What Aston Martin's Le Mans comeback means for classic car investments
Fast forward 780 years to August 8, 1908, and Le Mans residents would have witnessed Wilbur Wright demonstrate the flying machine he had developed with his younger brother Orville. Yet, despite the city's extraordinarily rich history, Le Mans is best known for being home to the oldest active endurance racing event in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The race, which began in 1923, forms part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Unlike the Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500, Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. Rather than focusing on speed, the primary objective is endurance — reliable cars that travel at speeds up to 250mph, lap after lap after lap, spending as little time as possible in the pits. The race is organised by Automobile Club de l'Ouest and since 2012 has been part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). This year promises to be particularly exciting, especially for the British: Aston Martin has not won here since Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby took their DBR1/300 across the line in 1959, some 66 years ago. The company's Valkyrie is an old-school, purebred V12, designed by Essex-born Englishman Adrian Newey, one of the greatest car designers of all time. Should it win on June 14, it will cement Aston Martin alongside Bentley as a perennial of British motorsport brands. Bentley has won Le Mans six times, including an incredible run from 1927-1930, when it was unbeaten, coining the expression The Bentley Boys, which refers to the group of wealthy British motorists who drove the cars to victory. The Valkyrie's engine is built by Cosworth, a portmanteau of the surnames of Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, who met at Colin Chapman's Lotus Engineering Limited — one of the most successful racing teams of all time — and founded Cosworth in 1958, the year preceding Aston Martin's last Le Mans victory. The car will be driven by an all-British crew of Harry Ticknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn, and carry the highly appropriate race number 007. It would be an historic win, but competition will be fierce: Ferrari is going for the hattrick, Porsche for an earth-shattering 20th win (no wonder the brand's reputation for reliability), and the French — Peugeot and Alpine — are desperate to win on home soil (the French haven't won since 2009). In addition, Mercedes returns to the fray following a 25-year hiatus; British racing team Jota Sport has teamed up with deep-pocketed Cadillac to enter no less than four cars, to say nothing of the ambitions of BMW and Toyota. This year's race promises the excitement of Moss and Jenks averaging 98 mph in the 1955 Mille Miglia.
The Allure of Aston Martin
Founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin has a century of motorsport heritage and performance, connections with British royalty and, of course, James Bond. The marque's storied lineage at Le Mans is a siren call for discerning investors. The 1959 triumph of the DBR1, of which only five were ever constructed, culminated in a singular chassis commanding $22.6m at RM Sotheby's auction in 2017 — testament to the brand's enduring cachet. Should the Valkyrie claim victory next weekend, the ripple effect could elevate the value of Aston's stable of classic cars. The DB5, forever entwined with the mystique of Bond all the way from Goldfinger to No Time To Die, and, arguably, the most famous car in cinematic history, commands around a million dollars in fine fettle, yet those with documented racing provenance may soar well into seven figures. Rarer still is the 1961 DB4 GT Zagato, a mere nineteen crafted, with 'MP209' fetching £10m at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Bonham's auction on July 13, 2018, a tenfold appreciation from its one-million-dollar valuation in 2000. These automobiles transcend mere machinery; they are artifacts of motorsport's golden era, their value tethered to Le Mans' legacy of endurance. Scarcity and impeccable provenance reign supreme, rendering such vehicles coveted by collectors who prize history as much as horsepower.
Classic Cars and the S&P 500: A Study in Returns
Do classic cars outstrip the steady march of the stock market? The evidence suggests they can, though not without caprice. The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index records a 10 per cent annual return for classic cars from 2010-20, surpassing the S&P 500's more pedestrian seven to eight per cent. Consider the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, acquired for $1.5m in 1990 and which sold for forty-eight million in 2018 — a 30-fold return that eclipses the S&P's sixfold growth over that time span. Similarly, the aforementioned Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, purchased for one million in 2000, now commands 10 million, a tenfold gain that outpaces the S&P's threefold rise. However, would-be investors should not expect the road to be as smooth as the Mulsanne Straight. A pedestrian Aston DB6 may merely shadow the S&P's returns, particularly when burdened by annual maintenance costs — five to ten thousand dollars for storage, insurance, and restoration. Liquidity further complicates the equation: stocks can be sold at a moment's notice, while classic cars languish for months. A Valkyrie victory in 2025 could ignite demand for Aston's DB5, much as Ferrari's hattrick will only bolster the allure of the 250 GTO, which, with its trio of Le Mans triumphs from 1960 to 1962, remains the ne plus ultra of automotive investment. Classic cars offer a potent blend of passion and profit, but their volatility demands a steady hand.
The Road Ahead
If you are new to the pursuit, diligence is paramount. Rarity is the lodestar — the fewer there are, the more sought after they are likely to be. Condition is critical: vehicles with original components, unmarred by corrosion and accompanied by meticulous maintenance records, command premiums. Provenance — be it a racing pedigree or ownership by a luminary — can elevate a car's worth exponentially. The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR known as the 'Uhlenhaut Coupe' sold for $142 million in 2022, setting the record for the most expensive car of all time (the proceeds went to the Mercedes-Benz fund, a global scholarship programme designed to support young people working to make the world more sustainable). Platforms, such as RM Sotheby's and Bonhams, offer windows into current market dynamics; a well-preserved DB5 may be acquired for $150,000, while if you are lucky you may find the more accessible DB7, Aston's gateway classic, at around $50,000. Ownership is not without its tolls: restoration, insurance, and climate-controlled storage can soon wrack up thousands of pounds in annual costs. And unlike company shares, classic cars are illiquid, their markets subject to whimsy. Never underestimate the value of liquidity. Classic car 'investing' is all about the joys of ownership and immersing oneself in the culture. A DB7, driven with joy, may prove a wiser investment than a DB6 acquired solely for gain. Monitor Le Mans — a Valkyrie triumph could signal just the right time to enter the fray.
Maltin is the Chief Investment Officer of RIM (BVI) Limited. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect current portfolio positioning. For additional information visit www.rim-bvi.com.
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