Countach in Oman or Qatar?

You are wrong, there is a lot of interest around classic Italian in the Gulf but you hardly (well... never) see them on the streets. In private collections, many owners do not want their cars to be seen at all, and if they do, they take them out once or twice per year on display during classic car events. Kind of sad, but that's the mentality.

 

Pav is 100% correct...

There are HUGE collections in private hands, at least here in Kuwait, that never see the light of day...

Mike

 

they must be in mint condition

 

Those I have been fortunate enough to see aren't 'showroom' perfect, but in damn good shape...

Mike

 

Sultan Qaboos swings the other way, if you know what I mean. He has a penchant for rewarding his favourite bodyguards with exotic cars. I saw a pink Testarossa there in the early 90's that was a gift to such a bodyguard, and a friend of mine was given a ride in a gold Countach that also belonged to another bodyguard to the Sultan. Bodyguard has several meanings in Oman, I guess, depending on whose body is being guarded by who and with what intent.

I have also heard that one of his close advisors/ministers is far richer than him, but has to keep a low profile and always reports his wealth in order to let the Sultan be higher on the lists. He is rumoured to have a fabulous, fabulous collection.

I know one of the super-rich Indian families that have been there for decades. They owned a lot of exotics, but one of the sons put himself in a coma by crashing his 355...they kept him on life-support in Switzerland for a while then pulled the plug. I think they got rid of the cars after that.

You could get lucky, or you could get lucky in a way you might not like. ;-)

 

Or if you are really lucky you can find a CT for a good price. I bought two CT here, one with 1100 km on it which was parked in someone's basement and another which had been abandoned in the desert for some years.

I know of at least 2 more dead ones sitting around, but as I seem to be always trying to buy another one I will keep the locations to myself.

A bit hot for it now, but if you find yourself in Dubai in the cooler weather we should go for a drive.

The older exotics I see have one thing in common - deferred maintenance (and usually low mileage). Not because the owners cannot afford the work or don't appreciate the cars, but because there is nobody here qualified to do it and sending your cars to Italy for a service when you own 10 of them is not practical. Easier to park it and buy another one.