You Know You Want to Own David Cameron's Fiat 500

01 November 2012

We know David Cameron gets red in the face when he's upset, but is his bank account getting a little red as well? After all, how else do explain selling a birthday present that you got for your wife. All joking aside, for whatever reason, this piece of UK political history is actually up for sale, and you can stake your claim at an auction in Birmingham on November 17th.

The couple only actually drove the car about 1,000 miles over the ten years they owned it. Apparently, it wasn't the best gift ever (okay, maybe not all joking aside). But that's good news for the next owner. You are not going to find a lot of 1971 Fiat 500 Ls with only 13,000 total miles on it. This is great for any car collector whether they give a hoot about the political clout of the previous owner or not.

If owning a vehicle previously driven by the youngest Prime Minister the UK has had in nearly 200 years is a draw for you, then you will be happy to know that Mr. Cameron signed a piece of House of Commons letterhead to prove the authenticity.

The vehicle was fully restored in 2010, and is a model of Fiat which was only produced for a few years from 1968 till 1972. It's an L model (standing for lusso in Italian or luxury in English). That makes it a comfy car that was well ahead of its time.

Reportedly the 2 cylinder 499cc engine is still in good working order, so if you want to drive it around, unlike the previous owner, you shouldn't have any problems. It is expected to sell for anywhere between 8,000 and 12,000 pounds so you have to really want it (but no where near as much as you would have had to want that old Mk2 Volkswagen Golf that went for over 100K on eBay recently).

Obviously, if you are just looking for a new car, you can pick up a brand new Fiat at a comparable price. But if you want a running classic with some history, give this auction a try.

Hopefully, Mr. Cameron has gotten better at selecting birthday presents for his wife, Samantha. If she likes to cycle as much as he does, maybe a bike will be a better (and less expensive) choice for next year.