SVRA: Motostalgia brings another dimension to COTA

This weekend's Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) national championships at the Circuit of The Americas offers a festive atmosphere with much to do beyond the considerable on-track action. A unique relationship between the SVRA and the still-young car auction company, Motostalgia, adds a twist to the weekend with what company founder and chairman Antonio Brunet calls the "rarest and finest" automobiles.

Brunet believes he has found a market opening targeting catalog auctions of fine cars at the $150,000 to $500,000 price point. While other houses such as RM and Gooding break records with some cars reaching eight figures Brunet's objective is to offer the best service possible to customers for superior quality, high-end – but not limited to super-high-end – collector automobiles. (Click on the thumbnails below for a few examples of its offerings)

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The SVRA event at COTA will mark Motostalgia's fifth auction, the first having been in 2013, also at COTA, for the United States Grand Prix weekend where they had 90 vehicles and $15 million in consigned cars. The year before the company won a crucial bid to orchestrate a parade of American muscle cars as part of the festivities supporting the inaugural COTA F1 event.

Brunet met SVRA CEO Tony Parella following COTA's first USGP and a strategy began to emerge. Raised in Mexico, Spain and the United States, Brunet held a fascination for cars and racing from an early age. He attended the Goodwood Revival, the Monaco Historic Grand Prix and Formula 1 races at Silverstone.

"Tony and I share a similar passion and vision," says Brunet (LEFT, alongside a 2010 Spyker C8, one of the rare machines for auction this weekend at COTA). "We both believe the festival environment is attractive to people, especially younger ones. We want to stage an all-welcoming event and believe vintage racing does that. Marrying vintage racing with our auctions presents a very appealing value proposition that we believe can expand the car culture."

Parella agrees that he and Brunet can bring resources together to complement one another's efforts.

"Antonio and I are like-minded in that we love what we do," says Parella. "I know we can build the festival concept together."

Brunet, who at 36 years old is younger than most if not all the recognized leadership of America's car culture, feels a sense of responsibility to invigorate it. He believes his strategy of catering to the underserved market segment defined by the $150,000-to-$500,000 price point and wrapping it in the context of vintage racing is compelling. An architect by university education, his focus was restoration and he took an abiding enthusiasm for preservation to the world of automobiles.

"I feel entrusted with preserving the car culture for the next generation," he says. "I am the youngest owner of a catalog auction house and I want to tell the story of how the true value of our offer is not simply money, but the culture and history surrounding it. Racing establishes the pedigree of many cars."

One example he is particularly proud of is Motostalgia's first sale. This was the 1950 Cisitalia Abarth 204A Italian racing legend Tazio Nuvolari drove to his final victory. While the Cisitalia Abarth doesn't fit the price point of his primary market segment (it sold for $3.5m), it helped put the auction company on the map.

In addition to the Nuvolari connection the machine carries other significant history. Piero Dusio, who had controlling interest of Cisitalia at the time, was widely respected as both a businessman and a driver but his zeal for design eventually caught up with him. His spending on such projects brought the company to its knees and set it on a path to bankruptcy by 1963.

Brunet says such cars as the Cisitalia Abarth, as well as an ex-Alan Jones Shadow F1, an ex-Michael Schumacher Ferrari and the ex-Graham Hill Lotus 56 Turbine are "attention getters," and part of his strategy to build the Motostalgia brand. Again, the value of history and racing are part of the equation.

"We are trying to carve our market niche with vintage racing," Brunet says. "The cars are art in motion, and racing them is the epitome of exercising them. The 1920s and '30s pre-war cars like the Bugattis, Alfas and Mercedes are phenomenal. Sometimes the history of the car, the human connection of who drove it, who designed it or just the machine's historical context is what makes it truly valuable."

Brunet's enthusiasm for automobile and racing history does not mean he doesn't appreciate 21st century realities, especially the role of technology in reaching and serving customers. Motostalgia is active on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. They are the first auction house to provide 360 virtual inspection, allowing prospective customers to "open doors and hoods" online.

"We have a young team and we want to appeal to a younger demographic." Brunet says. "We want to have fun through innovation and collaboration and tech is important to that."

The online channel also allows Motostalgia to position to the market segment for cars less than $150,000 because the efficiency of the process reduces overhead. One example Brunet cites is a 1970 Datsun 240Z that sold for $41,000. It was a record price for the model and made business sense because selling online circumvented the costs associated with taking a lower margin car to a physical auction.

At COTA, Motostalgia is staging a two-day auction of 150 cars. On Friday 75 American cars, many from the renowned Charlie Thomas collection, will be made available. On Saturday 75 additional cars will hit the block presenting a mix of international and American makes. Motostalgia will also support a car show in the paddock, complete with awards and a recognition lap around the race course. The company also touts its full customer service ethic by providing, among other things, meals, drinks and VIP tables.

"We are honored to be a part of SVRA events," Brunet says. "We think we are on to something with our positioning around vintage racing and history as well as our price points. We also believe that we are an important part of the festival feel Tony Parella is trying to create at SVRA. We certainly hope visitors to the track think so."