EricVonHa
Well-known member
After seeing some of the sale prices for various cars at the Barrett-Jackson auction, it got me thinking about the future price of Callaway Corvettes. What did they sell for on average from ’87 to ’91? Some sold on the low end for ~$65k and on the high end I’ve seen some Aerobody cars with sticker prices of over $110k. So, let’s just use a simple average not taking into account how many of the cars were built or what year is more popular than another or there were more cars produced in such and such a year. This is just a very general statistical thought off the top of my head and I’m interested to see what your thoughts are and how they feed into predicting the future value of these cars. So, let’s say the average price a twin turbo Aerobody car from ’87 to ’91 (new) was $80k. What will it be worth 30 years after the production date?? Discuss….
Will history repeat itself is my first question.? In ’67 the Shelby GT500 Mustangs sold for ~$4,000.00. This was quite a few pennies above a standard Mustang. And, this is where I’d like to draw a parallel: The Callaway Twin Turbo Option was roughly 30% over the cost of a new Corvette back in ’89. Relatively—the Shelby Mustang can draw a similar comparison compared to a Ford “stock” new Mustang from ’67. With the Shelby options, a GT500/350’s were relatively 30% more expensive. From ’65 to ’67 the Shelby shop cranked out less than a few thousand examples of GT350 and GT500 cars. Shelby’s name carried through to just past 1970—but only in a similar fashion to that of Callaway. Shelby had exclusive Ford support from ’65 to ’67. Callaway had exclusive GM support and a GM RPO code from ’87 to ’91. After those “hay-day” years, both companies thrived and continued their own development. But, it was without the support of the Detroit brass.
Gas prices? Well, I looked up a chart that shows all the gasoline prices from 1949 forward and I found that leaded gas cost 33 cents PER GALLON back then. In the Philadelphia area, this past year has seen regular 87 unleaded hovering in the $1.40 per gallon range. It signifies an almost quadrupling of gas prices in 30 years!
Now, back to the 30-year mustang comparison. I’ve seen a fair number of Shelby Mustangs sell within the $60k range over the last few years. These cars are typically well documented and are mostly original cars. (forget about the $250k GT500 that sold at Barrett—though, please agree with me that sale prices like that which will bolster any market) What’s the percentage increase in value over 30 years if the car sold for $4k new and it brings $60k in 2004?? My calculator almost broke on this one! Basically, in today’s market—the Shelby Mustang is worth 15 TIMES what it was worth in ’67 !!
Do the math on our Twin Turbo comparison… $80k multiplied by 15 times… see where I’m going with this? How does $1,200,000.00 sound?? Certainly there are a lot of things to be discussed with regard to my simple math and comparisons… I’m anxious to see what everyone thinks.
What other cars can say that they have they have the heritage of the Callaway Corvettes or the Shelby Mustangs? Leave the ZR1’s out of this for the time being. We don’t want to clog this thread with banter on the Callaway vs. ZR1. But, do you see the comparison of Shelby vs. Callaway? Both were avid race car drivers, both have a recognized name in the automotive world, both have produced modified American sports cars in a limited production capacity directly for Ford and GM. Where does it go from here? What other cars can say that they have these collectible attributes? What do you think other collectible cars will sell for from this era? What other cars will be collectible? Long story short—the stock market has been doing great and the Dow has been over 10k for the last short term—but I think I’m going to keep my Callaway!
What do you think?
Will history repeat itself is my first question.? In ’67 the Shelby GT500 Mustangs sold for ~$4,000.00. This was quite a few pennies above a standard Mustang. And, this is where I’d like to draw a parallel: The Callaway Twin Turbo Option was roughly 30% over the cost of a new Corvette back in ’89. Relatively—the Shelby Mustang can draw a similar comparison compared to a Ford “stock” new Mustang from ’67. With the Shelby options, a GT500/350’s were relatively 30% more expensive. From ’65 to ’67 the Shelby shop cranked out less than a few thousand examples of GT350 and GT500 cars. Shelby’s name carried through to just past 1970—but only in a similar fashion to that of Callaway. Shelby had exclusive Ford support from ’65 to ’67. Callaway had exclusive GM support and a GM RPO code from ’87 to ’91. After those “hay-day” years, both companies thrived and continued their own development. But, it was without the support of the Detroit brass.
Gas prices? Well, I looked up a chart that shows all the gasoline prices from 1949 forward and I found that leaded gas cost 33 cents PER GALLON back then. In the Philadelphia area, this past year has seen regular 87 unleaded hovering in the $1.40 per gallon range. It signifies an almost quadrupling of gas prices in 30 years!
Now, back to the 30-year mustang comparison. I’ve seen a fair number of Shelby Mustangs sell within the $60k range over the last few years. These cars are typically well documented and are mostly original cars. (forget about the $250k GT500 that sold at Barrett—though, please agree with me that sale prices like that which will bolster any market) What’s the percentage increase in value over 30 years if the car sold for $4k new and it brings $60k in 2004?? My calculator almost broke on this one! Basically, in today’s market—the Shelby Mustang is worth 15 TIMES what it was worth in ’67 !!
Do the math on our Twin Turbo comparison… $80k multiplied by 15 times… see where I’m going with this? How does $1,200,000.00 sound?? Certainly there are a lot of things to be discussed with regard to my simple math and comparisons… I’m anxious to see what everyone thinks.
What other cars can say that they have they have the heritage of the Callaway Corvettes or the Shelby Mustangs? Leave the ZR1’s out of this for the time being. We don’t want to clog this thread with banter on the Callaway vs. ZR1. But, do you see the comparison of Shelby vs. Callaway? Both were avid race car drivers, both have a recognized name in the automotive world, both have produced modified American sports cars in a limited production capacity directly for Ford and GM. Where does it go from here? What other cars can say that they have these collectible attributes? What do you think other collectible cars will sell for from this era? What other cars will be collectible? Long story short—the stock market has been doing great and the Dow has been over 10k for the last short term—but I think I’m going to keep my Callaway!
What do you think?
