How much was the cost of the real thing?

Take a look in this page

http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/derwhite/Derwhites356LiteraturePage.htm

According to this 1955 ad, $2995, delivered!

That Max Hoffman was a GENIUS! I met a dude in Annapolis who worked with Max years ago, when it wasn't popular to import German cars, and he says that was a driven (pun; sorry) individual. Apparently, there are countless stories of old Max telling people they'd have to drive the cars to understand why they were worth the risk. Can you imagine?
Nowadays, I'd have to say we're at less risk buying a German car (or a VW-based repro) than almost anything coming out of the Big Three.

I could have bought one (used) in '64 for $500 if I'd had the money.
ed

I bought a '56 for $1800 in '59, drove it for two years and traded it in on a Fiat Abarth Zagato. Wish I had both.

I came across this article today about how Max Hoffman convinced the Germans to cut back on the trim and the enginerring and build an inexpensive roadster for the US market. Interesting read if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.sportscarmarket.com/profiles/1993/November/German/index.html

Man, do you see those values of original speedsters? It's just about doubled now!

I try not to be too critical, but it seems to me that the hype that is generated by the car auctions has driven the price of many collectable cars to astronomical amounts. One person I spoke with recently thought that this fact had "ruined" the collector car market. Somebody else might say, "it's free market capitalism at work" or "some of these guys have more money than brains!"

I can't say, but for me, I would rather have a car I can afford with relative ease and feel OK about driving it on a regular basis. And I don't have to worry if there is a rain cloud within 500 miles on the weather map;-)
just my two kroner
Hoss

Hoss, I wonder if it's just as simple as the wind-tunnel-shaped cookie cutters from Europe, Asia and Detroit looking the same.
IMHO, older cars, especially those with desirable lines, have much more curb appeal now that the auto industry has homogenized the shape of basic transportation.

I think the whole thing boils down to this: Old cars and young women make us old farts feel young again. In most cases wives or physical dysfunctions leave only the cars. Voila!