Mopar Boy
Enthusiast
Had an email story come through my inbox from the Viper auctioneer and I am astounded. Heck, I am surprised no one has offered to buy the damn thing from them considering the history and media coverage this car has behind it!
Anyways, figured I would share the story as it is likely unknown by most of the Viper community. Read this:
Copy paste….
One of A Kind Car With No Place to Go
This past May Sergio Machionne, President and CEO of Chrysler Corporation, donated a 2013 SRT Viper GTS to a philanthropic organization that was honoring him in Washington D.C. The car is rare, actually a one-off model specially designed by SRT CEO Ralph Gilles, for the Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF). It’s pearl white exterior will be the only one produced in that color this year, and it features specially made wheels, hood and leather interior accented in the Italian colors of red, white and green. The car is truly stunning, a tasteful tribute to Italian flare for beauty and fashion.
It also is the most powerful Italian American automobile ever made in the United States, with 640 horse power. Never to be replicated. One of a kind. Marchionne’s personal salute to his heritage and the vast Italian American community of an estimated 26 million.
Marchionne and Chrysler donated the car to the SIF, an established non-profit philanthropy that has given more than $127 million to medical research, international relief efforts, cultural preservation and veterans causes. The SIF is the philanthropic arm of the 108 year old Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA ), a venerable organization that has been warmly embraced and touted by every U.S. President since Woodrow Wilson. The plan was to auction the car off with all proceeds being applied to the institution’s charitable interests. This past January, another one-off 2013 SRT Viper had sold at a Barrett Jackson auction in Los Angeles, CA, for $300,000, with proceeds going to the Austin-Hatcher Foundation in Chattanooga, TN.
Things were certainly looking promising for the many worthwhile charities supported by the SIF. The Gary Sinise Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding the lives of severely wounded U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, was anticipating a huge windfall from the SIF. As was the National Museum of the United States Army, championed by its chairman, actor Joe Mantegna. The Dough Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, which received $70,000 from the SIF this past August looked forward to 2014 donations, as did the Alzheimer’s Association ($80,000.00 in August), and the Cooleys Anemia Foundation ($110,000.00) in August).
Hopes soared at the beginning, with optimistic talk of a “One Million Dollar Car” , whose sale would help fund SIF campaigns against Alzheimer’s, Thalessemia, Autism, Cancer, deafness, and the wounds of war. Such an amount would represent the largest single donation ever to this storied philanthropic and patriotic organization during its 108 years.
“But that was then,” says SIF CEO Dr. Philip R. Piccigallo, “before we were able to grasp and understand the complexities and vagaries of the luxury automobile auction environment.” “Things are not always what they seem, and the last seven months have presented a myriad of obstacles and hoop-jumping that most non-profits are unaccustomed to,” he added.
Since the car’s donation in May, and with the assistance of Chrysler, Piccigallo has worked tirelessly to find an appropriate venue to auction the car. The car was shown at the Concourse at Pebble Beach this Summer. To considerable praise and raves. Nevertheless, the luxury automobile auction market, he soon found, is dominated by a few nationally known firms, who generally control the dates, locations and rules of engagement. It is not easy to navigate or transcend those formidable guideposts, Piccigallo has discovered. While many auto auction venues appear online, only a relative few handle high end items : among them, RM Auctions, Adesa, Gooding and Company. Undoubtedly, the dean of U.S. auto auctions is previously mentioned Barrett-Jackson, which conducts year round events in Palm Beach, FL, Reno, NV, Las Vegas, NV, and the most well known, in Scottsdale , AZ, in January.
To date, notwithstanding SIF’s energetic and accommodating efforts to gain entrance to one of these venues, all has failed. Barrett Jackson will handle the car, but only as a for profit dealer-based transaction, which would seriously devalue the car by negating the strong incentive of a large tax exemption for any buyer who paid beyond the Book Value of the car. IRS guidelines for auctions provide full tax deductibility for a charitable item above and beyond the established book value. A generous donor would therefore reap a significant tax exemption from the Viper’s purchase.
“The problem for non-profits,” explains Piccigallo, “is that each auction varies in its consignment requirements and inventory.” Some handle only Classic cars, others celebrity cars, others specially made models. All auction houses seek to limit the number of non-commissionable charity items to be auctioned, “because, and understandably so, they are in the business to make money and profits.” “There’s only so much ‘good will’ that a for profit enterprise will take on,” he acknowledges. The SIF has offered to pay the auction firm a commission on the sale, if that is what is required to auction the car.
Still, this leaves a non-profit foundation with a perplexing problem: What to do with an extremely rare – one of a kind, never to be replicated -- expensive (Book Value: $139,000) Super Powerful Car? One that might cost as much as $35,000 or more annually just to store and maintain properly. (Fortunately, Chrysler has generously covered these expenses to date for the SIF.).
Piccigallo worries that, ultimately, the car will not garner the high price it so richly deserves. He sometimes wonders if it will sell at all and, if so, where and when. “We are not talking about something easily transported or kept,” he admonishes. “We cannot park it in front of our SIF Headquarters building on Capitol Hill. We are a highly respected and well known philanthropic institution , not a car dealership.” He worries mostly, however, about the many worthy charitable causes that may not receive their annual largess from the SIF because funds to be given out next year were to derive from sale of the SRT Viper GTS.
Piccigallo attended a veterans event at Walter Read Medical Center this past June, where a customized Chrysler SUV was donated to a severely wounded veteran and his family. Noting the several additional multi-amputees that day, he vowed that, “when the Viper sells big, the SIF will get them all similar vehicles so they and their families can live more normal lives.” Now he has doubts.
