Affordable future classics

Autocar recommends the future classics you should snap up before collector status sets in

Autocar

19 March 2025

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Predicting which cars will achieve classic status five or 10 years from now is a dark and uncertain art.

What are the key factors? Scarcity, for one, and reputation for another. If a car is rare and widely reckoned to be one of the best of its type to drive, it’ll probably reach classic status.

Beauty is another factor and so too is significance; a car that changed the game in its sector is bound to be held in high regard for years to come.

Every one of the cars we’re highlighting here meets at least one of those criteria, if not two or three. Let’s take a look:
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Fiat Panda 100HP (2006-2010)

Whoever would have thought there was a vibrant baby hot hatch hiding away in the cheerfully upright Panda? Sitting a little closer to the road on 15-inch wheels that filled their arches perfectly, the 100HP looks poised and purposeful without being fussy or overwrought. More importantly, though, it’s a right old hoot to drive.
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Fiat Panda 100HP (2006-2010)

Running stiffer springs than a ready salted Panda, the salt and vinegar 100HP does tend to skip and pogo along the road, but with the tyres howling and the 1.4-litre motor singing its song that bouncy ride just seems to make sense. This is a fizzy, energetic sort of car.

The 100HP never sold in huge numbers during its four year life, which means it has scarcity on its side, which will help values greatly in the future.
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Suzuki Swift Sport (2005-2012)

With its smily face and dinky proportions the Swift Sport is as cute as a puppy wearing a bow. In fact it is disarmingly sweet to look at, which simply makes its propensity for snap lift-off oversteer all the more alarming.

This charming little hatchback will have you off the road if you aren’t paying attention. Of course, that pointy handling balance is exactly what makes it so much fun to pedal along. The 1.6-litre engine is a ripper, if not exactly a powerhouse, and the gearshift short and direct.
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Suzuki Swift Sport (2005-2012)

The Swift Sport will be revered in years to come because it was among the last of the old-school hot hatches that delivered their thrills not through sheer performance, but through feisty dynamics.
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Audi TT (1998-2006)

Being not much more than a reclothed VW Golf the Audi TT was never going to set new standards in the coupé sector for outright driving fun. Instead, it changed the coupé game with its ultra-cool and minimalist cabin, as well as its show-stopping Bauhaus exterior design.
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Audi TT (1998-2006)

Tatty cars can be found for very small amounts of money now, but you should spend a little more for a well-looked after example with the muscular 225bhp 1.8-litre motor.
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Toyota MR2 Mk3 (1999-2007)

Even for a modest sum you'll get a very solid example, and there are plenty around to suit every budget in between. That gets you one of the most exciting sports cars of its time, too; firmer and sharper than an MX-5, but more usable and liveable with than an Elise.
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Toyota MR2 Mk3 (1999-2007)

A perfect balance, in other words. Prices can only go one way from here.
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Ford Puma (1997-2002)

It may be a humble Ford Fiesta underneath its sharp, feline bodywork, but the Puma is actually a huge amount of fun to drive thanks to a sweet chassis, incisive steering and eager 1.7-litre engine.

Great swathes of the remaining Puma population are wiped out each year by that most virulent of automotive diseases, rust.
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Ford Puma (1997-2002)

You can pick up a Puma today for very little money, and rust-free cars may start to rise in value.
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Porsche Boxster 986 (1996-2004)

When the original Boxster arrived in the mid-1990s many people weren’t sure what to make of it.

For one thing it appeared to be styled with two front ends, and for another it was so clearly subordinate to Porsche’s flagship sports car, the 911, in every conceivable way that image conscious buyers didn’t want to be seen anywhere near it.
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Porsche Boxster 986 (1996-2004)

It was their loss, of course, because the Boxster was blindingly good to drive with communicative steering, a poised and perfectly balanced chassis and zesty flat-six engines.

