Filed under: Auction Action
Auction Action: 1971 Hemi Cuda Convertible
You have until January 19 to save up $4.5 million. On that day, and probably for at least that much money, RM Auctions will turn over the keys to a 1971 Hemi 'Cuda Convertible. The bidding will take place at the auction house's annual Vintage Motor Cars in Phoenix, Arizona.
This particular 'Cuda is chassis #BS27R1B269588, has only 282 miles on it, a shaker hood and is one of only 11 ever built. And in case that's not rare enough for you, it is one of only three built with the 4-speed manual.
As a public service, we'd like to warn you that once our 1982 Citation sells, we'll have a $745 head start on our opening bid. So don't go getting your hopes up. Another 1971 'Cuda with 8,300 miles on it sold last year for $4.1 million, so maybe we should sell our rare 1988 Cimarron, too.
[Source: Forbes]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
JON C 8:29PM (11/26/2006)
How the heck did a '71 'cuda sell for 4.1 mil?
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Seabass 8:38PM (11/26/2006)
'Tis a shame to see a fine example of musclecar heritage and to find out that no one drove it beyond 300 miles. I just can't stand trailer queens, no matter how rare or valuable they are. They're still cars people. Show your love by driving them.
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John 8:54PM (11/26/2006)
I wonder who designed the original 'Cuda - he (or maybe a she?) deserves a Nobel Prize for being a Badass :)
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bruddahmanmatt 8:54PM (11/26/2006)
How pitiful that some schmuck went and garaged a '71 Hemi 'Cuda drop top. Since when is anything built with a 426 Elephant motor meant to be garaged? That was one thing that always annoyed me with these fake prissy car collectors who never took their toys out to the strip or the track and opened them up? How can anyone who's ever owned this car say that they've enjoyed their Hemi 'Cuda convertible when it's only been driven 282 miles in 35 years? So sad.
And while I know that '71 Hemi powered drop top E-Bodies are rare it still amazes me that they fetch such rediculous prices. In fact it amazes me that classic muscle and ponycars in general are fetching such rediculous prices. Everything from '70 LS-6 Chevelles to a Yenko anything is worth top dollar these days. I'd say it's about time folks recognize that these machines were the cream of the crop during their heyday but damn... 4 and half million dollars is a hefty chunk of change.
In the end, someone will be paying a lot of money to have yet another classic garaged because you know the only mileage this 'Cuda will rack up between now and the time it finds its new owner will be the few feet it travels when someone drives it into and out of a trailer. I say Jay Leno should buy this car and show folks what it's like to truly "appreciate" a Hemi anything by laying down a pair of black stripes on the strip before he finds out what she can run in the 1/4 mile after 35 years.
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Vimal 9:02PM (11/26/2006)
@ Seabass and bruddahmanmatt
AMEN!
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riverhead 10:04PM (11/26/2006)
That Schmuck can now buy a Bugatti Veyron,, a McLarin F1, 3 Ferarri Enzos, 5 Corvette ZO6s and a house in East Hampton, NY with a 10 car garage.
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lee warren 10:06PM (11/26/2006)
They were junk then and they're still junk now. I wouldn't give four and half dollars for one.
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ramsport47 10:38PM (11/26/2006)
Lee...Junk?...you're a moron...go sleep with your Honda
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bruddahmanmatt 11:24PM (11/26/2006)
@ #6
And after he buys his Veyron, Mac F1, those 3 Enzo Ferraris and his 5 Z06s will he garage those too? Anyone who buys a high performance automobile as an ivestment is doing that vehicle a disservice by not using it as it was intended to be used. Who the hell buys a Hemi 'Cuda with the intention of selling those 425 horsepower for a profit as opposed to putting it to "proper" use i.e. applying it to tarmac? Certainly not a true enthusiast.
BTW with Veryons fetching what, 1.4 million US, McLaren F1s going for around 1.2 million and Enzo Ferraris selling for almost double their 650k MSRP (around 1.2 million at the moment) you'd be spending well over 6 (NOT 4.5) million to acquire the automobiles you listed, and that's not even counting those 5 C6 Z06s and that house in the Hamptons you mentioned. Oh and you misspelled McLaren.
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Andy 12:07AM (11/27/2006)
$4.5 million for a Plymouth? I love the E-body Barracuda, but I would never--EVER--spend four and a half million dollars on one--or even 1/5 of that sum. What's worse is that this is not the rarest of American automobiles, or a fine driver. To have so much money spent on this only to have it stay inside a garage or trailer is sad. I can only wish for this classic car market to crash like it did in the 1990s so these car poseurs lose their fortunes. The current slowdown isn't enough.
