Future classics

[DSdriver]

8 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Also - are there any electric convertibles being made? The po-faced who drive electric eschew pleasure of any type. 😂

I may be wrong but are all the convertibles currently being made the rigid top type?

[motorpunk]

You could draw a Venn diagram covering 4 things; age (cars that today's middle class 40-50 yo's loved as kids and can now finally afford, 306GTi and so on), scarcity (cars that were unpopular new are massively appealing now, eg; Cit C6 etc), innovation (technical or styling, eg; BMW i3) and price trajectory (easy to justify buying that late Rover Mini knowing prices are going up). Anything like performance, motorsport heritage, kerb appeal etc are a bonus. Anything already expensive and/or too old to appeal to the people above will be harder to sell and not make as much sense. Bodystyles that will not be continued must be worth a look, big, posh estates, for example. Anyway, that's my formula.

Anything Lotus is going mental.

[DSdriver]

10 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

In France even the original DS is not so valuable...

This may be a cultural thing, the DS being a bourgeois method of transport. The sort of people who like old cars are more beholden to old Peugeots and Renaults. The DS has a large following in Germany and the Netherlands though.

[mk2_craig]

9 hours ago, DSdriver said:

I may be wrong but are all the convertibles currently being made the rigid top type?

In answer to both questions, I heard the other week that Bini are doing a very short run of electric convertibles before they stop building the current shape. Something like 50 examples.

Edit. 150

https://www.mini.co.uk/en_GB/home/mini-editions/electric-convertible.html

Fack though! 52 large 

 

[martc]

An MG6, or for the smaller barn, an MG3.

Will raise a few eyebrows in 50 years time.

[egg]

Here's some maybes from me

• Fiat Multipla MK1
• New Fiat Panda
• Original unrestored late 2CVs (sorry Elly)
• Citroen AX
• Ford Probe (yeah, really)
• Vauxhall Calibra
• Bubble Rover 200/25
• 'Sporting' Corsa B's

 

[EyesWeldedShut]

3 hours ago, motorpunk said:

Bodystyles that will not be continued must be worth a look, big, posh estates, for example.

Big Jaguar estates have a morbid fascination for me but I cannot see that their foibles will let many of them get to the sort of age where they'll be a classic. Don't think anything Ovlov post 2000 is worthy of consideration there either.
Other than that - VW Corrado or latest incarnation of the Sirocco for something newer. Xantia age/type PSA stuff maybe for me but not everybody.
Subarus would be on my list but they seem to be decaying at alarming rates around here.

 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, martc said:

An MG6, or for the smaller barn, an MG3.

Will raise a few eyebrows in 50 years time.

I’d doubt it, they tend to be sought out by those in the present day that don’t have any interest in cars or the elderly. It would definitely be a curiosity but I’d not be staking my pension on an MG3 being worth the square root of bugger all in 20 years. 

[egg]

20 hours ago, Soundwave said:

Ford Puma, especially the 1.7.

That's a racing certainty IMHO, if you'll pardon the pun - especially a mint Millenium, Black or Thunder.

edit, already too late

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306058162519

[quicksilver]

I think these might be contenders:

Lexus IS/GS/LS - a lot have been banger raced and gone the way of the Granada.

Saxo VTR/VTS - most were trashed by the Max Power brigade. Maybe even ordinary Saxos as so many had them as their first car.

Laguna II - they're all dying of Frenchness.

Zafira, Picasso, Scenic etc. - not many will survive family duties with messy kids ruining the inside and school run bumps and scrapes ruining the outside.

(maybe wishful thinking because we own one) Mk1 Mondeo - now a defunct model name and look what's happened to Sierra values recently.

[Nullzwei]

Anything that runs on veg oil because at some point in the future officialdom may recognise them as carbon neutral vehicles. Because bio fuels release the carbon they absorbed during their growth.

[EyesWeldedShut]

54 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I’d doubt it, they tend to be sought out by those in the present day that don’t have any interest in cars or the elderly. It would definitely be a curiosity but I’d not be staking my pension on an MG3 being worth the square root of bugger all in 20 years. 

Just wondering if I should take you up on a bet here ... not sure I'll be around in 20 years if I won though.
Which MBs then?
I'd fancy 2000 era CLKs.
Possible ML of the same age.
Out of mischief - 1996 SingSong Musso, so ugly but cute.

