[prototype]

Many stood in disbelief when these cars sold.

For me it's pretty simple....when your laying out that kind of cash it can be difficult to determine the exact condition of a car prior to restoration. Pictures can be deceiving and a good photographer can be quite selective of lighting, angles, etc to hide the sins. The finished product is spectacular. When your standing in front of these two cars it doesn't take much education to figure out that pretty much all of the parts on the unrestored car came from Stuttgart, Germany. Although restored cars look spectacular much of the end result has very little to do with the factory and suppliers that contributed to the original car.

If the car collecting hobby is ever going to elevate from hobby to history then the behaviour of the collectors will continue to mature into the way it is in the antiquities markets. The value of most antiquities is dramatically reduced when they are modified in any way from the original artist. In the collector car world the original manufacturer is considered the artist. Many now consider this value and the results of this particular auction put an exclamation mark on originality.

Caveat emptor.....the unrestored Gullwing was carefully prepared for auction....most of the interior was assembled from other remnants of cars that were restored, the end result was brilliant.....the price was magical.

Calling Steve Shauger.....please inspect my car before I buy it!!!!!!!