Top 10 future classics

What makes a great classic?

It used to be simple: it was a car that stood out from either ordinary or lowly models for its engineering excellence, great performance, impressive styling or good old-fashioned desirability.

The very finest – a convenient example is the Jaguar E-type – qualified on all counts. Deciding which of today’s cars will become classics is far less easy.

This year around 90 million new cars will hit the road, and by most measures they’re all very good. And the numbers keep rising.

Even Ferrari, which once swore never to make more than 4000 cars a year, now builds more than 10,000 units, and that number is destined to climb because the marque’s first SUV, the Purosangue, arrives in 2023.

Modern design and engineering are now more exacting as legislation becomes more prescriptive. Conformity is a necessity, so individuality and rarity is, well, rare. Yet despite all this, modern cars remain desirable.

Our sister magazine Autocar (126 years old and counting) reports continued huge interest whenever a new Land Rover Defender, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Tesla or BMW 3 Series arrives.

There’s real excitement about the growing crop of electric cars, such as VW’s ID Buzz (Microbus) and the three-model Jaguar EV range for 2025.

So which of today’s cars will become classics? Aside from the expensive and fast candidates, which mainstream models stand out?

Autocar recently launched a project with the National Motor Museum, asking readers and visitors to choose their candidates.

After collating thousands of responses, here are the worthy winners in order.

10. Ford Fiesta ST

Ford’s proud history of making quick and inspirational little cars began in the 1960s.

Its run of fast Fiestas started with the XR2 in 1981, but apart from that raw, raunchy launch model, later Fiestas didn’t become serious drivers’ cars until the 2-litre ST of 2004.

Since then they have remained near the top of the small hot-hatch tree.

What makes the latest ST – based on the Mk8 Fiesta – so special is its versatility.

It’s small, so it fits easily down any road, and it’s relatively common, so servicing isn’t an issue.

The engine is a 197bhp take on Ford’s 1.5-litre Ecoboost triple, so it’s quick out of the box: it will do 0-62mph in 6.5 secs and hit 144mph flat-out.

Ford Fiesta ST (cont.)

The standard ST is a great all-rounder; choose the £850 Performance Pack and you have what Autocar calls ‘track-day levels of performance and grip’ delivered by a Quaife limited-slip diff and better dampers.

Even with every option the price never goes beyond the mid-£20,000s, although you’ll probably pay most of that for a nearly new example in today’s overheated used-car market, too.

The ST’s comfort isn’t in the limo class, but those who prefer quick steering (the latest ST’s steering is its highest-geared ever) and precise handling will love every mile.

Fast Fords have been proven over decades to keep their appeal and value.

This one will be the same.

Ford Fiesta ST (cont.)

Anorak fact With the Performance Pack the ST can ride softer than standard.

Its double-valved Tenneco dampers are soft on bumpy roads and firmer when you go for it.

9. Porsche 911

It’s a bit of a surprise that the Porsche doesn’t instantly jump to the top of a class such as this, as it so often has done in the past, because the greatest attributes of all 911s are delivered in the latest 992 version.

You get superb styling and quality, brilliant yet accessible performance, excellent comfort for such a quick car and a magnificently responsive engine, whichever power level you choose.

And, of course, there’s one important part of being a classic that the 911 has in spades: a wonderful lineage that runs right back to ‘Butzi’ Porsche’s initial speculative sketches in 1959.

Porsche 911 (cont.)

In the latest cars the firm has even (slightly) improved the horrendous road noise 911s have always generated, perhaps because rivals tend to be easier on the ears.

However, one criticism of recent 991 and 992 models is that they’ve grown a bit too wide and long to fulfil the role of dyed-in-the-wool sports cars.

They remain superb GTs, but aficionados point to the 997 (2004-’13) as being more ideally sized.

Porsche 911 (cont.)

Anorak fact Magazine road testers usually have the softest spots for Porsche’s lowest-spec 911s.

Stuttgart’s engineers seem commendably unable to resist building classy and complete machines even before options are added.

8. Mazda MX-5 2.0

The wonder of Mazda’s ubiquitous little two-seater is that, although four iterations have appeared since the model arrived in 1989, the MX-5 has never wavered from its ‘simple roadster’ credentials, nor grown any bigger or beefier than necessary.

This must be one of its creators’ greatest achievements.

Nearly all cars, even those wearing an unchanging nameplate, have grown significantly in weight and complexity over the past three decades. And yet today’s 2-litre ‘ND’ MX-5, complete with the highest-power 181bhp version of its SkyActiv engine, continues to offer all the positives of the original: compactness, simplicity, agility and economy.

But to that you can now add very decent performance, with 0-62mph in 6.5 secs and a top speed of 130mph-plus.

Mazda MX-5 2.0 (cont.)

As well as the popular Roadster, there is a folding-roof version dubbed RF (for Retractable Fastback), which looks very handsome in its closed position and adds to convenience, but puts 40kg on the kerbweight.

It isn’t as common as you might expect in a country with our indifferent climate, probably because it is around £2k more expensive, and the targa-style roof creates more wind noise and cockpit turbulence than the soft-top.

Like nearly all Mazdas (leaving out certain rotary-engined models), the mechanicals are in the never-go-wrong class.

Buy a new or nearly new ND and it’ll keep its health and integrity for decades.

Mazda MX-5 2.0 (cont.)

Anorak fact Every car’s successor gains weight, right? Not in the case of the MX-5.

Its maker’s careful attention to detail has shaved off almost exactly 50kg, even though the ND carries more standard gadgets and safety gear than the NC.

7. Volkswagen up! GTI

You might have expected our panel to pick the Golf GTI, but the up! GTI (new in 2016) is a beguiling little car that achieves plenty with not much.

Its popularity underscores the fact that while some say city cars are over – they’re expensive to produce for small returns – there’s life in the genre yet.

Drive an up! GTI and you find yourself thinking original Mini Cooper thoughts, and that’s the basis of the appeal.

The GTI doesn’t look too different from the 1-litre three-pot cooking models, but its suspension is firmer and it rides 15mm lower on 17in alloys.

Volkswagen up! GTI (cont.)

There’s a roof spoiler, beefier bumpers, some stripes and GTI badges; inside are some nicely shaped chequered cloth seats.

The 1-litre turbo triple makes 113bhp and 147lb ft and, while a 0-62mph time of 8.8 secs and a 122mph top speed won’t raise eyebrows, this is one of those cars in which you hardly slow down for corners.

It’s a feisty yet refined little roller skate, and because it’s a VW it should last, too.

Volkswagen up! GTI (cont.)

Anorak fact We think of the up! GTI as small, but it’s only a whisker shorter (at 3.6m) than the original Volkswagen Golf and it’s actually about 20kg heavier.

6. BMW i3

BMW’s oddball electric hatch is quite an enigma. It’s the only EV here because it’s quite different from anything else on the road.

It started life in both battery-only and range-extender forms (but with a fuel tank so small in the latter that electric-only motoring was encouraged), yet has graduated to a longer-range battery-only EV.

Vast sums were spent on a pioneering all-carbonfibre structure, and a boldly different (and remarkably short) body was designed, but sales have always been indifferent.

Some people love the car and others shun it, while everyone else wonders what it is.

BMW i3 (cont.)

As one of two pioneers of BMW’s early and bold ‘i’ model line of electrified cars (the other being the i8 supercar), it has avoided being a failure, but it has already been outmoded in several respects.

Buyers no longer require their EVs to have an ‘electric look’, and careful engineering has shown that electric cars aimed at higher-volume manufacture, built with more conventional structures, suit the market much better. Yet the i3 is heading for classic status on two grounds: cuteness and driver appeal.

Its technical shape, complete with space-saving ‘suicide’ rear doors, stands out in any crowd. It’s fairly light for an EV (around 1350kg) and ultra-short overhangs make it easy to chuck about – especially in go-faster i3S guise – despite its high seating position.

