Used Ferrari goes for $12.4M

[rounder]

I was clicking around today and saw this article about a 1957 Ferrari 250 that sold for $12.4 million. The car is undeniably beautiful but that is a lot of frns. It made me wonder about bikes. I know that a lot of new bikes these days are expensive, but would anyone ever pay a lot of money for a used one that maybe won a big race or was otherwise desirable. If so, which one. Or, are they just bikes that were built for a particular rider and got consumed during the race/event.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/ferrari-sells-for-a-record-124-million/?hp

[Ahneida Ride]

Relax ... it's only frns ...

[rounder]

I know. I wouldn't buy one to stuff away in an airport hangar. But it might be fun to have Greg's 1989 time trial bike to ride on sunny sundays through the park, or to bring out Andy's bike when it snowed and wonder what it must have been like during the giro. My guess is that none of the bikes that ever won big races would bring a lot of money, and they might be available to anyone who wanted one.

[erector]

over at AboveCategory in Mill Valley, I was visiting the shop, which is about the same size as a one-car garage, and there it was, chilling on the floor, without wheels. Original parts all around, Chad gave me the story behind the bike and how he got it, I couldn't afford anything in the store, but Chad was nice, and didn't kick me out for drooling. It's a great GREAT shop that only carries the top-most end in frames, components and apparel. IF you're in the bay area, it's a VERY worthwhile trip to go and see the shop, chat it up with Chad, and if you can afford it, buy a bike.

[ThasFACE]

I don't think I'd ever 'stretch' to buy a bike like that, but if I am ever a crazy-wealthy man of leisure then sure, I'd buy the crap out of all sorts of race bikes that have meaning to me.

First, though, I'd buy a mint one of these (http://automobileunlimited.com/resources/0610_z_1954_mercedes_sl300_gullwing_25_most_beauti ful_cars.jpg).

[Flat Out]

That ain't just any Ferrari. It's a 250 TR. Only 21 were actually made and only the 250 GTO is more valuable. It has a massive racing pedigree and is one of the most extensively campaigned Ferrari's of all time. Add to that its pristime condition and... there you go.

[dd74]

I used to be in animation and the animation aftermarket. You'd be amazed at what people would pay for original production cels. These things have been handled, sometimes bent, with paint chipping or lines fading - and the collector and/or fan will still pay big bucks for what amounts to a moment in a cartoon.

Original production cels from the shows I worked on in the 1990s, such as Batman and Superman, sometimes sell for over $1K. Meanwhile, a cel from an old Betty Boop cartoon can reach close to $20K.

Value is in the eyes of the beholder. 12.5M for a Ferrari -- to someone that's a steal -- just as is a $20K Betty Boop cel. :cool:

[djg]

I was clicking around today and saw this article about a 1957 Ferrari 250 that sold for $12.4 million. The car is undeniably beautiful but that is a lot of frns. It made me wonder about bikes. I know that a lot of new bikes these days are expensive, but would anyone ever pay a lot of money for a used one that maybe won a big race or was otherwise desirable. If so, which one. Or, are they just bikes that were built for a particular rider and got consumed during the race/event.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/ferrari-sells-for-a-record-124-million/?hp

I've never been a bike collector and know little about that world, but I think we've all seen the occasional link to the world of collectors and know that various bikes (e.g., a period-correct, mint-condition Masi) and bike parts can fetch way more nowadays than they could new, although I've never seen anything suggesting prices remotely comparable to those paid for collectible (and rare), classic sports cars. I've seen a few auctions for particular bikes used by particular pro riders in particular races (I think a couple of LA's fundraisers have done such for hefty price tags), but these seem, at least to these untrained, non-collector's eyes, a smaller or maybe even very small part of the bike collectors' market(s).

So $124 million is a huge amount of money for most of us who are not able to "print" such sums, or borrow them, but I'm not sure I have any reaction to this or that arbitrary huge sum paid by an extremely rich person for a rare collectible object. To me, the Ferrari is way cooler than, say, a very large shiny rock mined by people compelled to do hard, dangerous, work for very little in the way of compensation, but unless our currency goes through a tragi-comic round of hyper-inflation, or several of them, (contingencies on which I am not betting) I'm not springing for a 9-figure anything.

[flickwet]

I know. I wouldn't buy one to stuff away in an airport hangar. But it might be fun to have Greg's 1989 time trial bike to ride on sunny sundays through the park, or to bring out Andy's bike when it snowed and wonder what it must have been like during the giro. My guess is that none of the bikes that ever won big races would bring a lot of money, and they might be available to anyone who wanted one.
The Bottechia, was a blast,with me not fast, around a parking lot.

[Ahneida Ride]

The Ferrari is not created outa nothing ... But imagine if ....

Imagine if Enzo could create em by snapping his fingers, and then
charge us interest on them?

Imagine if his Ferrari dealers could create (also by snapping fingers)
9 Ferrari for every factory Ferrari Enzo created by snapping his finger.

It gets even weirder.

Imagine if a Ferrari dealer could place 1/10 of a Ferrari on reserve at the
Factory, get in return 1 Ferrari and then use that Ferrari to create 9 more
Ferrari.

How Enzo does it (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Modern_Money_Mechanics)

:D

[rounder]

Enzo had a great attitude. He sold cars to the public to raise enough money to support his racing program. The engines for his cars were designed to run one race and then be repaced. His cars won a lot of races and his legend lives on. Meanwhile, Andy's bike sits in a shop without even being built up. Go figure.