I hope at some point, Tiger owners will embrace the price increase in our cars and related parts, manuals, etc. I have had many Shelby products and I view my Tiger as one of them. It is a very undervalued car in my opinion and every time we poke fun at a buyer for spending $80-$100,000 on one of these rare machines, we are only hurting ourselves as owners. It's time to "Get Smart" in a very different way and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Our arrogance can only lead to bad things. We do not know more than collectors and we prove it everytime we sell our cars too cheap. Why should a Sunbeam Tiger be cheaper than an AC Ford ??? Think about it. When Carroll passes on, and it happens to all of us, this car is one of his legacies and expect it to go up in value. A $3000 limited edition original Bible for the Tiger is not ridiculous in terms of a $100,000 potential car value. JMHO.
I agree that the more the cars are worth the more things like acurate repro parts become available, the more the demand to restore them correctly etc.. what i dont agree on is speculation.
The price of tigers is quite low for what they are (and trust me i have spent what many of you guys would consider way to much on mine when i had to purchase it from the USA in 2006 when our aussie $ was .73 USD.. with shipping and taxes i paid a very high price for the car.. but that was my only option... i get stomach aches now the AU$ is worth 1.01 USD!)
The issue in the case of this book is the "going" rate is about 1000-1500.. quite a lot for the book to be honest.. for it to suddenly almost tripple overnight for no reason and on a copy that is at the lower end of condition compared to many i have seen just doesnt sit right. I really believe something is wrong on this one..
As for the poking fun at the 80K car.. as i stated about that car.. 80K for a correct original tiger.. no problems.. 80K for one with a somewhat questionable restoration and many incorrect details is just not doing your homework..
Cars increasing at a steady rate because of appreciation of their qualities/rarity and enjoyment GREAT, cars suddenly taking off in value due to speculation from people who dont give a damn about the cars and dont care if its correct/bodged etc... well thats bad news for all of us..
Just my .02 .. which these days is worth .03 US!!