Carmakers like to trot out their heritage because it plays well. However, the actual interest that most manufacturers have in their older products expired along with their warranty periods; they’re in the business of selling new cars, not old ones. Yet the rising values of classic cars, especially those wearing prestigious badges, has seen a reassessment of this attitude, and the creation of a lucrative new sideline for luxury carmakers—the in-house heritage division. Effectively factory classic workshops, they’re able to help owners to authenticate the originality (and therefore value) of their cars, source rare parts, and even to restore cars to original standards. Lamborghini has now gotten in on the act with the launch of its PoloStorico division.
“PoloStorico,” we’re told, translates to “classic hub.” We recently had a chance to talk to the division’s sales experience manager, Enrico Maffeo, about what it’s able to do for those who have both an older Lamborghini and deep pockets.
Pretty much anything is the answer. Maffeo says that PoloStorico was formed from the company’s previously separate archiving, restoration, and spare-parts businesses. Apparently, 2014 saw the major classic-car auctions sell more than 1 billion euros worth of lots for the first time, with strongly rising values of early and collectible Lamborghinis persuading owners to invest in both researching the history of their cars and, where necessary, restoring them back to original condition.
The point is demonstrated with a look at a stunning yellow Miura, a car that has more than doubled in value in the last five years. And while there are many workshops and specialists who can work on older cars, Lamborghini has an effective monopoly on calling authenticity, having had the good sense to keep pretty much all of its paperwork from the last 53 years. The company’s archive is now one part of PoloStorico, with 21,000 technical drawings and 6000 build sheets for its earlier models in process of being digitized. The company can issue a certificate of original configuration to say how any car left the factory; this will cost around $1100 before Italian taxes, but—presuming a car still matches—it will help bolster the car’s value by at least that much.
Of course, many Lamborghinis have led what could be described as more interesting lives, and won’t be immaculate garage queens with matching numbers. This is where the other parts of PoloStorico’s business come in. Get your car to Sant’ Agata and for around $6700 before taxes Lamborghini will conduct a full authenticity inspection, partly disassembling the car to see which parts are original and which aren’t, and then offering the additional option of a return to factory condition, something that—although expensive—is likely to add even more value than it costs to a desirable early car.
Now let’s say your eccentric uncle has died and left you an original Miura that’s spent the last 45 years parked in his chicken coop. You’ll need to avail yourself of PoloStorico’s restoration service, which can rebuild even total wrecks to factory condition—in many cases, using the same guys who built them in the first place. Apparently this has become a lucrative sideline for many retired Lamborghini workers, who both advise on how things were done and sometimes even do those self-same things. Originality is key in this part of the market, meaning restoration will be done using the same materials and techniques that were used in period, even replicating the way the company welded metal 40 years ago. This isn’t a service for anyone down to their last million, as a ground-up resto will be around $200,000 before both those dreaded Italian taxes and the cost of shipping a car to and from the factory. But that will deliver you a car that should be as nice, if not nicer, than when it left Sant’ Agata for the first time.
Finally, if you’re just looking for a hard-to-find part for your old Jalpa or Espada, PoloStorico can help there too, incorporating Lamborghini’s heritage parts division. It holds 50 million euro worth of old parts, and Matteo reckons it’s the only place to come for some items. But if it can’t find what you need—and you’re prepared to pay a predictably hefty bill—it will remanufacture a “lost” part to the original specification, something it has done 58 times this year.
Heritage is becoming big business to niche manufacturers, and PoloStorico follows the lead set by Ferrari Classiche and Aston Martin’s Works Division among others. With classic values continuing to rise, it’s a trend that looks set to continue for a while longer.
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