It’s interesting and novel, and always will be.

BMW i3 (cont.)

Anorak fact The early i3 range-extender, which the car’s creators clearly never loved as much as the pure EV model, charged its batteries with a 650cc twin-cylinder engine borrowed from BMW’s pioneering scooter range, new at the same time.

5. Morgan 3 Wheeler

Morgan shamelessly labelled its oddball 3 Wheeler – the only car in this list no longer in production – as ‘a rebellion against sanitised modern motoring’ when it was launched 10 years ago.

The model rolled out of the factory doors for a decade until its emotionally satisfying – but rough and crude – V-twin engine fell foul of noise and clean-air regulations.

It was a clever machine commercially speaking, registerable as a quadricycle and thus relieved of conformity with many regulations that make life difficult for today’s low-volume cars.

Originally proposed with a Harley-Davidson engine (on an idea that put a modern cast on the three-wheeler Morgan had built before the war), the car appeared with a naturally aspirated, American-made S&S V-twin producing just over 80bhp and around 103lb ft of torque.

Morgan 3 Wheeler (cont.)

It drove the single (fat) rear wheel through a five-speed Mazda MX-5 gearbox and, despite its modest outputs, the 3 Wheeler was still a brisk performer because of its small dimensions and light weight (550kg).

The price was high, though – £30,000-plus – because of the low numbers and the imported 2-litre engine.

No other machine in this list has been so singularly created for the unalloyed pleasure of driving, an impression reinforced by the amazing machine-gun exhaust note and the Sopwith Camel-style cockpit.

Nobody ever expected their 3 Wheeler to be practical transport, but owners were nevertheless full of tales of tough, long-distance journeys.

Morgan 3 Wheeler (cont.)

Anorak fact Morgan’s modern success has depended heavily on the long memories of enthusiasts.

The company launched its first V-twin three-wheeler in 1911 and ceased in 1939, not beginning again with an engine of the same architecture for 73 years.

4. Land Rover Defender

Britain’s unique manufacturer of off-roaders has truly earned its spectacular success with the new Land Rover Defender.

Stylists worked for years on a variety of concepts and summarily rejected many that weren’t right – knowing that a huge body of old Defender enthusiasts was watching their every move, and would be pitiless if they got it wrong.

Many wanted the original Defender (so named in 1989, but closely related to the Wilks brothers’ 1948 original) simply to continue in production, rejecting assertions that this wasn’t possible because sales were dwindling and the model no longer met key safety and pollution legislation.

Land Rover Defender (cont.)

The time for change came in 2020, and Land Rover has reaped the rewards of its thoroughness ever since.

A new model, using a monocoque chassis instead of the traditional body-on-frame, and with sophisticated suspension, appeared first in long-wheelbase 110 four-door form, then as the two-door 90.

Petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains are offered, and electric models are in development. The flagship uses a supercharged 5-litre V8 with 518bhp, but most admit this is a last hurrah for such cars.

A couple of years ago, making a modern-day Defender to replace ‘the icon’ was a daunting challenge; now it’s a magnificent achievement.

And like so many Land Rovers, it should last a lifetime.

Land Rover Defender (cont.)

Anorak fact The Defender’s triumph is already having a big effect on Jaguar’s electrified era, due to begin in 2025.

Long-time Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern has been given charge of resuscitating Sir William Lyons’ legendary firm on the strength of his Defender success.

3. Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio

No other famous marque has had so many modern-era clunkers while managing to maintain its brand appeal.

Like Jaguar, only more so, Alfa Romeo has depended heavily on distant memories of wonderful cars and proud echoes of racing success – while often saddling owners with unreliability, undesirability, corrosion and disastrous residuals.

So the arrival – under the wing of the newly configured Stellantis group – of a class-beating saloon in the form of the Giulia has been a moment to savour.

The top-spec Quadrifoglio, using a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 with 503bhp, is the headline-grabber.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (cont.)

