Mass-market Exotica?
Most Promising ICO of 2018 aiming to bring high-end automotive investment to all.
BY RUSSELL BENNETT
A
lthough purchasing a hidden gem, pouring time money and love into restoring it to its former glory, and then realising a major return on this investment when you sell it on is the dream of players in the collectible car field, this dream turning into reality is unicorn-like in its rarity.
And that’ s not to mention the fact that, even getting in to this game is exorbitantly expensive for most. Let’ s just take our country as an example: a huge proportion of the population would be beyond thrilled just to have enough money to purchase a new, entry-level econo-box which will never, ever be worth anything at all. Let alone the type of resources needed to source, secure, and then restore a utopian project car to the necessary standards.
There’ s also, of course, a huge amount of risk. There’ s no guarantee that the funds you’ re spending now will turn the particular model into a desirable classic. Meaning you could be left with a very pricey, even if very nice if you happen to be an enthusiast, but otherwise largely worthless machine which, like most ordinary vehicles, actually loses value over time.
To reduce risk and realise even higher degrees of return, you need to step up and play with the big kids on the field. Exotics, supercars, and tiny production volumes are where you want to get to. Naturally the barriers for entry here, the stratospheric price tag of these ultra-exclusive rolling artworks, are steep. Unfeasibly steep for all but the highest echelons of established wealth even to contemplate. Effectively, you have to already be
58 JUNE / JULY 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine