One of our more unusual prior engagements came from a client who wanted us to manage the complete restoration of an Alvis Stalwart, a British Army vehicle from the 1960s, affectionately known as a ‘Stolly’ by the serviceman who operated them.  These complex machines are 6-wheeled in configuration and were used as a load carrier by the British Army from 1966 until 1992. Critically, they offered amphibious capability, which allowed this 14-tonne truck (fully loaded) to travel at up to 10 km/h in water and up to 62 km/h on the road, although it would take a brave squaddie to try and verify that top speed as they rarely track straight when driven!  This dual capability meant that a bulk of Stalwarts in the hands of the British Army were stationed in former West Germany close to the River Rhine so that they could re-supply operational units in case of a Soviet invasion from the East during The Cold War. Once decommissioned many Stalwarts were scrapped but some were sold to private enthusiasts who had great ambitions to operate them privately for fun. However, given their complexity (intricate transmission) and huge running costs (8-cylinder petrol engine), think gallons to the mile not the other way around, owners often found that any idea of fun quickly dissipated. Consequently, many were quietly forgotten about and if there is one thing that Stalwarts do not respond well to, it is sitting idle for long periods of time. Which brings us neatly to our project Stolly, an early Mk 1 example that had sat in a field exposed to the elements for the best part of 15-years and which required a heavy-duty tractor to begrudgingly drag it out of its retirement.

Once delivered to restoration experts ‘Track & Wheel’, it was clear that bringing her back to her former glory was going to be an intense project with generous amounts of welding, copious amounts of replacement parts, extensive testing, wheel replacements along with multiples of blood, sweat and tears. In total, the project took 9-months to complete, which included a full zero-to-hero programme that restored all her former capabilities, including her famed ‘swimming’ ability. A lot of private Stalwart owners never swim their examples out of fear for things going wrong and when you take a 9-tonne truck into the water things can deteriorate rather quickly. To protect against this unsavoury possibility, an extensive water test procedure was enacted to ensure that when the time came to dip her tyres into the water for the first time, all the seals would function as they should and critically, the water propulsion units would stay operational whilst she was partially submerged. Should the vectored thrust from these units fail, there is only one direction the Stolly will travel in and that is most likely downwards.  Thankfully, our Stolly performed admirably on water test day and despite the audible gasps that filled the air as she left the safe haven of the jetty, transitioning from tyre motion to flotation in the process, there was a huge amount of satisfaction to be gained from seeing her power through the water for the first time.  The disbelief on the faces of the local fisherman at the water’s edge on the other side of the lake will stay with us for a long time.

Finally, prior to delivery, we put our Stolly through multiple high-speed runs at a retired military base to test both its on-road and off-road performance.  Despite their size, Alvis Stalwarts are extremely manoeuvrable thanks to their six-wheel drive setup and their Rolls-Royce engine offers real power and as it turns out, provides huge backfires from the exhaust when running hot.  Whether those mini explosions brought back fond or haunting memories to any local residents within earshot shall remain a mystery to this day.

The conclusion of the project culminated in shipping the better-than-new Alvis Stalwart to our client so that he could make full use of it on his estate. Despite the steep learning curve, we had all come to harbour great affection for this particular example and witnessing the transformation from abandoned and unloved truck to fully operational Stolly made it the most satisfying client handover we have had to date.

Further information on the Alvis Stalwart is given below and if we can assist you in any form of restoration management, then do not hesitate to contact us

© Nick Johnson, Car Consultant & Founder of AutoPrivé

Origin:United Kingdom
Type: Tactical truck/High Mobility Load Carrier (HMLC)
Developer: Alvis
Engine: Rolls-Royce eight-cylinder water-cooled, 6.5 litre petrol engine.
Production: 1966 – 1972 (series production)
Number produced: 1.110 in total (140 Mk 1, incl 15 prototypes, 970 Mk 2)
Users:
Austria
Germany
Italy
Sri Lanka
Sweden
United Kingdom

From 1962 – 1964 only 39 examples were built of Ferrari’s mythical homologation special (GTO stands for: Gran Turismo Omologato) and only on rare occasions do they ever publicly come up for sale. The last time was 2018 when one such example sold at auction for the aforementioned record-breaking $48.4 million (c £38.8 million). Nick Mason of Pink Floyd famously paid just £35,000 for his example in 1977 (pictured above) and even then he thought he had overpaid!