Not much money will buy you a tidy Boxster today, and at that price you’ll find a car with the 2.7-litre engine that’s far preferable to the slightly asthmatic 2.5. In the fullness of time we’ll look back on the Boxster as the car that saved Porsche and propelled it towards global dominance.
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VW Phaeton (2002-2006)

Anybody with even the faintest sense of the automotive market could have worked out that a Volkswagen luxury car would be a dismal flop. Plenty of people at Volkswagen probably knew it would be as well, but spearheaded by the mercurial Ferdinand Piëch the Phaeton was put into production in 2002 anyway. Sales were heroically slow, but an updated model remained on Volkswagen’s price lists until 2015 in most places.
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VW Phaeton (2002-2006)

The most desirable engines were the 4.2-litre V8 and 6.0-litre W12, both of them petrol, although you’ll search high and low before you find either for sale at any price.

If you get lucky you might unearth a 3.2-litre V6 petrol not much money, but the vast majority are 3.0-litre V6 diesels (outside North America at least). As fine an example of corporate folly as you’ll find anywhere.
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Citroën C6 (2005-2012)

Citroën built its reputation on cars that were strange and non-conformist. For a long time the French company existed in its own little bubble, doing things its own way. The likes of the 2CV, DS, XM, BX and many others were proper oddballs.
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Citroën C6 (2005-2012)

The C6 was among the very last of the bizarro Citroëns; its range today is nothing like as quirky as it once was.
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BMW Z4 Coupé (2006-2009)

What is it that makes the Z4 Coupé so much more alluring than the roadster? Perhaps it’s a combination of rarity - just 9% of Z4s were Coupés- and the sleek, mini-supercar fastback styling.

Viewed from the rear three-quarters the Z4 Coupé remains one of BMW’s prettiest modern designs. Naturally, the Z4M Coupé is an even surer bet for classic status somewhere down the line, but even the leggiest cars command quite big money now.
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BMW Z4 Coupé (2006-2009)

The 3.0si may not be a bells-and-whistles M-car and, yes, it does lack 75bhp compared to the Z4M, but prices are keen? Lower mileage cars aren't that much more and, notoriously weak rear springs aside, there isn’t too much to look out for. Just make sure you fit; the cabin is comically tight.
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Renault Avantime (2001-2003)

Very few car manufacturers can rival Renault in the noble discipline of building quirky, oddball cars. At least, that was true 25 years ago when the French company seemed to sign off whatever hair-brained concepts its - presumably very drunk - product planners could dream up.
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Renault Avantime (2001-2003)

The Clio V6, the Vel Satis and the Avantime quasi-MPV would have been killed off by anyone else.
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Subaru Impreza 2000 Turbo (1994-2000)

There is so much to enjoy about this most humble of high performance Subaru Imprezas, notably its punchy turbo performance, warbling boxer soundtrack and that rangey, fluid suspension that works so beautifully on bumpy roads.
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Subaru Impreza 2000 Turbo (1994-2000)

The trouble is, you’ll search far and wide before you find a car that hasn’t been messed about with. Indeed, originality is exactly what’ll make the Impreza Turbo a desirable car in years to come.
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Porsche 944 (1982-1991)

The Porsche 944 is already well on its way to being a classic, and values have been creeping upwards. Whereas contemporary 911s are fairly pricey now, a 944 is stil affordable.

Try and track down a a late-model 944 S - which had the more powerful, 190bhp version of the 2.5-litre four-pot - with not much more than 100,000 miles behind it.
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Porsche 944 (1982-1991)

Values will never set off in pursuit of those stratospheric 911 prices, but they will continue to nudge along. What’s much more important is that the 944 will always be a sweet and rewarding car to drive. Mostly, that’s down to the transaxle layout, which gives the 944 its near-perfect chassis balance.
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Honda Accord Type R (1998-2002)

We're amazed that Honda's deliciously nutty Accord Type R isn't already attracting big prices. You certainly won't find many other modern four-door saloons with firecracker atmospheric VTEC engines, yet that offer room for the family.
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Honda Accord Type R (1998-2002)

Superb shift quality, lovely steering, balanced and entertaining handling. And if scarcity's any guide of future classic status, this is one to watch: numbers on the road are dwindling fast.
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Land Rover Defender (1982-2016)

A Defender is as sure a place to put your money as bricks and mortar. It’s one of those cult cars that seems to command much higher values than rational common sense suggests it should.
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Land Rover Defender (1982-2016)