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 12:15AM (11/27/2006)
I've been seeing muscle cars left & right getting beaten by the market. It would be insane to see this 'Cuda hit $4 million. RM is more fickle than Barrett-Jackson; $4 million is reserved for rare, high-marque race cars. The Hemi 'Cuda is a cool muscle car, but nothing grand. The most a Hemi 'Cuda should hit is $90,000. Even that's too much.
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Nick 1:02AM (11/27/2006)
#11: It's not just a hemi Cuda, it's a droptop. That is rare.
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Rory 3:18AM (11/27/2006)
4.5 million. ROFL. just goes to show you a fool and his money are soon parted.
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Silvia 5:40AM (11/27/2006)
4 millions? I'd like to see an insane one who gonna buy it.
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Doug 7:01AM (11/27/2006)
Maybe someone who is more financially minded can figure out if it's a good return on investment.
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Auto Parts for Brains 8:12AM (11/27/2006)
To each his own I guess. But personally, 4 point something million for a Cuda is a very hefty amount. There are a lot of things that give a car value. A buyer could care less that the car has been used less. That fact actually makes one think how an owner could garage such a car. Maybe he just wants to keep the car, or maybe he doesn't see it worth using.
Rarity is something that makes it more expensive. 1 out eleven huh. Still, limited editions does not at all mean good. Sometimes manufacturers make less of products that they think wont sell. The first Ford that made it mainstream would have valued more.
History, is another thing this car lacks. For 4.5M it should boast of being part of something very important like it being Kennedy's car or Madonna was born in it or something of that sort.
Thing is, buyers of antique cars buy them for one very common reason. They can. So who dares contend.
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pd 8:20AM (11/27/2006)
This muscle car market WILL COLLAPSE,just like it did in the late 80s with the exotics,and anything with a prancing horse doubling in price every six months. Craig Jackson of (BARRETT-JACKSON) created that market then, just like he created the current market. Truly a modern day P.T.Barnum.
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Mr_Oak 8:23AM (11/27/2006)
-----> 1. How the heck did a '71 'cuda sell for 4.1 mil?
I'll attempt to explain, I will write slowly, so, stay with me.
It's what the market bears, I remember 25 or so years ago, watching Duesenbergs, Packards, Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts and Phantoms fetch these prices. The pool of potential buyers for this type of collector car is shrinking, literally a dying breed. The largest pool of collectors today are baby boomers, these are the cars that ruled the day in their youth. Even though there are many resto-mods (classic body with modern drive trains) tooling around out there, An unrestored car like the one above in mint condition is a true gem. Muscle cars like this one will continue to fetch numbers like this for quite some time, since there aren't very many cars from the mid-seventies to the early nineties that will ever be considered collectibles.
I too also hate trailer queens.
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Richard Warren 8:46AM (11/27/2006)
#15 It is if you can turn it next year for 5 mil heck even 4.75.
Great little car, way overvalued. Buyers will find that out when the market turns, just ask anyone who bought real classic cars in there heyday. As buyers got much older, the market died off values dropped. Right now the market is American muscle, it too will drop.
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Mr_Oak 9:22AM (11/27/2006)
-----> 17. This muscle car market WILL COLLAPSE,just like it did in the late 80s with the exotics,and anything with a prancing horse doubling in price every six months. Craig Jackson of (BARRETT-JACKSON) created that market then, just like he created the current market. Truly a modern day P.T.Barnum.
Barrett-Jackson is the most visible auctioneer out there, he did not create anything. Just happened along at the right time. The exotics will always have their followers, they will never have the "cult" status of the muscle cars. As long as the "Boomers" have the money, muscle cars will do just fine. Then they'll pass those cars along to their kids. Muscle cars will be strong for another 20 or so years. Not very many cars in the last 25 years that are collectible anyway.
Here's my short list:
Porsche 929 - Quite possibly the best car ever built.
Ferrari F40 - Save these two examples, most modern Ferraris are quite common place and forgettable.
Ferrari Enzo - " Ditto "
McLaren F1 - Nothing needs to be said.
BMW Z8 - Quite possibly the only BMW that ever had a soul.
Corvette ZR1 - I know that there have been better 'vettes since then, but the ZR1 is special.
Buick Regal GNX - This thing (4 wheeled barn) in it's day was faster than all Porsches save the 929 and Turbos, faster than the 'Vette of that era until the ZR1 came along, You could also add to that list the 6 series BMW, anything by Audi, Nissan, Toyota, and Most Ferrari's of the day.
Lamborghini LM-002 aaaaaaaaahhhhh!! The Rambo Lambo.
Cars like the Veyron will eventually work their way onto the list, after a few have been destroyed.
There are those of you out there who think all Ferraris should qualify, most Ferraris and Lambos are just status mobiles, as was the obese for Lotus later model Esprits.
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