Check out video of 2013 SRT Viper at Pebble Beach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNEt0yCSeM
Pictures of the car:
Anyways, figured I would share the story as it is likely unknown by most of the Viper community. Read this:
Copy paste….
One of A Kind Car With No Place to Go
This past May Sergio Machionne, President and CEO of Chrysler Corporation, donated a 2013 SRT Viper GTS to a philanthropic organization that was honoring him in Washington D.C. The car is rare, actually a one-off model specially designed by SRT CEO Ralph Gilles, for the Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF). It’s pearl white exterior will be the only one produced in that color this year, and it features specially made wheels, hood and leather interior accented in the Italian colors of red, white and green. The car is truly stunning, a tasteful tribute to Italian flare for beauty and fashion.
It also is the most powerful Italian American automobile ever made in the United States, with 640 horse power. Never to be replicated. One of a kind. Marchionne’s personal salute to his heritage and the vast Italian American community of an estimated 26 million.
Marchionne and Chrysler donated the car to the SIF, an established non-profit philanthropy that has given more than $127 million to medical research, international relief efforts, cultural preservation and veterans causes. The SIF is the philanthropic arm of the 108 year old Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA ), a venerable organization that has been warmly embraced and touted by every U.S. President since Woodrow Wilson. The plan was to auction the car off with all proceeds being applied to the institution’s charitable interests. This past January, another one-off 2013 SRT Viper had sold at a Barrett Jackson auction in Los Angeles, CA, for $300,000, with proceeds going to the Austin-Hatcher Foundation in Chattanooga, TN.
Things were certainly looking promising for the many worthwhile charities supported by the SIF. The Gary Sinise Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding the lives of severely wounded U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, was anticipating a huge windfall from the SIF. As was the National Museum of the United States Army, championed by its chairman, actor Joe Mantegna. The Dough Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, which received $70,000 from the SIF this past August looked forward to 2014 donations, as did the Alzheimer’s Association ($80,000.00 in August), and the Cooleys Anemia Foundation ($110,000.00) in August).
Hopes soared at the beginning, with optimistic talk of a “One Million Dollar Car” , whose sale would help fund SIF campaigns against Alzheimer’s, Thalessemia, Autism, Cancer, deafness, and the wounds of war. Such an amount would represent the largest single donation ever to this storied philanthropic and patriotic organization during its 108 years.
“But that was then,” says SIF CEO Dr. Philip R. Piccigallo, “before we were able to grasp and understand the complexities and vagaries of the luxury automobile auction environment.” “Things are not always what they seem, and the last seven months have presented a myriad of obstacles and hoop-jumping that most non-profits are unaccustomed to,” he added.
Since the car’s donation in May, and with the assistance of Chrysler, Piccigallo has worked tirelessly to find an appropriate venue to auction the car. The car was shown at the Concourse at Pebble Beach this Summer. To considerable praise and raves. Nevertheless, the luxury automobile auction market, he soon found, is dominated by a few nationally known firms, who generally control the dates, locations and rules of engagement. It is not easy to navigate or transcend those formidable guideposts, Piccigallo has discovered. While many auto auction venues appear online, only a relative few handle high end items : among them, RM Auctions, Adesa, Gooding and Company. Undoubtedly, the dean of U.S. auto auctions is previously mentioned Barrett-Jackson, which conducts year round events in Palm Beach, FL, Reno, NV, Las Vegas, NV, and the most well known, in Scottsdale , AZ, in January.
To date, notwithstanding SIF’s energetic and accommodating efforts to gain entrance to one of these venues, all has failed. Barrett Jackson will handle the car, but only as a for profit dealer-based transaction, which would seriously devalue the car by negating the strong incentive of a large tax exemption for any buyer who paid beyond the Book Value of the car. IRS guidelines for auctions provide full tax deductibility for a charitable item above and beyond the established book value. A generous donor would therefore reap a significant tax exemption from the Viper’s purchase.
“The problem for non-profits,” explains Piccigallo, “is that each auction varies in its consignment requirements and inventory.” Some handle only Classic cars, others celebrity cars, others specially made models. All auction houses seek to limit the number of non-commissionable charity items to be auctioned, “because, and understandably so, they are in the business to make money and profits.” “There’s only so much ‘good will’ that a for profit enterprise will take on,” he acknowledges. The SIF has offered to pay the auction firm a commission on the sale, if that is what is required to auction the car.
Still, this leaves a non-profit foundation with a perplexing problem: What to do with an extremely rare – one of a kind, never to be replicated -- expensive (Book Value: $139,000) Super Powerful Car? One that might cost as much as $35,000 or more annually just to store and maintain properly. (Fortunately, Chrysler has generously covered these expenses to date for the SIF.).
Piccigallo worries that, ultimately, the car will not garner the high price it so richly deserves. He sometimes wonders if it will sell at all and, if so, where and when. “We are not talking about something easily transported or kept,” he admonishes. “We cannot park it in front of our SIF Headquarters building on Capitol Hill. We are a highly respected and well known philanthropic institution , not a car dealership.” He worries mostly, however, about the many worthy charitable causes that may not receive their annual largess from the SIF because funds to be given out next year were to derive from sale of the SRT Viper GTS.
Piccigallo attended a veterans event at Walter Read Medical Center this past June, where a customized Chrysler SUV was donated to a severely wounded veteran and his family. Noting the several additional multi-amputees that day, he vowed that, “when the Viper sells big, the SIF will get them all similar vehicles so they and their families can live more normal lives.” Now he has doubts.
Check out video of 2013 SRT Viper at Pebble Beach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNEt0yCSeM
Pictures of the car:
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I thought the same! This isn't a Ferrari!
