The world would be considerably less entertaining if we could all predict the future. Even so, the classic car gurus at Hagerty Insurance have cast a few chicken bones in an attempt to figure out which vehicles produced today might eventually turn collectible.

The company restricted entrants to hardware with a price tag of less than 0,000, so the list isn’t populated with too many wild exotics. While vehicles like the Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca Edition, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Porsche 911 are low-hanging fruit, the list also featured a few surprises.

For starters, it begins with none other than the mighty Buick Regal GS. Hagerty says the vehicle is a win because it’s the first Buick with a manual transmission since the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. The Fiat 500 Abarth also makes an appearance alongside an even hotter hatch, the Volkswagen Golf R. Of course, we’re simply thrilled to see the sinister Audi TT RS make a showing. Hit the jump for the full list or view each vehicle in our gallery above.

Continue reading Hagerty predicts this year’s future classics

Hagerty predicts this year’s future classics originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Classics

No related posts.

No related posts.

Cobras, Tigers and… Ferrari’s? Oh my! If you happened to miss our post on the ’60s touring cars that took to the track at the 2011 Goodwood Revival, you may not realize just how amazing vintage racing can be. And it gets even more interesting as the value and historic significance of the cars increases.

For proof, we suggest you check out the two videos after the break to see vintage prototypes like the Ford GT40, various Lolas and a smattering of McLarens take to the track. Then, to top it all off, we have the ’60s sports car class, which includes such iconic masterpieces as the Shelby Cobra (in both hardtop and Daytona Coupe guises), Ferrari models that include the famous GTO and the so-called Breadvan (a short-wheelbase 250 GT), plus a slew of machinery from Maserati and Aston Martin.

Did we mention these priceless classics are racing well-to-wheel in the pouring rain? Enough already, click past the break to watch the slip-sliding action for yourself.

Continue reading Goodwood Revival rounds out the classics with sports cars and prototypes

Goodwood Revival rounds out the classics with sports cars and prototypes originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically “retired” earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.

In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the “Spirit of Le Mans” for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

Continue reading Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

There were plenty of curiosities to see art the Frankfurt Motor Show this year. City cars converted into beach buggies. Electric supercars. Exotics with trick folding roofs. Even a tuner Porsche crossover posing as a new vehicle. But few were as intriguing as what we found in one of the back halls of the Frankfurt Messe.

What you see here is a pile of scrap metal transformed by artistic vision into a full-scale replica of the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing.” It’s made entirely of reclaimed car parts and random pieces of scrap by German firm Giganten Aus Stahl, which roughly translates as Giants of Steel. It’s just one of a number of creations the studio offers to those with enough, um, “scrap” to buy the unique creations.

Other projects have varied to include full-scale replicas of famous movie characters – from Peter Fonda in full Easy Rider glory to Aliens and Predators – as well as animals, athletes, even pieces of furniture. Of course we were most interested in the cars, and in addition to the Gullwing we found similar replicas of a classic Porsche Spyder and pre-war Auto Union grand prix racer.

You can check ‘em out in our trio of high-resolution image galleries, but if you like what you see, don’t expect them to come cheap: the Gullwing fetches a princely €69,000 (k), while the Porsche and Auto Union are available for €39,000 (k) and €54,000 (k), respectively. Head over to Classic-Sportwagen.de and Giganten-Aus-Stahl.de for more information.

Turning scrap metal into German classics is our kind of recycling program originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.