Collecting cars is stupid: why you should accumulate miles, not value, with your car | Opinion

The 2017 HSV GTSR W1 was the pinnacle of Australian motoring, but few examples have significant mileage.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the HSV GTSR W1 at Phillip Island.

It was the pinnacle of the Australian automotive industry - the fastest and most powerful production car ever built in that country. It was a moment of triumph and celebration for HSV, or at least it should have been.

Driving one of the W1 prototypes and waiting for his turn to hit the track, one of the HSV's lead engineers leaned in through the window with a look of pride and pain on his face.

“That's what they were built for,” he said, referring to high-speed laps around the track. Then he sighed and added, "But they'll just end up in the garages."

He was right, of course people will buy the W1 for its historical significance, not just for its extra features. Of course, just a few years later, these last HSVs are changing hands for huge sums of money.

When new, the HSV cost $169,990 (plus travel expenses) for the W1, and they now sell for more than three times the price. A look at the ads this week showed five W1 for sale. The cheapest was advertised for $495,000 and the most expensive was advertised for $630,000. 

Good return on investment in just four years.

Except it's not an investment, it's cars. Cars that were made to be driven, enjoyed, and heck, even kicked.

HSV didn't bother buying a limited edition of the Chevrolet LS9 supercharged 6.2-litre V8 just to make the W1 look good in your garage. The engineers also didn't add shocks from the V8 Supercar or ditch longtime tire suppliers Bridgestone and Continental in favor of Pirelli as they thought it would help drive up the price in 2021.

No, HSV did all this to make the W1 the most controllable car it has ever made. He deserves to be led, not hidden. 

This $630 W1 has traveled a total of 27 km in the last four years. This should make the HSV engineers weep at the thought of all their efforts going to waste. A Corvette engine, racing shocks and stickier tires to keep you going.

The really annoying thing is that HSV didn't even have to build W1. The company has already produced a prototype GTSR with a unique body kit but the same powertrain as the existing GTS, which would have been much cheaper and easier to manufacture than the W1. 

These cars are now worth twice as much anyway (so any of the last HSVs was no doubt a financial bargain), but it adds to the frustration that the blood, sweat, and tears the HSV shed on the W1 is being wasted by many owners.

Obviously, this is not limited to HSV alone. Collecting cars has been a pastime for the wealthy almost since the invention of the automobile. However, these days it has been turned into art by some, both collectors and car companies.

Many brands use special editions and custom creations to lure wealthy shoppers who want to fill their warehouse with merchandise for future sales. Lamborghini is arguably the master of this business model, often producing cars under 10 runs to ensure they become an instant collector's item, but knowing full well they won't see asphalt under their tires.

Perhaps the best example of contemporary collectibles is the McLaren F1, which was recently sold at auctions in Pebble Beach for $20.46 million ($27.8 million). This car was created by legendary Formula 27 designer Gordon Murray to be the ideal driver's car - light, powerful and with a central driving position. He didn't design it to be kept in a collection for decades, like this $26 million car did. In 391 years, he covered 15 km, which is an average of only XNUMX km per year.

Some might think this is an amazing long-term investment considering the new car was sold for around $1 million. I think it's a waste. It's like locking a bird in a cage and never letting it spread its wings and fly.

The irony is that special cars like the McLaren F1 and HSV GTSR W1 will go up in value anyway. Bean star Rowan Atkinson famously crashed his McLaren not once but twice and still managed to sell it for $12.2 million six years ago. This is a win-win; not only did he make a solid return on his investment, but he clearly drove the McLaren with some gusto, as he should.

I was lucky enough to take part in the Porsche Tour Targa Tasmania section earlier this year and it was nice to see some very collectible Porsches (911 GT3 Touring, 911 GT2 RS, 911 GT3 RS etc.) frozen on the road. mud for five days on the road. 

While cars have become an investment, like art, most people don't buy art and then hide it in the basement, away from where anyone can see it. It would defeat the purpose of creating art in the first place.

It's the same with cars: if you hide them, it defeats the purpose of their creation. Cars are made to be driven, they are meant to get dirty, scratched and count miles on the odometer. Hiding them in your garage because you think they will be worth something in a few years or even decades is wasting the best years of a car's life.

Sure, your car can accumulate more value safely tucked away in a garage, but you must accumulate miles and memories in your car.