Opinions eh? 😐
Anyone have a definition of “classic” we could work to perhaps?
Do we just decide whats old enough and ugly enough?
Every Ford Cortina is a classic as far as I know, but the last 3 marks looked shit!
IMO of course……

156 GTA

See, I can never quite make my mind up on that one, and I was one of those proposing the 156 in general. Engineering / performance-wise it’s obviously the ultimate version, but aesthetically, it looks like it’s had a run in with a cheap and nasty bodykit, and I’m not too sure about those 18″ alloys, they have a hint of “aftermarket” to them.

My ideal 156 would have the clean lines of a base model (no skirts, no big wing on the boot neither), the standard veloce alloys (the five rings, but the smaller ones, not the 18s on the GTA), the standard leather interior (early one, with the embroidered Alfa badges on the front seats), and the 3.2 ltr V6 engine and tighter suspension from the GTA please? Oh yeah, red bodywork with black interior, no other combination permitted.

btw, surely the spirit of the thread on spotting future classics is those “normal” cars that will be worth having in 10-20 years time, not some of the exotica being mentioned. You’re not going to see clapped out XJ220s or R8s down at “Discount Dave’s Bargain Car Emporium” in the intervening years now, are you?

I float around the classic car world* via my old man and they are always looking for the next thing. A few things I’ve picked up:

The KA (original, not the street and sport) are already considered the modern version of an original Mini: cheap, simple, fun to drive and cheap to run/repair. So a good one will be a classic, whereas bad ones will be modified.

A good 2002/3 M3 CSL is a bit of a find, never really gone down in value!!

An unmodified Nissan 200SX is also rare and sought after.

All TVR’s. Nothing like manufacturer going tits up to get the prices heading up!!

Unregistered MG TF’s – they are out there, I know of three in Cardiff!!

Honda Insights and Beats are being sniffed out by collectors nowadays. Values are still down low but they are almost always well-cared for.

The original Integra Type R is there already – rare and even rarer standard.

Honda NSX in any tune, as long as it’s standard. The Senna connection is enough to make them a classic on their own!!

Just look for cars that are/were different and people lusted after, even when the competition overtook them!!

* by this I mean 1930’s Bentleys, Maserati 250F’s etc 🙂

There’s two different classic car worlds though isn’t there? There’s the 1930s Bentleys and that crowd, and then there’s the Moggy Minors and MGBs crowd….

There hasnt been a decent Vauxhall except…

Nonsense. The VXR8 is a shoe-in for classic status,.

You’d be surprised how much overlap there is!! Usually caused by the son/daughter getting the bug and not having mega-bucks to spend.

Plus a lot of the ‘collectors’ have only one Bentley etc, but a few of the cheaper stuff to use daily. I know of one gentleman who owns a Bugatti Type 54 that he saved from certain demise back in the 50’s and has lovingly rebuilt over many years. All his money goes into it but hates modern stuff, so he drives an Escort Mexico and his wife has a Talbot Sunbeam (non-Lotus). His daughter caught the bug at an early age and now runs around in a Mk2 Golf for daily duties, but has a Mazda RX7 for fun. Covers all bases between them!!

Oh, and they all go to the same autojumbles for that elusive missing part 😛

I don’t buy into any old car is a classic

Cortina’s aren’t classics. They just have some devoted saddos that refuse to let them die.

Ahem.
Jim Clark had a lot of success in Cortinas you know.

And the standard car was so much better than the crap most ordinary drivers had been offered before – along with the Mini it was a huge, huge step forward from something like a Morris Oxford.

So yeah, it’s a classic.

As for Vauxhalls, there are Firenzas, Lotus Carltons and all manner of exotic pre war stuff out there.

No one remember Gerry Marshall and his collection of utterly crazy saloons?

edlong…I suggested the 156 GTA (sportwagon) I could not agree more on the boy racer add on’s but time has a way of making these seem less gauche* when they are old. It is the interior I really love.

*whoo Hoo great STW word 😉

Ill also agree regarding the styling of the 156 GTA

Honda jazz 🙂

Rusty less than 300? Right Im going to buy and keep one..

Has anyone mentioned the Renault Clio V6 yet?

That’s the virtually hand built limited edition where they took a Renault Clio and stuck a huge 3l V6 engine where the rear seats used to be????

The most fabulous of cars.

SB

The William Clio was earlier, don’t remember the V6 bein mentioned, the biggest problem with any future classic is numbers left, in 2012 there were 417 V6 Clio’s left, not many to last to become a future classic

What about a Isuzu Impulse Turbo cant be much of them left now.
Renault 5 gt Turbo bits fell off them everyday great car though

The Mito’s quite nice, but again, it’s a Punto in a nice frock.

Ha! I read a description of the Puma as being a Fiesta in a party frock! Still makes me laugh.

edlong – Member
The X5 looks particularly fetching in that shade of norovirus brown.

(Gulp) Thanks, I had a dose of that… 😳
One I’ve just thought of, that you never see around any more, is this:

Great little car, terrific handling, boxer engine, Italian racing heritage, what more could you want?
Well, apart from bodywork that wasn’t already going rusty before the paint went on…

Cortina’s aren’t classics. They just have some devoted saddos that refuse to let them die.

Sorry, but that’s a fatuous remark, and ignorant too. Mk1/2 Cortinas were extraordinarily good race/rally cars. Look at any British Eurosport club rallying and you’ll see lots of Mk1/2 Escorts still being raced competitively, and classic car circuit racing still has lots of Mk1/2 Cortinas and Escorts. About as good a definition of a classic car as its possible to find.

Gerry Marshall and his Vauxhalls were always a favourite at Castle Combe Circuit back when I used to help out on one of the breakdown wagons.
Some great classics on here:
http://www.forum-auto.com/tuning/showcar/sujet381074-3290.htm

Early Toyota Celica GT4’s
Lotus Carlton
Sierra XR4i 4×4
Sierra Cosworth
Vauxhall Cavalier cabriolet

Now, I’ve just quickly scanned this thread (so please forgive if i missed it) for a modern classic amongst the STW massive and see no mention of the trusted and oft recommended Skoda Octavia……

This is my brother’s car. Very fun to drive and starts many forecourt conversations when I take it out.
Don’t see too many around now.

548312_10150855365838134_1255046884_n by Al Kerslake, on Flickr

This is my brother’s car. Very fun to drive and starts many forecourt conversations when I take it out.
Don’t see too many around now.

Haha, I’m looking forward to the future of the future classic cars.

Can’t believe it’s 5 pages in and there’s no mention of the RX7 Spirit R.

It’s got all the hallmarks of a classic:
Last run of model
Bonkers engine
Questionable reliability (assuming you believe everything you read online)
World-class handling
Appreciating in price (£20k+ for a Spirit R, whereas a standard one can be had for about £5k)
Very few, if any, on the UK roads
Arguably the most beautiful car Japan has ever produced

It’s a magical car that Mazda appear to have fluked their way into making as good as it is.

This is all assuming it’s not already considered a classic, but seeing as mk1 MR2/MX5 it’s being mentioned, I’m not sure.

RX7 is already a classic.

Truly a brilliant car.