According to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), the classic car market has risen by a healthy 194% in capital appreciation between 2010 to 2020. However, when looking more recently, there has been a fall of 7% in the last 12 months. I expect this downward trend to continue due to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 virus combined with a cooling of the classic/premium car market in general. The advantage of this is that it puts buyers back in the negotiating driving seat and away from the super rarefied world of Ferrari 250 GTO ownership and other classics that inhabit the Concours d’Elegance meets around the world, there are still purchase opportunities that exist  that will help you avoid the imminent price corrections that are already occurring in the conventional classic car market.

Linking the above with the two questions I get asked the most, namely: “Is there still merit in investing in the classic car market in light of recent falls?” and “What cars should I be buying now?” My answer to the first question remains yes, but it depends upon your objective. If your hope is to buy now whilst the market is depressed and then double your money in a matter of years, then look elsewhere as those days are long gone and will not be repeated. If however, you have always hankered after a particular classic and want somewhere relatively safe to invest your money, insulated from the effects of depreciation, then read on.

In terms of what cars to be buying now to enjoy depreciation-proof motoring, with the ‘possible’ scope for gradual value increases then attention must be on the last generation of analogue cars (think normally-aspirated engines i.e. no turbo combined ideally with a manual gearbox) and the so-called ‘Youngtimer’ / ‘Modern Classic’ market (cars from the 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s).  Whilst ignoring the over-heated (read: over-priced) Supercar Market from these eras, there are still some car models from the eighties to the noughties that offer good opportunities for a safe investment.  Rather than go into specifics, I have instead listed my top five attributes of what to look for in order to help keep your investment secure:

1. Limited Edition – Make sure the car was built in limited numbers. Any of the following Porsche models are good safe havens for your capital: 987 Boxster Spyder/Cayman R or alternatively, for a true analogue race car for the road, the Porsche 996 (911) GT3. Priced from £40,000 (Boxster Spyder/Cayman R) or £65,000 (996 GT3):

2. Star of the Show – If a car has starred in a famous movie/TV show or adorned the computer screens of countless Millennials this will certainly help. James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 is a perfect vintage example of this, but values of these have already skyrocketed and are due a correction. The later DBS model especially in manual form from the 2006 Casino Royale blockbuster is a better bet or a V12-Engined Vantage model, again in manual form. Priced from £85,000 for a desirable DBS or V12 Vantage example:

3. Manual Shifting – A car with a manual gearbox (if it were available with one) will always be worth more than the equivalent paddle-shift/automatic gearbox as it offers a more analogue driving experience. A Ferrari 355 (also of James Bond Goldeneye fame) with a manual transmission is worth about 25% more than an example with the early F1 paddle shift box. Desirable models are priced from £80,000:

4. Last of its Kind – If the car is an end-of-the-line model it will help to resist the effects of deprecation with possible future growth in years to come. The 1997 Bentley Continental R Mulliner was one of the last Bentley models manufactured independently by the company before it was later taken over by Volkswagen. Priced from £70,000.

5. Brand is Best – Having a desirable badge on the front hugely increases the chance of a car being deemed a classic in time, which will certainly help to protect any investment. According to HAGI (Historic Automobile Group Index), classics with a Porsche badge on the front have performed the best in the last ten years with on average a 24.2% rise in value:

Some notes of caution though, give careful consideration on how you intend to use any ‘Modern Classic’ as you may well find that you have to pay a premium to drive the car into urban areas, London being a prime example of this with the recent creation of its Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

The ULEZ commenced in April 2019 and is set for further expansion in 2021 and applies a daily charge of £12.50 to cars built before 2005 due to their associated higher emissions (classic cars built before 1979 have an exemption). The daily fee is in addition to the Congestion Charge and they both share the same area of coverage.  It is worth noting that I expect other cities in the UK and in Europe to adopt similar measures in time and therefore you would be best to enjoy any modern classic (pre-2005) out on the open road instead.

Finally, cars are temperamental beasts that require plenty of specialist care to ensure that they remain fighting fit. Therefore, an annual slush fund relative to the car’s original value is a must to cover annual maintenance and unforeseen costs.  Just because a car is now relatively cheap to buy does not mean it will be cheap to run. A lot of our clients will engage us to arrange secure storage and conditioning so that they can rest easy knowing that their pride and joy is tucked up, plugged-in and regularly exercised. Others will wish to use their car to its full ability and be trained on how best to do this, which is why we can also arrange one-to-one driver tuition should a client wish.

