It’s an interesting fact that an authentic Picasso painting can be valued at over $100m, yet a replica that’s indistinguishable to the naked eye is worth a miniscule fraction of that. The same goes for a diamond versus a cubic zirconia. They both look the same, yet their values aren’t anything alike.
Obviously, authenticity is everything when it comes to valuable commodities, and this is certainly the case in the realm of classic cars, which some studies show are nowadays a sounder investment than gold, property or stocks. There’s also the undeniable fact that a classic car is an asset that’ll give you far more enjoyment than monitoring your share portfolio or managing your investment properties.
In line with this trend of escalating classic-car values, premium brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar et al have set up their own in-house restoration divisions that can not only return vintage models to the same condition they were in when they left the factory, but also provide irrefutable certificates of authenticity, stating that not even a single component in the car is non-original.
Lamborghini’s Polo Storico heritage division was established in 2015 and has since subjected more than 100 cars to painstaking restorations. Francesco Stevanin, in charge of Heritage Commercial Management at Polo Storico, says the heritage division restores cars made between 1963 and 2001, with the 350 GT, 400 GT, Islero, Espada, Miura and Countach accounting for the majority of restorations carried out so far.
“The aim is to respect the spirit of the original and to recapture that.”
Francesco Stevanin
“Documentation exists for 90 per cent of cars produced since 1963 and we are now in the process of digitalising it all. We have a collection of nearly all the original production sheets and sales records showing where and to whom each car that came out of the factory was delivered,” says Stevanin, as he opens a large ring binder with yellowing sheets in individual plastic sleeves.
“There are also details such as the car’s VIN number, engine number, paint colour, interior trim colour and material (vinyl, rather than leather, was the norm in the early days). The records also show what kind of carburettors, crankcase, sump, pistons (with individual weights), intake and exhaust valves and so forth that went into that particular car.
“What I particularly like is the readings from the dynamometer that show the power, torque, RPM range. It also shows the tuning for the carburettors… four IDL Webbers in the case of this Miura. Some Miuras were fitted with Bosch spark plugs (depending on what was readily available at the time) while others had Champion plugs, so it’s a matter of identifying exactly what components went into each car and recreating precisely that. Because this was an early Miura – a P400 – the documents show it was fitted with smaller (205mm wide) tyres on 15-inch rims.”
At the end of production, each car was thoroughly tested, with the tester recording his name and the date it was tested. There are notes from every phase of testing, covering drivetrain, electrical system, doors and locking system, air intrusion, carpets and seats, lights and so on.
When any car is brought in for restoration to Polo Storico, the first step involves detailed research. Stevanin explains, “There are two pillars of certification – authenticity and originality. When I refer to authenticity, it means that the car in front of me is really that car, with all documentation proving its identity, registration papers and continuous history. We have to see that its VIN and engine numbers have not been molested in any way.
“Originality refers more to the technical specification. It’s rare to nowadays find a car that hasn’t already been subjected to a previous restoration elsewhere, and the level of sensitivity when it comes to originality wasn’t the same in the 1980s or ’90s as it is now.
“So, the first step when we receive a car for restoration is to go through all the documentation and then completely disassemble it to determine its exact state. When we see that we have a ‘molested’ car in front of us we are often able to get confirmation from one of our suppliers. Usually, it’s case of very fine details… such as an incorrect screw or clip having been used.”
Even though modern technology and engineering equipment means parts can now be refabricated with far greater precision than was the case 40 or 50 years ago, Stevanin says the aim is not to make cars better than they originally were. “We are not in the business of improving cars over when they left the factory. The aim is to respect the spirit of the original and to recapture that.”
Production tolerances in the 1960s and 1970s were nowhere near as precise as they are now, so restoration projects take this into account to return each car to the state it would have been in when it left the factory. Forget about millimetre-perfect shut lines and ultra-high-quality paint finishes.
Stevanin says the spend on a full restoration can range from 230,000 to 450,000 euros, which means you could end up spending more than the cost of a new Aventador. It’s a bewildering amount of cash, but you can begin to see why when you consider that more than 2,000-man-hours goes into the restoration.