 

2 hours ago, mk2_craig said:

Fack though! 52 large 

Being married to a convicted, now out on parole Bini Licker - I don't think any of them, other than the early JCW, could count as a future classic - same as Fiat 500s - just the Abarth there.

[motorpunk]

2 hours ago, martc said:

An MG6, or for the smaller barn, an MG3.

Will raise a few eyebrows in 50 years time.

Only on a future version of Autoshite. Rovers, even good ones, are worth feck all. Look at the 75, 620, P6 etc, even SD1s seem undervalued to me (but not to normal people), I reckon. 

[sierraman]

46 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

I think these might be contenders:

Lexus IS/GS/LS - a lot have been banger raced and gone the way of the Granada.

Saxo VTR/VTS - most were trashed by the Max Power brigade. Maybe even ordinary Saxos as so many had them as their first car.

Laguna II - they're all dying of Frenchness.

Zafira, Picasso, Scenic etc. - not many will survive family duties with messy kids ruining the inside and school run bumps and scrapes ruining the outside.

(maybe wishful thinking because we own one) Mk1 Mondeo - now a defunct model name and look what's happened to Sierra values recently.

Nobody will want to look back on that time they had to chop the car in for the Zafira. A really dark time when you stopped looking after yourself, wearing those washed out jumpers and eating at Hungry Horse pubs. 

[motorpunk]

1 hour ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

 Don't think anything Ovlov post 2000, VW Corrado...
 

C30 T5 is a lovely thing, odd design, characterful engine, nice handling, I can see that being worth a (little) bit to someone in the future. Corrados have been 'future classics' for years already and are still peanuts. I'd still like one, mind. 

[Supernaut]

People have mentioned Saxos, yes.

What about Clios? Particularly the 172/182s? When they were cheap, so many of them got turned into track cars there can't be many unmolested ones left now.

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Only on a future version of Autoshite. Rovers, even good ones, are worth feck all. Look at the 75, 620, P6 etc, even SD1s seem undervalued to me (but not to normal people), I reckon. 

This one failed to reach a reserve price last month (got to £1880) half decent nick, 84K with the fiddly cambelt done in 2001. I was mildly interested as I'm not really* looking for a saloon. Vendor plainly wanted a bit more than that. Half decent looking hatches are £3.5K on C&C

I think I'd like to add the Rover Montego and the Rover 400 to the list too

 

[motorpunk]

7 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

This one failed to reach a reserve price last month (got to £1880) half decent nick, 84K with the fiddly cambelt done in 2001. I was mildly interested as I'm not really* looking for a saloon. Vendor plainly wanted a bit more than that. Half decent looking hatches are £3.5K on C&C

I think I'd like to add the Rover Montego and the Rover 400 to the list too

 

I'd love an 800 of some sort, the Coupe is a beauty. 

[RichardK]

[motorpunk]

17 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Saxos, Clios

These will be worth megabucks, if they're not knackered. Look at crap like the XR3i and RS Turbos and how much they fetch. I'd chuck in 106 GTi, 306 of any sort (elegant design, so nice to drive), ZX Volcane, even stuff like plain Vectra SRis will be worth a bit, watching how Cav SRis have gone. Calibras surely gonna be worth a lot more.  Working class aspirational stuff. 

[FakeConcern]

6 hours ago, Boycie said:

Anything with a rally history is worth tucking away 

 

I still have a Citroen C4 VTS which sort or won WRC a few times, I think they're great with proper quirky Citroen design inside and out despite the conventional suspension.

Mine is currently SORN and I'll need to decide if it's worth saving or not.

39 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

C30 T5 is a lovely thing, odd design, characterful engine, nice handling, I can see that being worth a (little) bit to someone in the future. Corrados have been 'future classics' for years already and are still peanuts. I'd still like one, mind. 

I also have a C30 T5 and I've seen at least 3 magazine articles claiming they are future classics like the P1800ES.

Here's one...

 

I've seen some sell this year for the same money as I paid for mine five years ago, but I'm not sure as the 480ES doesn't seem to be worth much.

