So where is the original power unit? Did it have a crankcase ventilation issue in period? I do not believe gutter tabloids so take all of this with a large shovel of sodium... Is the wrong motor £4.5 down on its achievable value? Bad carma as Top Gear Chris Evans loses £4.5m
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I don't understand why this is a story today. The story is old, the values are hugely different, and there are so many stampings issues... Huh?
From the article: Evans says: “The most money I have lost on a car is £4.5million – I bought the Coburn car for £7.5million and sold it for £3million because it had the wrong engine, which I didn’t know at the time as I hadn’t done my research properly.” I was at the auction in Italy in May 2008 when Evans purchased this car, he was there with Talacrest owner John Collins. Prior to 2377 GT coming across the block auctioneer Peter Bainbridge and Max Girardo stated this car did not have it's original engine instead being fitted with a Classiche stamped block. Evans did know the situation. Paul
Yes, he knew. At Maranello in May 2008 the actual bidding was done by Natasha, she also signed the check. Have seen it all with my own eyes. I was sitting directly behind Chris, Natasha and John Collins. Marcel Massini
Amazing how much that last glass of champagne can cost. Classic case of saying "I did what?" the next morning. CW
It takes at least two people to bid at an auction so the underbidders must also have had auction fever that day, had Evan not paid his price then someone else was prepared to pay slightly less that day for the car, amazing how much it dropped later on when classics in general have risen hugely in the intervening period.
Disagree. Never heard of a chandelier? Disclaimer: I am not saying that in this particular case there was a chandelier involved. Marcel Massini
Yes and the back wall but that is typically only used to get up to reserve, I guess this car could have had a huge reserve and Evans fell for it.
Could be, or maybe not. But the original poster's question remains: what happened to 2377GT's original engine, and where is it now?
Thinking about it, I seem to recall the car sold for way more than expected so I doubt it was bid upto a reserve by the auctioneer, so other bidders had to be involved, maybe the then owner or their agent, it's not unknown. Evans is famed for being impulsive, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but he has amassed a fortune, lost it and regained it so he is doing something right. I do find this obsession with originality with old and loved/used cars nuts, it's had a life and been repaired, parts replaced so what, it was never claimed to be a time capsule.
IIRC the value of a matching engine SWB cal spider at the time was around $6m, so maybe a stamped engine was worth $3m or maybe $4. So Evans paid three+ times the market value at the time. I remember being astonished at the time. I have no idea if the Coburn ownership should add value. He's certainly no Steve McQueen.
Coburn was very cool. A Hollywood Legend. Certainly one of my favourites. His ownership would definitely add value. Whatever Evans lost on 2377GT, which he needed to sell to buy 250 GTO 4675GT, he more than made up for it when he later sold the 250 GTO, I believe.
Thats right, it was a quick sale in order to purchase the 250 GTO, forgot about that, which proved to be a very profitable investment.
In a 2012 article in the Daily Mail, Evans reportedly said he lost £2 million on the SWB California Spyder. He went on to say that at the Ferrari auction he bought the car, although he was surrounded by experts, not one of them felt the need to point out to him that the car was not being sold with its original engine. He added that the exact opposite was the case when he came to sell her.
*CHRIS EVANS: The difference between what I paid for my Ferrari Spyder and what I sold it for? Two mil | Daily Mail Online
Sounds like this guy deserved everything he got. Everyone says "Do your homework or at least pay someone to do it for you".
When he committed to the purchase of 4675 GT, payment terms were extended to him. For a time, he had the option to sell 2377 GT himself. However, by a certain date, he was contractually required to either make another substantial payment, or to give 2377 GT as part-exchange at a pre-determined value. He chose the latter. When he eventually resold 4675 GT to J.P.S., he did well (but not nearly as well as J.P.S. did when he in turn resold it).
I always wondered why he sold on that GTO so quickly. Was the money too good to turn down or the car not quite what he hoped for? Seemed strange to me. I don't think he held onto the California or Monza very long either.
