In a message dated 07/11/2001 11:34:14 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
grant62@starpower.net writes:
<< And I was recently told that of the 106 Lotus 23's made, over 400 are
racing world wide. >>
Depending on how you look at it, the sad part of vintage racing is that
certain cars have an intrinsic value beyond the sum of their parts. That
these cars have a collectable value is contrary to the reason they we built
in the first place. In period, it wouldn't have made a wit of difference if
your made an exact replica of a Lotus 23 for example. You could have gone
anywhere and raced it in the appropriate class or category.
It is difficult to separate the usefulness of a vintage racecar from it's
collectable value. A Lotus 23 has intrinsic value both because it is still
very competitive amongst it's peers and it is a Lotus. The difficult question
using this example is, should we as organizers be in the business of
supporting a car's value by being exclusive? Or should we open the way for
more people to participate by allowing less expensive examples which are nuts
and bolts perfect except that they weren't built by Lotus between 1961 and
1965?
How much responsibility does the organizer have to protect owners who have
invested a lot of money, wisely or not, in a car that few others can ever
obtain?
The dirty little secret in most cases is that we aren't in the business of
checking i.d. numbers and paper trails. Sort of a "don't ask, don't tell"
situation. If you declare that you have a replica then I have to turn you
down. If you just register a Lotus 23, particularly one that we have seen
many times before, I would probably never give it a second thought.
Is this fair? I dunno, but it is reality.
How far do you wish to take this conversation?
Jack
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