Patina vs Perfection: Should you restore your collection?

It’s not a new debate among collectors: “Should you restore your vintage collectible to as-new (or better than) condition, or celebrate the patina that can only be achieved through use and longevity?”

Particularly in the case of collector vehicles like cars and motorcycles, the question has never been more relevant. Last year, at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an unrestored 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports won, for the first time ever, the Best of Show award, marking the elevation of Preservation Class vehicles to the pinnacle of automotive collecting.

Preservation cars have appeared on the Pebble Beach show field for decades, and they have hosted formal classes for them since 2001. According to Concours Chairman Sandra Button, “This storied Bugatti, the first Type 59 built, is a rare factory race car that recorded multiple Grand Prix victories at the hands of several important racing greats—and it also has ties to royalty. Perhaps most importantly, it wears all of its history to this day, having been preserved in the livery it was given when redressed by King Leopold of Belgium.”

The car was presented by its owner, Fritz Burkard of The Pearl Collection in Zug, Switzerland, who said, “I’m so happy for the car, so happy for Bugatti. This car is incredible. It’s so much history—one of the most successful Bugattis in history—and to win with this car means a lot to me. First time a Swiss, first time a European wins, first time a preservation wins. It’s important that preservation also gets recognition, because a car can only be once original. And it drives so beautifully.”

It can only be original once? True, of course, but what does that really mean? Is it original on the day it rolls out of the factory, and from that day on, less and less original?  If that’s so, wouldn’t restoring it to as close to the car’s condition at the moment of its birth be best? Wouldn’t we want the car to best represent what the manufacturer intended and produced at that point in time?  

Or is “originality” something altogether different? Is originality, as represented by the Pebble Beach winner and other Preservation class vehicles, the sum total of the car as it originally left the factory, plus all of the accumulation of scratches, paint loss, oxidation, wear and tear, etc., that it displays at this particular moment in time — evidence of a life, or many lives, well lived and visible across its surface as testament to the experiences and memories that have been made by and with the object?

Whether you choose to undertake the effort of a full restoration, or the responsibility of maintaining your collectible classic in its current form, is ultimately up to you and your wishes and desires.  Perhaps you favor the pristine beauty and elegance of automotive perfection. Perhaps you cherish and wish to preserve every memory of adventures shared with the vehicle, friends and family, and treasure each mark as a key to unlock fond reverie.

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In either case, consider an ASSURIoT monitoring, tracking, and recovery device as part of your plans to protect and preserve your favorite possessions, for yourself, and for future generations.