Andrew Francis on the fine line between decorative racing artefacts and true collectibles

There’s been a noticeable rise in recent years in upcycled, recycled or reimagined racing items, such as grand prix brake discs being turned into wall clocks or used wheels into tables. These items are often lovely as a thing, but do they cut it as investment items?

Originality is king. When you take something like a brake disc or an engine component and change its usage entirely it loses all originality. It’s a piece for a man (or woman) cave… something to spark a talking point, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’ll appreciate, as value runs deeper than a certificate of authenticity.

Items such as this also suffer from a situational disconnect. Brake discs, above – signed by Ralf Schumacher & Jarno Trulli in 2005, pistons, wheel nuts and such are disposable and you can’t see them trackside. You can’t photo-match a brake disc from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes from the 2014 British GP. It’s cool to have a repurposed item and enjoy it but it’s unlikely to become an investment piece as it falls between a collectible and decorative item.

There are few occasions of adding value. Sir Jackie Stewart still owns his world-title winning Tyrrells and Stewart GP cars, and along with them he has crated spare Cosworth DFV engines because he knows one day one of those will go bang and need replacing. Should you take that wrecked engine and turn it into a coffee table? You’re adding value by saving it from the bin and if you can also prove it came out of a title-winning car, then you have a link and with it a value. Then there’s original bodywork, particularly race-used, which is sought-after. Race-used items have the visual connection to a time and place.

If you’re after something to pep up your space, go for it. But remember that originality will always trump novelty when it comes to value.

Andrew Francis is director at The Signature Store. thesignaturestore.co.uk

Boys Get Sad Too Racing Car T-shirt

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£30, boysgetsadtoo.com

Displate BMW M3 Gt3 Art

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£POA, bentleymotors.com

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