by Mike –
This is an update of an article originally published in February 2012.
Classic Ferrari models have led the classic car value world for sometime and today more than ever. In 2014 in Monterey, California a Ferrari once again set the world record for a car sold at public auction – a 250 GTO sold for $39.5 million USD at the Bonhams auction.
Ferraris may lead the way but other classic cars are important too. After all we all cannot own a Ferrari 250 GTO. There are not enough to go around and if there were they would not cost $39.5 million USD.
The Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is one of the most sought after classic cars today and there are not enough of them to go around either.
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
The same for the Bizzarrini GT 5300, also not enough, yet these two cars have increased in value at significantly different rates over the past 40 years or so.
Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada
I recently ran across the classified advertisements below from the August 1974 issue of Road & Track. Since I have a strong admiration for both cars these advertisements caught my interest.
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Advertiement
There were only 19 of this special Aston Martin made between 1960 and 1963. Many consider it to be one of the most beautiful designs from Zagato (Ercole Spada), or from any designer.
Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strada Advertisement
The Bizzarrini is also a design masterpiece from Bertone (Giorgetto Giugiaro); approximately 148 were made with a hand full of this number using fiberglass bodies while the majority were aluminum alloy bodied. The Bizzarrini was designed in 1963 and produced between 1965 and 1968.
They both are race cars with period racing history. I suspect that the Bizzarrini would out run the Aston Martin in a road race, or a drag race, and it would be great to see that match up.
Bizzarrini GT 5300 Strara and Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
The Aston Martin weighs 2700 pounds and has a 3.7-liter, aluminum straight 6-cylinder engine that produces 314 hp. The Bizzarrini weighs 2550 pounds with a 5-liter Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine producing 400 hp. The weight to hp ratio goes to the Bizzarrini.
But do these technical specifications really matter when the desirability, and the value, are determined? I think to some degree, yes it does matter as does the race history of the model.
In August 1974 the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato in the advertisement was for sale for 4,750 pounds sterling, equivalent to approximately $12,000 USD in 1974. The Bizzarrini GT 5300 was for sale for $8,000 USD.
The value ratio of the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato to Bizzarrini GT 5300 was 1.5 in 1974 based on these advertisements. Today this ratio is much higher as the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato has appreciated much faster than the Bizzarrini GT 5300.
The Bizzarrini has appreciated at a healthy rate from $8,000 in 1974 to $799,000 today based on the Hagerty Price Guide and a condition 1 car. However, there have been a few examples sold for much more than this in the last two years. Notable at public sale chassis No. 0301 sold at the Artcurial auction in Paris in February 2015 for approximately $1.4 million USD.
The Aston Martin has appreciated from $12,000 in 1974 to $8.8 million today based on the Hagerty Price Guide and a condition 1 car. The Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato to Bizzarrini GT 5300 value ratio today is 11.0. Naturally, your mileage may vary as I mentioned above a Bizzarrini sold earlier this year for far more than the Hagerty Price Guide and there is a Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato coming up for auction soon that I expect will sell for much more than the $8.8 million Hagerty Price Guide number.
While both cars would have been an excellent investment in 1974 the Aston Martin would have been a stellar investment.
Today, however, it may be that the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato is at the top (or near the top) of its value curve while the Bizzarrini GT 5300 still has some way to go. Only time will tell.
If you read the classified advertisement above for the Bizzarrini from August 1974 you will see it was located in Dayton, Ohio where I was living at the time having recently graduated from the University of Dayton. I bought a new Triumph TR6 in Dayton, Ohio in 1974 for $5,000 USD (only $3,000 less than the Bizzarrini’s asking price). Today that TR6 is valued at $31,000 (for a condition 1) according to the Hagerty Price Guide (mine would be worth about $15,000 because it was driven hard).
If only I had known about that Bizzarrini but in 1974 I didn’t even know what a Bizzarrini was and $8,000 was out of my price range anyway. Do you ever wish you had a time machine?
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
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Mike, I believe every one us wish we could go back in time – not only for the cars we could have/should have bought but also for the cars we shouldn’t have sold. I have a few….
Everything’s relative. Back in the ’70’s a dollar was worth significantly more than the paper it was printed on. In 1976 father purchased a used ’69 Buick Electra 225 for $900 in a very good condition. So good that The car lasted him well into the 80’s when he decided that fuel economy was more important than luxury and large cubes. Back then every $50 was considered a jump in price and few hundred dollar difference would put you in a different level of automobile. Today such sums are completely insignificant.