model line-up expected to include everything from a “1923 Ford Model T to a 1993 Ferrari 512 TR”. And the range on will include something to “suit almost every interest and budget”, according to a statement issued by the promoter Mazin Al Khatib.

The mention about budgets for all and sundry is interesting — in the last five years prices of heritage .cars have been going through the proverbial roof. No price is deemed too high for some enthusiast or the other to plonk down the down payment. Auctions specialising in such models have had a good run through this period. (A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO with the serial number 3851GT fetched a record $38 million at one such auction in August 2014, and beating the $31 million for a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R racecar just a year before that.)

The Nostalgia showroom (located in Al Quoz) will be divided into two sections. First is the warehouse/showroom and the second is a “similarly sized gallery facility, that functions as an exhibition space with a lounge area and library”, the statement said. It is “open to anyone interested in reading about classic cars”, or “clients can use this space to host their own events.”

Al Khatib declined to provide details of how he intends to keep adding more to the stock. The existing mix will also have Ford Thunderbirds and vintage Mustangs alongside a Lamborghini LM002 (“surely the craziest SUV the world has ever seen”), a 1965 Triumph TR4 and some Mercedes Benz models from the 1960s, 70s and 80s production lines.

“Buying a classic car can be a treacherous experience, which is another reason many drivers choose to opt for the safety of purchasing a modern motor with full warranty and a verified ownership and service history,” Al Khatib said in a statement. “If you’re tempted by a nearly new Cadillac, it’s simple to find out everything about its life on the road with the tap of a few keys on a computer in your nearest dealership.

“But the same cannot be said of an Eldorado built in the 1950s — you can’t just hook one of those up to a diagnostics machine to see why it isn’t running a smooth as it used to, or check when its spark plugs are due for a change. Classic cars are almost entirely mechanical and, unless they have been properly cared for and maintained by previous owners, a new custodian could be faced with some major expense.”

Nostalgia’s stock of more than 100 cars has been put through the full check and approval process. And if they do require repair or replacement, the retailer will take care of that.

“Prices for certain cars have been rapidly climbing over recent years, to the point where many of them read like telephone numbers, with seemingly every classic car auction setting new world records as sellers cash in and collectors dig ever deeper into their wallets,” Nostalgia’s statement said. But the beauty of the classic scene is that you don’t need to drop millions on a vintage Ferrari or air-cooled Porsche 911 in order to own something extremely special.”

By Manoj Nair Associate Editor

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