Future Car Icons!? Your Views??

Oracle

Oracle

Oracle

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Well following on from the thread about a chappie looking to swap his newish mundao for an '80s 325i Convertible, I kinda had to start thinking about what cars are on the roads TODAY which will be future classics and appreciate in value.

For instance, 40 years ago, would VW owners EVER have thought that in 40 years time you would pay upwards of £20k for a complete minter Split Screen Camper, or upwards of £10k for a similar aged restored Beetle!?

So, what cars do you think will be 'revived' in 30-40 years time and attract top dollar!?

Remember, the SS Camper (and even bay window) and beetle were 'mass' produced vehilces in their time, not one off sports cars!
 
But cars back then used to rot and, as supply decreases while demand rises, prices rocket.

To answer your question though, I think Audi A3s will be future classics. Does anyone want my wonderful example for, ooh, £10,000?
 
It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict this kind of thing as most new cars are homogenised, bland, shapeless euro-blobs.

Rewind 30 or 40 years and cars had an individual identity.

Furthermore, the modern reliance on electronics and safety-nets, combined with a culture telling us to use, consume and bin means that current cars will not last as long. You can keep a bug going with a handful of spanners. It needs 3 wires and some petrol to run...Not 5 miles of cable and enough electronics to control the space shuttle.

Newer cars are increasingly being engineered for people who are convinced that they need a new or nearly-new car and as a result of this, they're impossible to do any work on yourself and tend to rot or fall apart after 5-8 years.

*n
 
penski said:
...electronics and safety-nets...

...engineered for people who are convinced that they need a new or nearly-new car and as a result of this, they're impossible to do any work on yourself and tend to rot or fall apart after 5-8 years.
Click to expand...
Psst, wanna buy an Elise? £40k.
 
TBH, this is my view....cars nowadays like you both say are mass produced, I dont really think any particular model will outshine anything apart from maybe the odd collectors marque (could things like Focus RS, etc, be in this category?).

I would however (in 40 years time) like to see a car revived that I grew up with and say 'wow, if I only i'd kept it, or bought one.....'

My own personal view..........NOVA!! :D
 
Oracle said:
TBH, this is my view....cars nowadays like you both say are mass produced, I dont really think any particular model will outshine anything apart from maybe the odd collectors marque (could things like Focus RS, etc, be in this category?).

I would however (in 40 years time) like to see a car revived that I grew up with and say 'wow, if I only i'd kept it, or bought one.....'

My own personal view..........NOVA!! :D
Click to expand...


Nova, Corsa. Anything like that which is being bought en masse to rice up, will be somewhat of a classic. Just because unmodified original ones will be very hard to come by :p
 
Like the 80s BMWs, it'll be something totally unexpected and associated with old men rather than bad-boy Yardies.

I might start buying up Mondeos...
 
Since I first read about one I've thought the 172 Cup was going to be a future classic. Its why I bought one. Lack of electronic nannying make it more so, as does the fact that plenty of them get written off.

Unmodified ones are also a rarity too. I've not seen many.
 
Gilly said:
Since I first read about one I've thought the 172 Cup was going to be a future classic. Its why I bought one. Lack of electronic nannying make it more so, as does the fact that plenty of them get written off.

Unmodified ones are also a rarity too. I've not seen many.
Click to expand...

From a performance car perspective, I agree that cars without lots of electronic gizmos will be the ones most prefered because of the requirement for some skill.
A few come to mind:
- R5GTT as already mentioned. Awesome hot hatch
- Hot Clios
- Golf GTis (excluding the lardy mk3s and probably the 4s)
- 200SX
- A number of BMs, particularly the M series such as the M3 and Z3 Coupe
- Impreza/Evo brigade
 
Anything that folk dream of owning but cant quite afford it when they are new/nearly new is going to be a classic.

Hot hatches such as the Golft GTI mk1/2 are already classics imo. Cant see the 172 ever being a classic though, its certainly a decent car but id imagine people are lusting after something a little more exotic, the V6 maybe?

Look at things like Escort Cosworths, even though you can get cheapers cars that are faster and better handling, the prices are not dropping - its because folk dreamt of one day owning one and now they can because they have become affordable to more people.

Scoobs are too common to be a proper classic, they are going to be very sought after long after they are dropped from sale but because there are so many about its gunna be for the enthusiasts only - bit like a VW beetle - a dirt cheap classic that anyone can own.

Evo's - can see them being a classic but only to the real connaisseur, its a car with so many driving aids and so little luxury only an enthusiast would own one.

For me i reckon the true classics of the future are going to be things like the Lotus Elise, VX220 and Exige - these types of car are the only true drivers cars on the roads today, no holes barred, no silly driving aids, all about the thrill of driving and are so simple that people are going to be able to work on them, themselves.

Ofcourse all marques are going to have there own owners clubs and fans still, no matter how mundane a car is at the moment, someone somewhere loves it. Just think in 20 years time there's still gunna be a Mondeo owners club, a Vectra club and god forbid a "rat look corsa club"
 
Clios hot or not will never be classics, simply because they miss any kind of muscle or characteristics. You see a Clio, if it had Megane or Nissan Note label on its bottom you wouldn't even notice. Just like Novas aren't classics now, the Clios or Saxos will not gain icon status, regardless of their power. They are mash potatoes of car industry, soap bars plus they're relatively unattractive as cars even now. Out of cars produced today I would say Mini, Smart Forfour, new Suzuki Swift if they ever have proper hot hatch versions are the closest to being icon. And the new Honda Civic is closer than any car in this century.
 
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