Key Facts:
- Classic cars named as top passion investment for wealthy Australians, with 61% choosing them over art (58%) and wine (48%), according to Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report
- Lloyds Auctions' Grand Carmada auction this weekend features rare classic cars that originally sold for $4,000-$6,000 now attracting bids in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
- Notable auction lots include a matching-numbers Ford Falcon Phase 2, a record-breaking Bathurst Monaro, and a rare Torana A9X (one of only 405 produced)
- The auction event is taking place in Melbourne this Saturday, the 27th of August from 12pm
Aussies crown classic cars as their #1 passion investment with Lloyds Auctions' holding a massive catalogue of cars as part of their Annual Grand Carmada Auction this weekend.
Knight Frank officially confirms that Australians' love affair with classic cars is alive and well with classic cars being the favourite passion investment for Australia's wealthy.
According to Knight Frank's 2024 Wealth Report Attitudes Survey, classic cars are the top passion investment for Australian ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), with 61% choosing them ahead of art (58%) and wine (48%).
"This isn't just a trend, we've seen this passion over the last 8 – 10 years consistently at our auctions, it's a statement of Australia's motoring history," said Mr. Lee Hames, Chief Operations Officer for Lloyds Auctions.
While art led global luxury asset growth in 2023, Australians have shown that when it comes to their passion, nothing beats the roar of a V8 and the smell of petrol.
Grand Carmada Weekend: Classics on the Auction Floor
This Grand Final weekend, Lloyds Auctions is offering a line-up of Australian classic cars in its annual Grand Carmada auction, set to confirm just how strong the appetite is for Aussie automotive icons.
One of the headline acts: the very last Holden Clubsport off the production line, a 2017 HSV Clubsport R8 VF 30th Anniversary edition with just 753 kilometres on the clock, factory-fresh and never displayed in a dealership.
"This is more than a car, it's the full stop on a chapter of Australian motoring history," stated Mr. Lee Hames, Chief Operations Officer for Lloyds Auctions.
"With extremely low kilometres and untouched in original condition, this is a collector's dream, a factory-fresh time capsule that embodies Holden's performance legacy," he continued.
In 2021, Lloyds made national headlines by selling the last ever Holden built in Australia for a striking $750,000.
Big Bids from Humble Beginnings
Many of the cars featured in this weekend's auction once sold new from anywhere between $4,000 - $6,000 off the showroom floor, but bidding this week has already surged into the hundreds of thousands, with some lots expected to fetch close to 7 figures. It's a dramatic illustration of how tastes, scarcity and collectability have transformed Aussie classics into high-value assets.
Some of the iconic vehicles up for auction this weekend include:
- A matching-numbers Ford Falcon Phase 2, carrying the torch for the eternal Holden–Ford rivalry (Phase III Falcons have achieved $1.5M+ in previous Lloyds auctions).
- The record-breaking Bathurst Monaro that sold for over $300,000 in 2017, now tipped to set a new benchmark eight years later.
- A genuine matching number Torana A9X already at a $170,000 bid price which has seen it kept as part of a private collection for over 30 years and 1 of only 405 A9X's ever produced.
A Classic Grand Final Weekend
Falling on Footy Grand Final weekend, this auction is set to capture national attention, both from passionate collectors and from investors.
"Knight Frank's data confirms what we see every month: Australians don't just love these cars; they see them as the most meaningful assets to purchase," said Mr. Hames.
Bidding Details
Bidding is open now with the LIVE auction event kicking off in Melbourne this Saturday, 27 August from 12pm.
Further imagery and footage is available upon request.
About us:
Lloyds Auctions is Australia's leading auctioneer of classic, muscle & barn-find vehicles. We pride ourselves on connecting iconic vehicles with passionate collectors, preserving automotive heritage and offering rare bidding opportunities on assets such as classic cars for enthusiasts across the nation.
