Classic Cars

Jaguar unveiled the C-Type in 1951 and production ended in 1953. But, despite the two years production run only 53 C-Type units were built, 43 of which arrived at private owners, mostly in the U.S. As you can imagine, finding one is very difficult, and when you do it gets very expensive. Usually, the C-Type is being sold at auction for more than $5 million. But now Jaguar has a solution: as part of the C-Type 70th anniversary, the company decided to build the C-Type Continuation - a model built to the original specs using data from the brand’s archive and by scanning an original model. Only eight will be built, and after more than a year of development, the first unit is finally ready to hit the road - just in time to celebrate 70 years since the C-Type won the Reims Grand Prix Meeting on 29 June 1952.

BMW has been turning out some of the greatest driving machines ever made. The list is long with cars like the BMW M1 E26, BMW M6 E24, BMW M3 E30, and others, which are world renown for their incredible smile per gallon ratio. Sadly, not all great models are successful and the BMW 507, produced between 1956 and 1960, is among them. Very few of them were made, and recently, one came up for sale, after more than 40 years away from the spotlight.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Porsche was experimenting with the 911 platform. At that time, the people at Porsche were yet to realize what an icon the rear-engine sports car would become, and decided to experiment with a sportier version that featured a one-piece canopy. The only issue was that Porsche did not really want to bother making the car. As a result, Porsche sent a 911 to the Technical University in Aachen and asked the bright minds there to have a go at it. They obliged, and one of the weirdest, one-off Porsche models was born.

Looking at the present-day luxury saloon, you might think that the Ghibli was always a four-door sedan. But, introduced in 1966 at the Turin Motor Show, the Ghibli was born as a GT car with a V-8 under the hood. As a result, the OG Ghibli is as sporty as the current-gen model, and there’s one that could sell at auction for less than $10,000. Furthermore, this first-gen Ghibli is a 1968 model, and is in a decent condition, considering it is a 54-year-old car.

If you are a muscle car enthusiast, you probably know that around the mid-1970s, things went really bad for those of us looking for big power and performance. The oil crisis meant gas was expensive and American carmakers were forced to take their big V-8s and neuter them. The 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is one of the cars that got the worst of it. Despite having a 351 Cleveland under the hood, the most powerful version of the 1973 Mustang Mach 1 made 285 horsepower. But that doesn’t mean this 1973 example should be overlooked, especially when it has been fully restored and is currently listed for a reasonable price.

Traditionally, when you think about vintage and classic cars, you naturally assume that they’re the sort of cars that cross the block at one of those big auction houses. While part of that is true, there is so much more to it. Classic cars can also be a hobby and an affordable one at that if you play your cards right. Today, with the industry as a whole acknowledging and embracing electrification, the landscape of classic and collector cars is simultaneously also seeing a big transformation. Demand for all types of cars from old-school to modern-day classics has seen tremendous growth over the past few years.

However, navigating the market both online and offline continues to be a challenge for buyers and sellers alike. Classic.com aims to address some of these pain points, by aggregating data from several auction houses as well as dealer listings across the country and beyond. They are essentially a Zillow of the classic and collector car world. I recently had the chance to catch up with Juan Diego Calle, the CEO & Co-Founder at Classic.com to find out more about how the site works.

Cars have been divided into affordable and expensive ever since the early days of the automobile. As Ford began to streamline production for the Model T, which made it affordable to the average Joe, automakers like Rolls-Royce were producing luxurious and expensive cars.

Companies like Bugatti, Duesenberg, and Cadillac soon joined this endeavor to produce the best car in the world, which would also be the most expensive car in the world. As years went by, many of them also became very valuable. Rare cars become collectibles, and collectible status comes with a high price tag. Which are the rarest and most expensive cars on the market right now? Find out in the article below.

The Lancia Fulvia has been one of the wonders of the FCA (presently Stellantis). Manufactured between 1963 and 1976, the Fulvia was made available in three forms: a four-door sedan named Berlina, a two-door Coupé, and Sport. The Lancia Fulvia gained its share of popularity when it won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1972, elevating public interest in motorsport and rallying. Now there’s a 1973 Fulvia 1600 HF, a two-door coupe, going for a digital auction on Bring a Trailer. The bid as of the time of this writing is just $30,000, so this should be delightful news if you are a car collector.

The 1985 RUF BTR II Cabriolet needs no introduction, as it was a hell of a sports car with a ton of power and excellent handling behavior. It won the world’s fastest cars contest by clocking 186.2 mph as the top speed in 1984, which was insane. So here we have an example from the 1985 model year, and it is looking for a new home. There’s a good chance that it may go beyond the $500,000 mark before the digital hammer drops, but is it really worth it?

The Porsche 911 has had plenty of epic iterations over the years, but very few of those can match the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. This performance variant of the 911 was not only a homologation special but also the fastest German automobile of its time with a top speed of 152 mph (245 km/h). More importantly, the development of the car, which started back in 1972, gave birth to one of the most iconic design elements of the Porsche 911, known as the “Ducktail” spoiler. In 2022, we celebrate 50 years of the birth of this motorsport-inspired feature.

Investing in classic cars may become more of a thing than ever with the introduction of more high-tech features in cars as well as electrification. Cars from the 1950s and 1960s, in particular, are still a thing and this Series 1 Lotus Elite is up for grabs for a fairly reasonable price, given all that has been done to it. It’s also finished in the correct colors and it is, essentially, a poor man’s Jaguar E Type, only much rarer.

With my hot wheels and NFS arcade racing games in the late 90s and early 2000s, I am someone who grew up in the Fast and the Furious generation. But over the years my taste in cars has evolved and I have come to appreciate much older cars as well. The sixties, in particular, are a sweet spot for me.

The cars from some big names can fetch millions today, but really, how expensive is it to get into the world of classic cars, and is it a hobby that is still accessible? Well, to give me an insight on the current trends and where the industry is at, I had the chance to catch up with, Richard Reina from CARiD, a thirty-year-old industry veteran. Now in his 60s, he has been involved in the hobby side of things, for pretty much his entire adult life.