I still love how they look and drive so won't be selling mine soon

 

[motorpunk]

1 minute ago, FakeConcern said:

I've seen some sell this year for the same money as I paid for mine five years ago, but I'm not sure as the 480ES doesn't seem to be worth much.

I still love how they look and drive so won't be selling mine soon

 

Good point on the 480, interesting parallel. Still, your car looks bloody awesome, regardless of what it's going to be worth.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Everything on my drive, about 6 months after I sell or scrap the fucker, obviously.

[inconsistant]

8 hours ago, motorpunk said:

You could draw a Venn diagram covering 4 things; age (cars that today's middle class 40-50 yo's loved as kids and can now finally afford, 306GTi and so on), scarcity (cars that were unpopular new are massively appealing now, eg; Cit C6 etc), innovation (technical or styling, eg; BMW i3) and price trajectory (easy to justify buying that late Rover Mini knowing prices are going up). Anything like performance, motorsport heritage, kerb appeal etc are a bonus. Anything already expensive and/or too old to appeal to the people above will be harder to sell and not make as much sense. Bodystyles that will not be continued must be worth a look, big, posh estates, for example. Anyway, that's my formula.

Anything Lotus is going mental.

I like your thinking. I don't really know any youngsters who follow motorsport so I don't think racing heritage will affect future car lust like it has for us older types. I think kerb appeal has transformed into social posting appeal now. Screen appeal? I think cars that are big (for utility) or small will be big future classics. I'll be filling my barn with Renault Espaces and Fiat 500s.

So in reply my Venn diagram of future classics would have circles called:

Looks...OMG that’s gorj/well jel/socials/likes/etc. Cars that just look great and are desirable to future classic owners.

Mini R50 YES Zafira NO Audi a2 NO Audi A1 YES

Nostalgia... mum or dad had one/learned to drive in one/running a car will be more based around utility especially in urban areas.

Honda Jazz YES Renault Scenic YES Ford CMax YES Fiat 500 YES

Computer games/teen wantage/young boy want machines/bolt on a turbo etc. I think this circle replaces motorsport heritage.

MR2 YES Mazda MX5 YES Honda S2000 YES Nissan 350Z YES Basically anything cheap and tunable from Grand Truismo/ Forza whatever.

Accessibility... what's cheap to insure/low tax/ulez or future local restriction exempt/light weight/ narrower than the future as yet unannounced car width tax, etc.

Wild card, who knows. Possibly Audi A2 or Smart Car.

 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

This one failed to reach a reserve price last month (got to £1880) half decent nick, 84K with the fiddly cambelt done in 2001. I was mildly interested as I'm not really* looking for a saloon. Vendor plainly wanted a bit more than that. Half decent looking hatches are £3.5K on C&C

I think I'd like to add the Rover Montego and the Rover 400 to the list too

 

2001 timing belt change? That’s hardly a selling point that 22 years ago someone did some basic servicing 😂

[lesapandre]

6 hours ago, DSdriver said:

This may be a cultural thing, the DS being a bourgeois method of transport. The sort of people who like old cars are more beholden to old Peugeots and Renaults. The DS has a large following in Germany and the Netherlands though.

Yes indeed - it is seen as bourgeois and 'establishment'. No surprise de Gaulle was a big user of them.

They are notwithstanding fantastic cars and are well worth buying. But...

The Citroën Traction Avant has a bigger following in France. They are really popular.

[lesapandre]

49 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I still have a Citroen C4 VTS which sort or won WRC a few times, I think they're great with proper quirky Citroen design inside and out despite the conventional suspension.

Mine is currently SORN and I'll need to decide if it's worth saving or not.

I also have a C30 T5 and I've seen at least 3 magazine articles claiming they are future classics like the P1800ES.

Here's one...

 

I've seen some sell this year for the same money as I paid for mine five years ago, but I'm not sure as the 480ES doesn't seem to be worth much.

I still love how they look and drive so won't be selling mine soon

 

If its a VTS I'd say worth saving.

[Asimo]

Proto Tesla, the electric roadster

 

and it’s antecedant the Elise. Especially the original K-power, aluminium brake disc, Renault 4 headlamp Mk1 incarnation.

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

2001 timing belt change? That’s hardly a selling point that 22 years ago someone did some basic servicing 😂

Typo 2021  

[Dyslexic Viking]

Sporty and fast Italian cars have always been sought after