80s & 90s Cars ARE the New Classic Cars

The Car Generations
Cars up to the mid-1970s appealed to the Baby Boomer generation (those born from mid-40s to the mid-60s) however today the succeeding Generations X and Y are craving the coolest cars of the 80s, 90s and even later. The evidence of this is in the rising values of automobiles hailing from just 20-40 years ago.
There are of course other factors, such as the changing trends in car ownership. With fewer car companies and less cars made in the 40s, 50s and 60s, they would be kept running longer. Part of that also stemmed from the post-War generation’s approach of fixing and maintaining rather than replacing, understandably derived from years of scarcity and rationing.
Since then, the motor industry has ballooned and boomed. There are more car companies than ever, making nearly 80 million cars a year – and that’s in a bad year (2021) because there’s a shortage of components!

And by components we primarily mean computer chips of course, as modern cars employ between 1000 to 3000 of them. This in turn confirms the fast pace of technological development in our vehicles, from driver’s aids systems to electric vehicles, new cars make their predecessors feel obsolete and ancient quicker than ever.
Accessible finance encourages trading in old cars, which devalues them sooner, and some are even killed off by programmes such as scrappage schemes. In the 80s and 90s everyone had them, but today Ford Escort XR3i cabriolets are rarer than the Ferrari 308 (Magnum PI’s car). There’s only 140 of the former versus over 250 of the latter.

The late 90s A80 Toyota Supra is plentiful in supply, and mostly modified, they command between £30k-60k. But there’s only about 15 of the 1980s Celica Supra left, and though I bought one in the early 90s for just £2000, you’d pay at least £15,000 for a good one today!
A top tip at the moment are Rotary-engined sport cars from Mazda: the RX-7 series. They’re getting rarer and more desirable by the day. Their successor, the four-seat 2003 RX-8 with unusual rear-hinged doors was less loved in its heyday, but they’re values are on the rise. If you want your engine to be more conventional, it goes without saying that the best examples of early MX-5 roadsters, are destined to be future classics.

For Japanese supercars you have Honda’s iconic NSX world-beating supercar with values between £70k-100k, and Nissan’s mighty Godzilla – particularly in R34 guise, of which, only 11 and half thousands were made from 1999 to 2002. Any Nissan sports car with a Z badge is worth a punt, as are Hondas with Type R badges.

Other cars that are appreciating assets but which will also evoke thumbs ups from your fellow road users are the Porsche 944 and 924, Mark II Volkswagen Golf GTI, VW Corrado, and the evocative Audi ur-Quattro. See also Lancia Delta Integrale and Peugeot 205 GTI.

And then there’s the 80s Mercedes S-Class, arguably the last of the breed to be milled from solid granite and created to last forever. The W126 saloon and particularly the SEC coupe version are hot tickets now. Wide-body AMG SEC coupes are already out of reach, but 500 and 560 SEC personify class, elegance, prestige and robustness.
For British cars, look for the best fettled and presented Jaguars you can find, particularly the 1980s Series I, II and III XJ models and the XJS. All fast Fords are racing out of reach right now, so if you haven’t got one, it might be too late.

American Heroes
Caveat: all American cars from the 50s and 60s rocked. A few good ones made into the 70s, but the era was let down by castrated motors due to the fuel crisis and emission regulations. There were some breakouts in the 80s and 90s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the Yank motors got knuckle-bitingly awesome again, with a string of mad muscle cars from Ford, Chrysler, Dodge and Chevrolet.
Additionally, it’s fair to say choice is limited. There were some official imports like the Chrysler Crossfire and PT Cruiser, which may have their day at some point, but that time is not now, as they remain universally disliked, despite being enticing curios.

Additionally, it’s fair to say choice is limited. There were some official imports like the Chrysler Crossfire and PT Cruiser, which may have their day at some point, but that time is not now, as they remain universally disliked, despite being enticing curios.
But 1980s Chevrolet Camaros and particularly Pontiac Trans Am models (Knight Rider era cars) are starting to look tasty. A Chevrolet Corvette from the same era is another magnificent choice. Be warned though, while drivetrains are bullet-proof, build quality is not great, so find the best you can.
Easier said than done, because they’re scarce, but the good news is, they remain affordable and you can look to spend from less than £10k rising to about £25 for the best examples. Seek desirable performance spec variants like the Corvette ZR1, Camaro Z28 / IROC-Z and Ford Mustang Cobra SVT.