Defenders are slow and noisy and uncomfortable and hopelessly old fashioned, but they’re adored nonetheless and, accordingly, values are rising.
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Mercedes SL55 AMG (2002-2008)

It is very easy to be sniffy about the SL. It’s much less a sports car and more a laid back cruiser, after all, but the full AMG treatment did unearth a hidden wild side. The SL55 AMG’s near-500bhp supercharged V8 also happens to sound like a low flying Spitfire, which goes a long way to vanquishing the SL’s well-groomed boulevardier image.
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Mercedes SL55 AMG (2002-2008)

With a folding hardtop roof and Active Body Control suspension the SL55 is by no means a simple car. In fact, perished seals on earlier models mean the roof can allow water to leak into the boot, while the trick suspension can go wrong and chuck up nasty bills.

Those sorts of issues have suppressed SL55 values and they may even prevent them from climbing in years to come. The thunderous soundtrack will keep your mind off all of that, though.
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Volvo 850 T5-R Estate (1995-1996)

The sight of a boxy, square-edged Volvo 850 estate leaping across kerbs on a race track was so strange and incongruous that it remains one of touring car racing’s most iconic motifs.
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Volvo 850 T5-R Estate (1995-1996)

The road-going 850 T5-R will always be a sought after model simply for that association, even though the mechanical similarity between the two cars was close to negligible; the T5-R, after all, was no homologation special.
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Ford Focus RS Mk1 (2002-2003)

The original Focus RS arguably changed the hot hatch game more than any other car before or since. It was the first car of its type to be engineered with the same precision, attention to detail and track-proven hardware as a sports car.

In fact, the Focus RS reset our expectations for the sector: if a modern day hot hatch isn’t engineered to the same exacting standards, we write it off immediately.
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Ford Focus RS Mk1 (2002-2003)

As well as being great to look at the Focus RS is thrilling to drive, albeit in a white-knuckle sort of way. The punchy turbocharged performance and tightly-wound Quaife limited-slip differential give it huge performance, but a ragged edge, too.

Factory-specification cars will one day shoot up in value, just as the more common Escort RS Cosworth has done.
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Alfa Romeo 164 Q4 (1993-1998)

Styled by Pininfarina - apparently with judicious use of rulers and set squares - the 164 was Italy’s answer to the BMW 5 Series.
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Alfa Romeo 164 Q4 (1993-1998)

The V6-powered, four-wheel drive Q4 version that arrived in 1993 wasn’t exactly a rival to the 311bhp M5 of the time, but with 229bhp the Alfa was no slouch.

The car is extremely rare these days, but they can be found for fairly small sums.
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BMW E39 M5 (1998-2003)

In this price bracket you're looking at an E39 M5 approaching, possibly exceeding, 100,000 miles, but that needn't put you off. A rebuilt VANOS variable valve timing system and rock-solid service history should see you straight.
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BMW E39 M5 (1998-2003)

Then you can look forward to enjoying arguably the best M5 of the lot – manual gearbox, 400bhp V8 and a chassis that's almost as happy to play B-road stormer as it is grand tourer. Don't let the understated coachwork fool you into thinking this isn't a massively characterful super-saloon.
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Toyota GT86 (2012-2021)

With the compact, rear-wheel drive GT86, Toyota - as well as Subaru with its own version, the BRZ - hit the reset button for the sports coupé sector. The GT86 prioritises fun and engagement over outright performance and is all the better for it. This car was known as the Scion FR-S in North America.
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Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2005-2017)

The previous V8 Vantage may be the most common Aston Martin ever, but it’s also the last of a breed. When we all commute to work in electric cars we’ll want to keep a normally-aspirated V8 in the garage.
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BMW M3 E92 (2007-2013)

The M3 that came before it, the E46, is beginning to rise in value and you can bet the E92 will do the same thing one day. Its 4.0-litre V8 is such a masterpiece that demand will never falter.
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Nissan GT-R (2008-present)

There aren’t very many cars that can claim to have conquered the world, but the R35 Nissan GT-R certainly did. It’ll go out of production soon and values will steadily drop until, years from now, they’ll begin to climb again.

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