Tag: Corvette

Finally – A C3 Corvette Interior That Lives Up To The Exterior

Regular readers will know that I’m not a fan of many vehicles produced by General Motors, an historical attitude that was only heightened by their relationship with Saab over two decades. Like most people, however, I have always been a fan of the Corvette. It’s the one car that GM seem to do right, most of the time.

My favourite Corvette body shape is the C3. It’s mean and sexy all at the same time with it’s massive curves and super-long front end.

That’s a cool looking car, right?

Imagine walking up to that car for the first time. Wouldn’t you be excited? Wouldn’t you be dying to get inside and get the motor running?

I think a few people probably did die when they climbed inside – from disappointment. The interior of the C3 Corvette has to be one of the plainest, most un-exotic interiors ever designed. It’s totally lacking the character of the car’s exterior or the sporting simplicity of other cars from the era.

Have a good look.

Can you really believe that the design team that worked on these interiors ever saw the exterior of the Corvette C3 before they submitted their design idea? Can you believe the people who approved this interior ever saw the exterior of the car it was intended for?

It looks like the same materials, design and build quality of the Ford Falcon sold here in Australia in the 1970’s. In fact, of you showed this interior to a person born in the 1970’s who’d never seen a Corvette interior before, I doubt they would guess it’s from a sports car. There’s a very good chance they’d name it as the type of bog-standard sedan that was parked in their family garage when they were growing up.

Thankfully, some Corvette owners do take pride in their interiors and do them up to look a little more impressive. This is one time where ‘keeping it stock’ is not necessarily a good thing.

Leather company, Vilner, has taken it to the next level. They’ve created a completely custom leather interior for a C3 show car, proving that even a plainly designed interior like the C3’s can benefit greatly from a little bit of thought and a liberal layering with some premium materials.

OK, so this interior is completely over the top. It’s the sort of customisation that you’d expect to find in a Koenigsegg rather than a Corvette. Still, it’s one of the few that I’ve seen that does the exterior of the C3 justice.

Vilner have covered nearly everything with leather, right down the indicator stalks!! The dashboard, steering wheel, console, seats (of course), door cards and even the roof lining are all nappa leather. Contrast stitching is everywhere and is complemented by writing being laser etched into some of the surfaces.

Vilner have added some new gauges in the dash and some subtle modifications to lighting and luggage on the exterior, too.

It’s quite likely that the person who can afford an interior like this doesn’t own a C3 Corvette. Vilner’s copy might be the only one that ever exists. I hope not, though. This is a car that deserved a special, high quality interior straight from the factory. It’s nice to see at least one C3 Corvette getting the same design attention to the inside as was paid to the outside.

Click to enlarge and enjoy.

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Note: I first saw these photos at Autoblog. There’s a bigger gallery there including photos of the car’s exterior.

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Have You Ever Made Money On A Classic Car Investment?

I just came across this in an article in one of our Aussie newspapers this evening:

Looking to splurge on an emotional investment that will quadruple your money in 10 years? Forget watches, stamp collections or even fine art. Buy a classic car.

Not just any old banger will do, though. According to the annual Knight Frank Wealth Report released this week, a ”truly investment grade car” bought in 2002 would have appreciated by up to 395 per cent over the past 10 years.

That makes cars easily the best ”passion” investment you can make, well and truly outperforming popular luxury items such as fine art (199 per cent), jewellery (140 per cent) and watches (76 per cent).

The most sought-after cars tend to be Ferraris, with a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa holding the world record of $US16.39 million ($A16.02 million). Classic Aston Martins, Mercedes-Benzes and some pre-war Bugattis, Alfa Romeos and Rolls-Royces can also fetch prices in the millions.

Going from that list, it seems the type of car they’re talking about is already out of my reach. It looks like you have to spend serious money before you can make even a little money back. Generally, when you’re planning on investing, you expect some good returns on it. Even when you consider subversive investments such as precious metals, the strategy is to find out what the best precious metals investments are and then buy them and watch them grow. However, with cars, it’s not so simple. There must be some makes and models sitting just under that imaginary line, cars that will be regarded as classics in the next decade. But one can’t just make a guess or research on the internet which car will go up in value and which one won’t. It’s a risky game. I have to confess that I’ve had some recent thoughts about spending more than I’d ever usually consider on something exotic. I’m pretty sure the car I’m considering would appreciate in value over time, but it might take a long time for it to really be in demand.

It’s a daunting proposition because exotics, even the ‘affordable’ ones, tend to be older. That means they’re possibly going to be harder to maintain, and harder to get parts for (without selling a kidney, at least). We’ve all seen the Mid-Engine Challenge on Top Gear. They spell it out pretty well. “Yes, you can buy a mid-engined supercar for under £10,000 but for heaven’s sake, don’t.”

But what if you spend a little more than that…….?

Have any of you ever had experience with classic car investment? Ever made any money on a classic car? It’s obviously possible, but is it attainable if you’re not super-rich to begin with?

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