A modified 1975 Chevrolet Nova, referred to as a “9/11 Memorial on Wheels,” is reportedly for sale for the asking price of — get this — $30 million. $30,000,000. Thirty million U.S. dollars.
The Nova has been air brushed with various scenes depicting the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. A full-page color ad in for the car in the November issue of Hemmings Motor News says the car has been signed by various senators and governors, and “has traveled across the U.S. reminding people of the tragedy that took place on 9/11/2001.”
There are no technical specifications or details on the Nova in the ad, but owner Richard Lopez does credit airbrush artists Fred Spargo, Jaime Rodriguez, Paul Collins and Nancy Garcia for the murals on the car. Lopez claims he built the car out of a “desire to educate children and parents across the United States by sharing this vehicle with each of them.”
According the Hemmings, top book value for a 1975 Nova is just over $9,000, with the average price being closer to $5,000. Lopez has not said if any of the $30 million will go towards charity.
“The price that I am asking cannot be compared to other cars that have sold for millions of dollars, as this 9/11 car has a place in history and will become more valuable with time, as it is a one of a kind,” Lopez said in the ad. We don’t consider using a national tragedy as financial leverage as the most noble way to make money, but if somebody is actually crazy (or stupid) enough to pay that much, then more power to the seller.
Comments
If he wanted that much he should have painted a SWB 250 GTO. That and got the rear axle centered in the rear wheel wells.
““The price that I am asking cannot be compared to other cars that have sold for millions of dollars, as this 9/11 car has a place in history and will become more valuable with time, as it is a one of a kind,”
It’s a “one of a kind” on the basis of a car that was mass produced nearly 40 years ago in the thousands, or because of the art work depicting a tragedy that claimed thousands of lives?
Either way, no old Nova is worth anything close to $30M regardless of what’s painted on it, the context of the artwork, or who painted it. The fact that the artwork summarizes a tragedy that is still seared into the minds of millions doesn’t make the car worth anything more than any other 9/11 art piece; that includes commemorative 9/11 coins, plates, stamps, books, movies, and that damn Enya song that was popular just about the time of the attack.
Is a Nova with a 9/11 paintjob worth $30M? No, and never. No paint job, no matter what the content, increases the value of a car 6000 times it’s fair market value.
Also, speaking as a non-American, anyone who tried to merch off of a national tragety by claiming that something they’ve commissioned is worth many millions of dollars, AND doesn’t offer any indication that the money would be used to supplement a charity that serves those affected by that tragety, should be removed from society.
I am an American and I agree.
This guy is nuts and to profit from the tragedy is just plain criminal.
Now if he wanted to offer this for charity to help those who lost much here that would be fine but I would not give him $3,000 let alone $30M for this.
I was at the Trade Center almost year to the day it happened and when it was going on I was thinking about the so many innocent people at the top who were there just trying to make a living at the restaurants. I gave them little hope of escape and that was before anything fell.
I hope this guy likes this car as I expect he will have it for a long time to come.