Is FCA Taking Away Our Restorations with ‘Reloaded by Creators’ Program?

Barn Finds. The holy grail of the classic car searcher is already quickly becoming a thing of the past. Now, OEMs are going to make it even more difficult.

FCA Heritage recently announced that it is launching a “Reloaded by Creators” program, which will purchase classic FCA vehicles, restore them and sell them to consumers. While cool in concept that you can get OEM level restoration to bring classics fully back to their prime, it also means that the brand will be stepping up its search team to find these cars in the first place, making it even more difficult for individuals. And to some degree, it could impact the independent restoration market as well.

“The sums raised will then be used to finance new scouting activities to add important new pieces to FCA’s historic collection,” FCA said in a press release.

‘Scouting activities’ being the key word there – FCA is now after our hidden gems!

All in all, the product of this activity might be better than the concern about less barn finds for the rest of us. After all, how many of us were really out there actively looking? Maybe just having some of these restos done correctly is worth it.

As for the autos the brand will focus on first, they will be: 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ, 1959 Lancia Appia Coupe, 1981 Spidereuropa Pininfarina, 1973 Lancia Fulvia Coupé Montecarlo, and 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider.