What's going on here?
I trust you've all seen the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Well, good news. The Countach's used in filming are up for sale but there's a twist
Tell me more
Rather remarkably, during the filming of the movie, the production team used two original Countach's during filming. More specifically, the 25th Anniversary Edition.
Even more fascinating is that both these cars have emerged in the past few months and will be sold before the end of the year. One by RM Sotheby's and one by Bonhams.
RM unveiled their car in August to be sold at the beginning of December. Estimate $1,500,000 - $2,000,000. RM's car is, err, in slightly better shape than the Bonhams car.
However, the twist is that the Bonhams car is the vehicle used in the famous scene where DiCaprio, who'd enjoyed a Quaalude or two, smashed and crashed his way home making contact with every wall, tree and bit of street furniture en route. In other words, it's got some big old dings and dents (to put it mildly).
P.S If you read the descriptions of the cars on their respective websites there's some interesting positioning comparing the two cars against one another. Worth a read.
Why should I care?
Two reasons why this is interesting:
Firstly, it shows the remarkable impact an appearance in a significant film or TV show can have.
Prices for 25th Anniversary Countach's are in the $500,000 - $700,000 (£400,000 - £600,000) range today. If the cars sell near the mid-point of their estimate you're looking at a price, inclusive of premium, near $2,000,000.
That's over 3x the price of the same car that'd hadn't appeared in the movie.
Secondarily, it shows how 'poor' condition, in some instances, isn't always a drag on value.
The Bonhams car is in clearly far worse shape than the RM car, yet their estimates are the same. The Bonhams car appearing in the movie for far longer than the RM car did is perhaps one explanation.
But, perhaps, it's also explained by the Bonhams car being in such a condition that it has moved from motorcar to art. Restoring it would feel wrong. Driving it as it is is a no go. Perhaps it's now destined to be art in someone's house?
To be fair, I'd rather spend $2,000,000 on the crashed Countach rather than a $2,000,000 impressionist piece of art on the wall. For now, that's not a real debate I need to have...