No matter which vehicle you choose this is one piece of art that can literally move you in ways that no static piece on the wall can compete with, so buy what you like and what you will enjoy using.

For further information on any of the above, or how we can assist you in sourcing any of the listed vehicles or any other classics, then do not hesitate to contact us.

© Nick Johnson, Car Consultant & Founder of AutoPrivé

Unfortunately, those orders are unlikely to be met any time soon, as Jaguar Land Rover has pulled the plug on this the project, called Jaguar E-Type Zero. However, there are still ways for drivers to indulge in classic motoring, without contributing towards the very modern problem of climate change. AutoPrivé offers its clientele a wide range of services, from vehicle sourcing and restoration, through to importation, export, storage and consignment. ‘A client might come to us to get hold of a certain car,’ says Nick. ‘We might protect their privacy if they’re in the public eye, work on restoration if it’s a classic model, or assist with the bureaucracy of the ownership side. Often, they will then come to us when they want to sell their vehicle.’

Though Nick does deal with some dedicated car collectors, many of his clients are wealthy individuals with a passion for nice vehicles, but limited enthusiasm for the shortcomings of old automobiles. ‘Many of my clients think, I’ve always wanted a classic car, but I’ve been put off by the maintenance and lack of reliability,’ he says. Indeed, some have learned the hard way. Nick can recall a period a few years ago when many on the London scene wanted a certain model of Mercedes from the 1960s. ‘They were incredibly elegant cars; they looked wonderful,’ he says. ‘But, inevitably, clients would spend a lot of money on the car, go away on an assignment, return to their garage three weeks later, and it would have leaked oil, or the battery would be flat. Interest in having such a vehicle dries up pretty quickly.’

Fortunately, there are now a handful of classic car restoration firms in the UK, US, and continental Europe that specialise in turning vintage petrol models, such as the Jaguar E-Type, into fully functioning electric cars. Post-conversion, expect to find the electric motor, fast-charging batteries and regenerative brakes you might typically see in a Tesla or other electric vehicle. These conversions not only improve a classic car’s reliability, but they also help to ease a driver’s conscience in a world increasingly concerned with CO2 emissions.

‘A Normal E-Type or classic Mercedes will look exquisite, but for some people, the moment you drive off, the car will often leave behind a nasty impression either because of the exhaust fumes or the smell of petrol,’ says Nick. ‘That doesn’t sit right with a lot of clients today, who are often in the public eye. Electrification removes that aspect.’ Of course, an electric motor with batteries will not slot neatly into every car. Electric motors are often lighter than their petrol or diesel counterpart, but the battery packs are heavy and therefore integration into an elderly vehicle chassis is a challenge.

Though Nick has come across some classic Minis that have been electrified, he doesn’t recommend the conversation of comparatively cheap vehicles, as the costs are relatively high. Similarly, he has yet to come across a Ferrari that has had its engine removed and replaced with an electric version. ‘I think the engine is such an integral part of those exotic Italian thoroughbreds.’ He also says that some very traditional car restoration firms won’t take on electrification commissions. ‘They view the process as sacrilegious,’ he explains. ‘It’s taking the heart out of a classic, and in their view replacing it with a soulless engine.’

Yet Nick argues that more progressive restorers can work around a heritage model’s limitations and a client’s expectation, finding the right electric motor and dashboard to suit both contemporary and classic tastes. ‘A lot of work has gone into adapting, say, an old rev counter to display amps instead, or a fuel gauge to indicate the range left in the batteries,’ Nick explains. ‘You glance at the dash, and you really cannot tell it’s an electric car.’ Not that there’s any shame in going electric. ‘I think this process rejuvenates classic cars,’ he says. ‘The classic car audience tends to be quite mature, while the demand for this sort of new technology and reliability is often younger.’

He also understands how a well-made electric classic car could allow younger drivers to distinguish themselves in cities such as the British capital. ‘Lamborghinis and the like are commonplace in London, but if you’ve got a silent Jaguar E-Type, you will really stand out as you glide past,’ he argues. And while the conversion work is still in its infancy the pace of development is moving quickly and AutoPrivé can already cater to a wide range of classic conversions.

