While the team behind CarExpert has been shaking things up in the automotive space since kicking off CarAdvice in 2006, Collecting Cars has been turning the online auction world on its head from the moment it launched in 2019.
Enthusiasts and punters alike will likely know Chris Harris from those outrageous drift scenes on YouTube, his self-diagnosed Porsche 911 GT3 fetish, and almost eight seasons as co-host of the world’s most successful car show; Top Gear.
Collecting Cars founder Edward Lovett is from dyed-in-the-wool British car dealer royalty, working for the high-end Dick Lovett brand of dealerships for no less than 20 years. The perfect apprenticeship to start an online car auction platform, as it turns out.
There are other links between these two automotive brands, including popular YouTube channels and podcasts that made this opportunity for CarExpert and Collecting Cars to sit down and chat about all things cars almost inevitable.
Chris Harris has been a global YouTube sensation ever since he started sliding around supercars on his own YouTube channel, Chris Harris on Cars – but now it’s all about Collecting Cars and its rapid rise around the globe including Australia and New Zealand.
That’s the reason Harris and Lovett were down under for this exclusive podcast opportunity in Sydney.
The finale of the trip was the Collecting Cars ‘Coffee Run’ at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, where more than 2000 cars gathered along with thousands of like-minded enthusiasts of all ages.
They got to mingle with Harris and Lovett for an event that eclipsed anything that’s come before it in the coffee and cars space locally.
The collection of cars included scores of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and precious metal from all eras, but also plenty of world-class collectables including at two McLaren Senna models… with at least one owner allowing a punter to get behind the wheel for a selfie.
Also on display was the even rarer McLaren Senna GTR; a track-only model with just 664km on the clock and one of just 75 ever built.
It’s actually listed on Collecting Cars’ latest product called Private Sales, for collectables with a price tag north of one-million dollars and sold on consignment.
While Harris and Lovett were out here, the Australian seller was happy enough to allow Chris behind the wheel of this particular Senna at Sydney Motorsport Park.
There was more good news for the Private Sales team when a Ferrari F50 was sold to another Aussie buyer for just under £3,000,000.
One of the Aussie specials sold on Collecting Cars
There’ll be more of these Coffee Runs in the future, given Collecting Cars hosts more than 60 car culture events annually, boasting more than 120,000 registered members across more than 100 countries.
It’s also no surprise the best-selling brand on the platform is Porsche, notching more than 2000 lots sold since launch. Of those, more than 1400 have been 911s dating back to the 1960s.
Two of CarExpert’s founders, Alborz Fallah and Anthony Crawford, sat down with Chris Harris and Edward Lovett to chat about how they even came up with the Collecting Cars name, to their best drive ever, to Harris’s most embarrassing moments behind the wheel. And a whole lot more in between.
Enjoy the podcast.
