Between a Ferrari and an Austin 7

[Colin Morgan]

Not long ago, £48M would have bought all 10,000 Sevens on the register...

Colin

[AustinWood]

The Citroen SM has hydropneumatic suspension identical to (Interchangeable with) the DS. This has the curious effect that the faster you go over speed bumps the less you notice them. An acquaintance found they encouraged him to break the speed limit around Greenwich. I tend to accelerate towards them too.
Regrettably This is not the case in the Austin. Around Edinburgh there are a lot of square speed bumps in pairs, one each side of the road. The Austin can't straddle them like most vehicles but does fit between them which does cause alarm to oncoming traffic. However if forced to go over them I have to slow to walking pace. For some reason the Austin hits them very hard indeed.

[Michael D]

Okay.. about that 48 million question.... I have to admit that in the mid 80's classic Ferrari's triggered my enthousiasm for classics / oldtimers etcetera but I never rose to owning one One reason being their prices having rocketed out of my reach by the early 90's and 308 ownership wasn't as attractive anymore as the mere prospect of the cost of changing timing belts every two years regardless of the car having been driven any mileage put me off as well. So I stuck with Alfa Romeo Giulia, Triumph TR 2, TVR 2500 Vixen (with a 150 BHP spec TR 6 engine fitted that was as loud as nearly 100 db at 2500 rpm.....) the latter of which was often mistaken for a Ferrari by some and that sounded heavenly.... And more recently a classic Mini plus the Rosengart. Now if I were to raise to the opportunity to spend 48 million I would. probably go for a nice not over-opulent house with garage cum workshop, might buy something like a decent Ferrari 250 Short Wheelbase that was not celebrity-pre-owned (maybe even a properly constructed 'recreation'...), treat The Missus to the American 50's pickup she is lusting for and may be some assorted nice usable cars for sensible money. And I agree that people owning these ridiculously decadently overpriced cars are not always the nicest sociable people ..... I'd rather share a drink and some stew with a carpenter I can have a chat with than champagne and caviar (both of which I detest) with a loaded investment banker or similar who has nothing of real interest to mention to keep conversation going apart form his most recent millions 'earned' ... but that's me.....

[Mark R]

I've got a 1969 MG midget and have often fancied an Austin Healey 100/6 or similar, which would be about 10 times the value, I struggle to see it being ten times the car/driving experience.

[Reckless Rat]

Looks can be deceiving - try an E Type V12 with auto. I did once. What a crock.

[Alan]

I’ve known several people buy their 50s/60s childhood dream car only to sell it shortly after, dreams shattered. The trouble is they are judged by modern standards, and when you find your E Type is no quicker or better handling than a Golf GTi, the disappointment sets in.
I’ve been in a 250GT and yes I would choose one over any of my Sevens. It’s just the 48 million that’s the problem.

[Bruce Nicholls]

Never had any Ferrari ambitions myself. The Lotus Elan was my dream car (after the Austin 7). Bought my first an S1 for £600 when I was 18. Swapped the chassis and cylinder head and it was everything I dreamt of. My Mom loved it too. Sold that to buy my first house and marry. Second Elan came as a body shell and all the bits laid out on a garage floor. I made the assessment that all the major expensive bits were there and on the understanding it had no reg docs it was mine. There was a reg number on the body so applied to DVLA for a reg doc and amazingly it duly turned up in the post. This one I kept for 20 years before selling it just before the prices exploded (of course) to sell up and move on to our 16 metre Danish trawler. Still have my first Austin 7, purchased for £85 when I was 16, although it has been in store and little used for the last 11 years.