After the overwhelmingly positive response to our premiere appearance at the 59th Kunst-Messe Munich, our classic cars from various eras in automobile history were requested a second time. From the rare pre-war Mercedes 320 Cabriolet A and 230 Cabriolet B, a Porsche 911 and Jaguar E Type to the icon of Germany’s post-war economic miracle, the Mercedes 190 SL. A total of five exhibits from the house of Arthur Bechtel were on display as a testimony to industrial art.
The new Kunst-Messe Frankfurt 15 set new tones in January 2015 for the beginning of the international art season. A new forum for old and new art emerged with the Kunst-Messe Frankfurt 15 in one of Europe’s most important trade fair locations. A high-calibre panel of judges, consisting of Prof. Dr. Jean-Christophe Ammann, Prof. Dr. Klaus Gallwitz, Prof. Ottmar Hörl and Prof. Dr. Hans Ottermeyer selected the exhibitors from the applications. The fair had been promoted with a comprehensive media campaign right from the beginning to reach as wide an audience as possible.
The verdict from exhibitors and visitors regarding our vehicle presentation was more than positive! Visitors and exhibitors alike expressed enthusiastic approval and implored us to come again next year.
It is always an experience. Approving and sometimes even blissful smiles on the faces of visitors can be noticed as they approach our vehicles.
One podium discussion in which Duke Phillip von Württemberg, the director of Sothebys Germany took part was very interesting. The auction house’s customer base consists of 30,000 people worldwide. The duke insisted that the return factor was not one of paramount importance in auctions where art and collectors items are sold. A recent example of a spectacular increase in an art object’s value was a sculpture by Giacometti, for which a bidder in New York paid 105 million dollars.
The object had originally been part of an art collection at the Dresdner Bank which had estimated its value at 20 million Euros. Once the intention to sell it had been announced a bid of 38 million Euros came in although it was then decided to have the sculpture auctioned at Sothebys. A sale price of 105 million dollars was then achieved.
“We sell emotions” is Sotheby’s credo which means “we sell things that no one actually needs but which the collector or art enthusiast want to have at all costs”.
We can follow on from and expand upon Sotheby’s credo when referring to our classic cars with “We sell emotions with the added side benefit that classic cars have demonstrated continuous increase in value for decades”. This runs contrary to art and antiques where trends and therefore the material value of objects can change relatively frequently. One only needs to think of English furniture, oriental carpets or particular art forms and artists.
Duke Phillip von Württemberg named three criteria which determine the estimated value of an object:
All three criteria can be applied to determining the value of classic cars.
The following can therefore be said:
A Mercedes-Benz 320 Cabriolet A or 190 SL with its individual history and likewise individual colour profile and configuration is just as unique as Picasso’s Lithograph Number 19 from a series of 50 printed copies.
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