Skip to main content

Will your car be worth its weight in gold, or just old? Hagerty names tomorrow’s classic cars

People without souls or money in their bank accounts sometimes think of old cars as investments, and the only way to make money on an investment is to get more out than you put it.

That means buying a car and hoping it appreciates in value. After 25 years, your new-car purchase will officially be an antique. But will it be a classic?

Classic-car insurance giant Hagerty released its annual “Hot List” of future collectibles. Each car is a 2014 model with an MSRP under $100,000 and some quality that Hagerty believes will make it desirable to future collectors.

Just barely making it under the $100,000 price cap were the Jaguar F-Type, BMW M5, and Chevrolet COPO Camaro; Hagerty assumed base prices of $99,000, $92,000, and $90,000, respectively.

The judges deemed the F-Type worthy because of its potent combination of V8 power and a rear-wheel drive, two-seat chassis, while praising the M5’s optional manual transmission, which will become a desirable item if manuals ever go extinct.

Original COPO Camaros are auction-block stars, so why shouldn’t this reincarnated drag-racing special be too?

Other high-end cars included the Maserati Ghibli S sedan ($75,000) and Alfa Romeo 4C ($54,000), while the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ($51,000) ended up in the middle of the list, price-wise.

Jaguars, Corvettes, and Maseratis are already expensive, though? Are there any bargain future collectibles out there?

Further down the list was the Nissan 370Z NISMO ($43,000), which Hagerty believes will continue the emerging trend of collectible Japanese cars. Sports cars like the 370Z’s ancestor, the 240Z, have taken awhile to gain traction with collectors, but they’re becoming more popular every year.

The Dodge Challenger Shaker ($36,995) also made the list, probably because it already looks like the vintage muscle cars that routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.

At the bottom of the list were the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon ($35,095) and Ford Fiesta ST ($21,400). Both should be plenty of fun to own until it’s time to cash in. The Jeep in particular could become highly sought after by collectors in the post-zombie apocalypse era.

What new cars do you think will become future collectibles? Tell us in the comments.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
The Kia EV3 could be the cheap electric SUV we’ve been waiting for
White Kia EV3

The Kia EV9 was already one of the cheapest ways to get an electric SUV, but now the company is taking things to the next level. After teasing the Kia EV3 last year, the car is now official.

The EV3 is built to be a slightly smaller, cheaper version of the EV9 -- following the path of the Rivian R2, which arrived after the Rivian R1S. It's certainly not as technologically advanced as the EV9, but it still looks unmistakably like a modern Kia, and is clearly a sibling of the larger SUV. On the outside, the vehicle has the same split taillights and very similar Tiger Face front. But it is quite a bit smaller. The vehicle will be available in nine finishes -- however only "Aventurine Green" and "Terracotta" are being announced right now.

Read more
Kia EV3: release date, performance, range, and more
White Kia EV3

Kia is on a roll. Hot on the heels of the success of the Kia EV6 and EV9, the company is already announcing what could be its cheapest electric vehicle yet -- the Kia EV3.

The Kia EV line seems to follow the rule of lower numbers indicating a lower price — and if so, the EV3 will end up being the cheapest electric car Kia has released to date. That, however, thankfully doesn’t mean that the EV3 will be a low-end car — it just means that Kia may be pushing the boundaries on electric car pricing.

Read more
Kia EV3 vs Tesla Model Y: Can Kia’s new entry-level car take on Tesla?
White Kia EV3

The Kia EV3 is finally coming, and it could well end up being the best small-size electric SUV to buy when it finally rolls out. It's smaller than the Kia EV9, but it offers many of the same design elements and features. But there's another small-size electric car that's currently one of the most popular vehicles out there -- the Tesla Model Y.

How does the Kia EV3 compare with the Tesla Model Y? And is one vehicle actually better than the other? We put the Kia EV3 and the Tesla Model Y head-to-head to find out.
Design
The design of the Kia EV3 is very different than that of the Model Y, though they're both reasonably good-looking vehicles.

Read more