Market For Dorm Room Wall Poster Cars Explodes
One of the most visible signs of the generational shift in car collecting is the fact that the cars that were the subjects of the most popular dorm room wall posters of the 1980s are rapidly rising in value. Here are four of our favorite dorm room poster cars:
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Lamborghini Countach: Perhaps the most iconic automotive dorm room wall poster — the red Lamborghini Countach poster that reads: “Body by Lamborghini. High fidelity by Alpine.” — just turned 30, which means that the 18-year-old punks who Scotch-Taped it to their dorm room walls freshman year are now pushing 50 and flush with disposable income. This could explain the recent vertical rise in Countach prices; they’ve roughly tripled in value over the last three years.
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Porsche 911SC Targa: One of my personal favorites (and one that I own) was a photographed by Steve Steigman, whose best-known previous work was titled “Blown Away.” It depicts a sunglasses-wearing dude sitting in a very stylish chair while being buffeted by Category Five-level sound waves from his giant 1980s-era stereo speakers. His next work showed the same guy in his Porsche 911SC Targa with an angelic light — emanating presumably from the car stereo — levitating the Targa roof off of the car. Maxell, the high-end cassette tape-maker, incorporated both images in its advertising. Good examples of the 911SC have nearly doubled in value over the last two years. Cars that were high-teens are now mid-30s and still climbing.
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Ferrari Testarossa: The Testarossa was the supercar for the Miami Vice generation. But when Crockett and Tubbs went away, TRs became about as fashionable as white unconstructed blazers and Beltrami slacks. Today, these cars are enjoying a resurgence in popularity with collectors who value them as Ferrari’s last mid-engine 12-cylinder car until the F50. So, the days of nice $50 grand TRs are over. We loved the iconic poster of the Testarossa by itself on a black background and as part of the garage collection for the famous “Justification for Higher Education” poster (earlier versions of the iconic car poster featured a Ferrari 512 BB).
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Porsche 928: Eighties films were chock full of 928s, the car that was supposed to replace the 911. In “Risky Business,” Tom Cruise as North Shore preppy pimp Joel Goodson put his dad’s car into Lake Michigan, prompting the classic line from the Porsche service manager asking, “Which one of you is the U-boat commander?” Al Pacino as psychopath Tony Montana in Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” moved up to a 928 after assassinating his mentor Frank Lopez. The 928 is also featured in the fantasy garage in the above-referenced “Justification” poster. Late high-horsepower 928 GTS models are hot commodities now in the Porsche world, bringing upwards of $70,000.
