THE SHIFT Stories from Car Culture
THE ART OF COLLECTING
Florian Seidl on significance, provenance, and why great
collections are built with conviction rather than trends.
By Nuno Di Franco
Founder, KINGSHIFT
Featuring Florian Seidl
Founder of Carficionado
What Makes a Collection?
“The question is never ‘How many cars do you own?’ The question is ‘What are you trying to preserve?’
Most people own cars. Very few build collections.
“A garage full of cars is usually the result of opportunity. A collection is the result of intention.”
The great collections Florian Seidl has encountered all tell a coherent story. They may revolve around engineering milestones, a particular marque, motorsport history, design movements, a specific period of automotive culture, or even a personal desire, such as owning an ancestor’s vehicles.
“A collection should have a narrative. Every car in it should ideally justify why the one next to it is there as well.”
When meeting a client for the first time, Seidl rarely begins with automobiles.
“What inspires them? What memories shaped their automotive passion? What legacy do they want to create?”
Only after understanding those motivations does the conversation move to cars. And perhaps his most memorable observation:
“We speak about modern art, but with mostly dead artists.”
Florian Seidl, Founder of Carficionado
Conviction Over Trends
If there is one mistake Seidl sees repeatedly, it is following trends.
“The market rewards conviction over imitation.”
Too many collectors buy what everyone else is buying at exactly the same moment.
By then, the opportunity often belongs to the previous owner. Another mistake is focusing on quantity rather than significance.
“A collection of ten extraordinary cars will always outperform a collection of fifty average ones, financially, culturally and emotionally.”
Asked what qualifies a car for a significant collection, Seidl points to historical relevance, authenticity and emotional
resonance.
“Historical relevance determines whether the car matters. Authenticity determines whether it survives scrutiny. Emotional resonance determines whether it will still matter twenty years from now.”
Then he adds a fourth criterion:
“It must be madly beautiful and ideally breathtakingly exciting to drive.”
Shelby Cobra during Motorsport Rendezvous at "El Paradiso" in St.Moritz
When the Story Becomes the Value
In the upper tiers of collecting, provenance becomes inseparable from value.
“A Ferrari is one thing.
A Ferrari driven by a world champion, documented from new and preserved by notable custodians
becomes an entirely different asset.”
The story transforms the object. In some cases, provenance contributes more to value than specification.
Seidl points to an early Shelby Cobra currently offered through Carficionado, driven by Steve McQueen, Ronald Reagan, Carroll Shelby himself and Ken Miles, among others.
“That is what I call a cool story. When I see that snake, I can feel them whisper in my ear.”
Collecting, he argues, is not about consensus.
“A great car does not become greater because everybody wants it.”
Yellow Series 1 Diablo RWD - The wild original postercar
The Last of Their Kind
Looking back, Seidl believes the market still underestimates many cars from the late 1980s and 1990s.
That period produced extraordinary analogue engineering before digital intervention fundamentally changed the driving experience. Cars such as the early Lamborghini Diablo, Aston Martin V8 Zagato, BMW Alpina B10 and certain homologation specials remain surprisingly attractive through a long-term collector lens.
“In that period you can buy your heroes. They won’t disappoint you.”
What will future collectors pursue?
“The last analog cars. The last naturally aspirated cars. The last manual-transmission cars.”
Future collectors will seek milestones marking the end of an era.
“The end of a technology often becomes more collectible than its beginning.”
Porsche 550 during Villa D'Este
Preserving History
Many people see collecting as an investment.
Others see it as passion.
For Seidl, the ideal acquisition sits at the intersection of passion and scarcity.
“If you buy solely with emotion, you risk overpaying. If you buy solely as an investor, you remove the reason for collecting in the first place.”
At Carficionado they often say: “Passion should initiate the purchase, but discipline should determine the price.”
Collectors, however, play a role far greater than ownership.
“Collectors are custodians of industrial and cultural history.”
Museums play an important role, but many of the world's most significant automobiles survive because private collectors invested enormous resources into preserving them.
“The responsibility of a real collector extends beyond ownership.”
It includes documentation, restoration, research and sharing these cars with future generations.
“Just hiding them in garages does not do justice to the object.”
Jaguar D Type during Mille Miglia
For a Brief Moment
Asked for a final piece of advice, Seidl returns to the idea that runs through every great collection.
“Collect significance and develop your own taste. Do not overrate popularity, because markets
change. True significance endures.”
The greatest collections are rarely assembled quickly. They emerge over decades through patience, relationships and trust. Often the finest automobiles never reach the open market. They move quietly between custodians who understand their significance.
Then comes the philosophy that perhaps best defines the collector's mindset:
“Great collectors understand that some automobiles transcend ownership.”
“For a brief period, we merely become their custodians.”
And if there is one car Florian Seidl would never sell? Not a Ferrari. Not a Lamborghini. His father's Maserati Ghibli 4.7.
“It is kind of sacred to me.”
Shelby Cobra during Salon Prive
