As you’d expect from any ad asking for six figures for a replica of an old car, the listing for this American Speed ’33 Ford is written entirely in all caps. The seller seems to think he’s doing us all a favor on the price here, saying the car was appraised in 2014 at $185,000 and can’t be replicated for less than $250,000. By these measures, $145,000 is theft.
But, there is still our most basic law of capitalism to consider here: supply and demand. This seller has the supply, but the demand for these big budget replicas must be incredibly down. The appeal of these old hot-rods is early tuner culture, people buy any cheap two-door they could get their hands on it and fix it to win street races. When you spend six figures on having a professional replicate the aesthetics of that era, plus a bunch of modern equipment, you’ve strayed from the spirit that made hot rods interesting in the first place. Sure, the aesthetics of classic roadsters and chop-top coupes are neat, but I wouldn’t open any doors to buy one at this price.