Ford GT, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and beyond: Here are the future collector cars

It’s a lot of fun to sit back and think about what tomorrow’s collector cars will be. Sure, the , and the like will probably always be good candidates, but we know that’s not how the collector car market works. Enthusiasts cling onto some obscure cars sometimes, and if I can borrow a few words from my colleague Chris Paukert, “Nostalgia is expensive, no doubt.”

That’s what makes Hagerty’s annual Bull Market list a real treat because the professionals dig through mounds of data to spot value trends. Anyone can make a guess, but numbers don’t lie. For 2021, the classic car insurer once again found younger enthusiasts are really starting to weigh in on what will be collectable in the future. 

Brian Rabold, VP of Valuation Services at Hagerty, told Roadshow on this year’s list, “Generation X and Millennials now reliably represent the majority of active collector car buyers, and many of the picks featured on this year’s Bull Market list reflect their tastes.”

What are their tastes? They’re swinging away from the ’60s and into the ’80s. It’s no surprise since, as I noted at the start, nostalgia often plays a big part in what’s desirable many years later in life. In alphabetical order, here’s your class of 2021 Bull Market collector cars:

• (2008 and newer)
• 1.8 Quattro with wing (2000-2006)
• Ferrari Testarossa (1984-1991)
• (2005-2006)
• Honda CB750 sand cast (1969)
• Honda S600/S800 (1964-1970)
• Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 (2006-2011)
• Jaguar XK120 OTS (1948-1954)
• Lexus LFA (2011-2012)
• FZJ80 (1993-1997)
• Volkswagon Vanagon Westfalia (1980-2002)

As you can see, the latter part of the 20th century rules this list. Again, that comes down to what younger collectors see as valuable or hold fondly in their minds. 

“A Ferrari Testarossa poster hung on the wall of many Gen X bedrooms, and hundreds of thousands of Millennials were shuttled around in the back seat of 80-Series Land Cruisers, so it’s understandable why enthusiasts from those generations are now seeking those same models out today,” Rabold said. “This has been a long developing trend and we fully expect it to continue.”

Will each of these cars fetch six-figure profit margins? It’s not a guarantee. But, each car shows promise to become far more valuable than it is today. Some already are rather pricey, but as interest grows in them, such as the GT and LFA, they could become the next block-buster cars to cross the auction block.