For those ever so slightly nostalgic for the days of fossil fuels, the old engine can be preserved as a kind of artistic memento. ‘The engine can be mounted on a plinth so that the client can show their son or daughter,’ explains Nick, ‘and say ‘that used to power the car.”

For more information on electric classic cars, speak to Nick Johnson @ AutoPrivé click here: Contact

© Alex Rayner, Noted Magazine for Quintessentially Lifestyle Management

What inspired you to start AutoPrivé?

Having been involved in finding cars for clients for over fifteen years, invariably I found myself being tasked with other aspects of car ownership such as arranging storage, transportation and assisting with maintenance requirements. Whilst this naturally saved my clients time, I was shocked at the sheer length of time it often took to arrange a simple inspection with a car dealer for example. I realised that such ownership services would be a huge value-add for busy individuals and that this could be expanded to form an automotive concierge service. It was from this that AutoPrivé was born, offering one point of contact for its clients and using suppliers that had been pre-vetted to ensure a seamless, reliable and personal service.

What’s the most interesting car you’ve sourced throughout your years in the business?

One car became particularly interesting because of the request that preceded it. A client called us one evening after watching Top Gear saying how he wanted to buy the sports car that he had just seen, a not uncommon request, until he then mentioned that he wanted the exact car that had been featured. Not only that but he wanted it in six weeks’ time in time for his house-warming party. Fortunately, we knew the director of the niche British manufacturer and after engaging him in the fine art of persuasion he agreed to sell but only on the provision that he could hold on to the car for another three-months for promotional purposes. The client accepted the delay but as luck would have it the completion of his house was pushed back and his new car was delivered in time for the celebrations. Our contacts all helped us to make it possible, but Lady Luck conspired to give us the time to deliver.

Your sourcing services are available through a network of contacts worldwide.  What’s the most unusual/unexpected country you’ve sourced a vehicle from? 

Sourcing and then exporting a classic Mercedes sports car out of Libya and into Europe was one of our more unusual briefs. The first headache was getting into the country during the conflict to inspect the car and then the next challenge was to navigate the endless bureaucracy to get it out safely and importantly intact! The key throughout the whole process was having local contacts on the ground who could not only be relied upon but who could also assist with streamlining all of the domestic processes. This is why our network of contacts are so important. 

Is there an approximate timeframe for vehicle sourcing, and if not, what factors does this depend on?

The timeframe is hugely dependent on either the client or the car in question and often involves a combination of the two. If we have a request for a new Range Rover for example, we can usually process this and arrange delivery within a couple of days. Factors that can extend the timeframe relate to whether the client wants a specific combination of options. With a brand-new car this may lead to a factory order which could take 10- 12 weeks between enquiry and delivery. At the other end of the scale, we are currently assisting a client who wishes to purchase a rare classic car that will most likely take in excess of 6-months to source due to the low built numbers. Thankfully the client understands this and she is happy to give us the necessary time.

You not only source vehicles, but also assist with the selling process.  Was this service available from the beginning or was it incorporated at a later date? Assistance with the sale process was always part of our service offering, in keeping with our ethos of offering one point of contact to the client for all of their automotive needs.

When did you begin to offer the other vehicle related concierge services and which of these is highest in demand?

Linked to the above, from the outset I wanted AutoPrivé to go to market as an automotive concierge service so that we could continue to look after our clients during their ownership tenure. The most frequent requests we get are to arrange secure storage, as many of our clients have purchased a car as an investment and therefore want to keep it in prime condition.

We also often get tasked with moving cars from one location to another, especially during the summer holidays or when a car requires servicing.  Other requests include professional driver tuition for those clients who want to make the most of their vehicle as well, car detailing and automotive photography for owners who wish to create a special tribute to their car.

Lastly, what’s your dream car?

A question that I often get asked and one that never gets any easier, but after experiencing a client’s example it would have to be a Pagani Zonda Roadster. I have been fortunate to meet Horacio Pagani (Company founder) a number of times and his cars perfectly express his ethos of mixing art, engineering with a generous helping of Italian flair. Pagani Zondas have also proven to be a worthwhile investment and therefore offer a rare case of when both the heart and head can emphatically say yes.

To contact Nick Johnson @ AutoPrivé, click here: Contact