Testers compare its driving position, sensational ride and handling, and straight-line performance very favourably with BMW’s stellar M3.

And the quibbles (brake feel, indifferent infotainment system and occasional accelerator quirks) seem minor.

As well as putting a proper Alfa take on modern performance and driving dynamics, the Quadrifoglio somehow manages to challenge Europe’s most accomplished German makers in an arena where their products show most polish, that for prestige performance saloons.

Whereas the German cars, however good, are more of the same, the Alfa is something special, cleverly combining the best old and new Alfa design cues in an unmistakable shape.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (cont.)

Anorak fact The Giulia’s V6 is said to be ‘inspired by’ Ferrari’s superb 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8.

The engines just happen to have the same bank angle, bore and stroke, plus similar compression ratios and turbochargers by IHI.

Similar pedigree, too, we’d say.

2. Alpine A110

Before we saw it in the metal, this car did not sound promising.

It was to be an odd-sounding co-operative project between the expanded, reconfigured, Norfolk-based Caterham company (which has since shrunk again) and the much more accomplished RenaultSport concern.

The plan was that it would shamelessly reprise an ancient name – A110 had long been superseded in Alpine history by the likes of A310, A610 and GTA – and would echo ‘in a modern way’ the styling of the A110 made between 1963 and 1977, a car almost too low, too cramped and too tiny for use in a modern manner.

Yet they have pulled it off.

Alpine A110 (cont.)

Today’s A110, which has a sophisticated extruded-aluminium chassis along Lotus lines (only lighter), weighs around 1100kg, which means that even in the most basic Pure form, with some 250bhp from its mid-mounted 1.8-litre turbo ‘four’, it can deliver the 0-62mph sprint in 4.6 secs.

It also undercuts the weight of the Porsche Cayman, its closest competitor in the £50,000 sports car sector, by a cool 300kg – and you can feel that margin whenever you accelerate or turn.

This is a superb little car, beautifully packaged, and evidenced by the fact that the great Gordon Murray, guru of lightweight racing and sports cars, chooses to commute in one. Best of all, the styling works.

The modern iteration is plainly much bigger, and (apart from a drastic lack of gadget-carrying space) it is spaciously snug, but it is capable of being photographed with the dainty original without looking ungainly. That is a feat.

Alpine A110 (cont.)

Anorak fact The A110 Pure is one of those rare entry-level models that truly hits the sweet spot.

Alpine has launched a more powerful, stiffer ‘S’ model in search of extra revenue, but most reviewers prefer the supple original, saying that the S’s extra 40-odd horsepower only shows up in a meaningful way against a stopwatch.

1. Toyota GR Yaris

Most companies would not have put this car into production. It’s a compact, 257bhp, four-wheel-drive supermini created for top-level rallying.

You could view it as a modern opportunity to own a Metro 6R4 or Peugeot 205 T16, except that it’s delivered through a Toyota dealer, carries a normal Toyota warranty and can be serviced by hand-picked but accessible outlets.

This is a product of Gazoo Racing, Akio Toyoda’s practised means of demonstrating that his mammoth family company can make exciting cars as well as mainstreamers.

Such credentials make the GR Yaris extraordinary, yet for all its exotic spec, it is made to live an ordinary life.

Toyota GR Yaris (cont.)

Already it is being adopted, as the VW Golf VR6 was, as a convenient option for the owners of much more expensive cars who want to retain driving enjoyment while enhancing practicality.

The Yaris GR is a striking combination of the ordinary and the exotic.

Small enough to zip through traffic, it has foolproof and robust controls, and its 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder engine is eerily flexible given its high output.

Traction is amazing and the handling balance is up there with the best-developed sports cars. The ride can be lumpy with the (essential) Circuit Pack, but the car gets smoother the faster you go.

It is a driving revelation.

Toyota GR Yaris (cont.)

Anorak fact The GR Yaris was built for WRC success in 2021, but the rule changes that inspired it were abandoned because of COVID-19.

Akio Toyoda insisted the GR should still be made, even if wouldn’t compete.