As the name implies, Future Classics are cars which will one day become a classic and also worth a lot. For the majority of regular production cars, their prices decline from the moment they roll out of the dealership until they are scrapped. There exists a limited number of rare models, for which the price undergoes a J turn – the prices start to appreciate, and the automobile itself becomes collectible.

There are number of conditions, of which rarity is usually the most common one. A brief list of other criteria would include (but not limited to): small production numbers relative to total automobile production; exclusivity; a notable level of technical engineering for its era; and limited or special editions of certain models. It can also be important to consider the relationship to motor racing and its history, for example the car being an homologation special, its association with famous drivers and/or titles, and simply having something often referred as the X-factor or charisma.

Collecting cars is effectively as old as the motorcar itself, but it has been recognised by investors as an alternative investment class for several decades. The Classic Car sector emerged unscathed from the financial crisis of the noughties, and has been showing strong gains thereafter. The global classic car sector is believed to have an annual turnover of close to €50bn, of which Europe and North America account for c.40% each, with the RoW countries accounting for the final 20%.

Classic Cars are different from the usual financial instruments – they are passion. In some ways, investing in classic cars can be compared to investing in such collectibles as art or fine wine. By investing in Classic Cars, one can expect consistent long-term capital appreciation, which does not correlate with conventional investment market trends nor with currency fluctuations. Over the last two decades, the classic car sector has been showing average annual returns in the high single/low double digits. Unlike with shares or bonds there are no dividend or interest payouts, but investments in Classic Cars are instead accompanied by the joy of driving the cars, socialising with other collectors at various events, and simply enjoying the sight of them in your garage – something that can best be summarised as ‘lifestyle benefits’!

It is of course always good to keep in mind one of the founding principles of any investment – past performance is no guarantee of future results. Classic Car prices have been appreciating as there is limited supply (these cars are not in production anymore and have been produced in limited numbers) and there is consistent or increasing demand. There have simply been more buyers than sellers out there. Every year the number of wealthy people around the world increases, and economic and demographic forecasts for the next few decades lead us to believe that this trend will continue.

If we take the last few decades as an example, this has indeed prevailingly been the case. However, it is important to distinguish Classics and Future Classics (for which the prices are expected to appreciate) from some high-end luxury cars whose value just depreciates at lower rate than the value of regular cars. It is also important to know the differences between makes and models down to the smallest details, as sometimes the difference can be as small as one letter or number – the Ferrari 599GTB and 599GTO, although they look alike, are different cars with cardinally different future value expectations. The same applies for the Porsche 911 GT3 RS c.f. the 911 GT2 RS, and for many other similar examples.

As thoroughly monitoring sales ads for price movements of Classic Cars can be time consuming and not always easy to execute, there are several indices which reflect price movements of Classic Cars. These work similarly to stock indices and are usually updated once a month based on transcations in the last month, and they may contain also several sub-indices reflecting prices of certain Classic Cars, e.g. exclusively Ferraris or Porsches. Examples of indices include:

HAGI (Historic Automobile Group International) is one of the most referred-to indices, and also forms the Classic Car component for the Knight Frank Luxury Investment index.

Hagerty Insurance Agency focuses on ‘collector car’ insurance – their indices are based mainly on the US market and reflect US market activity.

The K500 Powered by Kidston monitors Classic Car auction results in particular, and offers registered users the option to track historical prices of specific collector cars based on their VIN numbers.

Once a year, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) publishes the DOX Index (Deutscher Oldtimers Index). This index mirrors the majority of classic cars driven in Germany – the average price of the cars in the DOX index is below €50,000, which makes this index more in line with Future Classics and Youngtimers, and makes it differ from the aforementioned indices.

Back in 1992-1993, Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evo Martini Editions (V and VI) were sold as new for ca €30,000 euros. Nowadays, their value is in excess of €150,000 – representing an over five-fold value increase.

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. The time is right when you feel it is right for you, in other words when you have the passion, when you have the financial ability and the time to deal with it. More often than not this happens when men (let’s face it, in approximately 95% cases, classic cars are the playground for men) have reached their 40s or beyond. This is also a reason why many cars start to become collectibles once ca 20 years have passed since they rolled off the production line. New entrants to the Classic Car community often pick the car which was cool, desirable and state of the art when the buyers were young, as it left a lasting impression in their formative years.

This is something which depends only on you. As a general comment, it can be rather complicated to find anything meaningful below €10,000 mark, and the sky is the upper limit. You can opt to own just one car, or have a collection of hundreds – the size of your Classic Car collection is easily scalable to suit almost any type of collection strategy.

Define your wish list and pick the right one(s). More often than not, having the correct ownership and service history, a high quality car, and a trustworthy seller should prevail over the bargain price. You are more likely to face volatile pricing and wider spreads in the Classic Car market compared to most of other markets. Last but not least – it is equally important to keep in mind that driving machines are meant to be driven to fulfil their destiny.

It is usually a rather safe bet that any of the top models from the line-up of super- and hypercar manufacturers – such as Ferrari La Ferrari, McLaren Senna, Mercedes-AMG ONE and similar – are almost certainly destined to become Blue Chips among Classic Cars in the coming years and beyond. A downside with these automobiles is their price tag, which starts in the seven figures – and even if your bank balance could swallow this amount, it is not always easy to be allocated these models by manufacturers, as they are produced in very limited numbers and the number of potential buyers is almost always greater than the number of cars produced.

Again, this is something which is purely up to the owner, though short-term ownership of a Classic Car (anything from a few months up to a few years) is usually infrequent. On the flipside, many collections have witnessed generations of ownership, the result being that wealth has been passed down from generation to generation through investment in motorcars. Many successful investors have acquired and kept Classic Car assets for prolonged periods, which have protected the principal and provided reliable returns over time.

If you have a car which we might be interested in, please get in touch with us via the contact form or by email and provide all the relevant details (make, model, year) of the car you want to offer, as well as some photos and your asking price. We'll get back to you shortly and if we are interested in your car, we will arrange an inspection and thereafter take care of the payment, collection and all the relevant bureaucracy associated with the transaction (such as a sales agreement, title transfer etc.).

If you are interested in any of our cars please simply get in touch with us via the contact form, email or over the phone. We'll answer any and all of your questions regarding the car you're interested in and, if we reach a deal and you so desire, we are happy to also arrange all the necessary paperwork as well as the packing and shipping of the car to any location around the globe.

Automobiles listed for sale on our website are the ones we own, and they are at all times in our possession. This way, we can also guarantee their quality and availablity. At this point we do not do any commission sales.