Times they are a changing. And change means opportunity. Consider slotting one of these classics-in-the-making into your collection...
BMW M2 (G87, 2023)
The latest chapter in BMW’s compact sports saloon saga isn’t even on the road yet. But its future-classic status is already assured. Why? Because, like the 993-gen 911 (the last before the Porsche flat-six went liquid-cooled) and the Ferrari 458 Italia (the last mid-engined V8 before Maranello fitted sound-deadening turbos), the new BMW combines two key attributes. First, it’s sensationally good. And two, it is the last of its kind – the end of a line that stretches back half a century to cars like Munich’s seismic 1800 TI. BMW and M are going electric – fast. And in that future there’s no room for a deliciously balanced sports saloon with a howling straight-six and a manual ’box. So, get your name down for a G87 M2. Yes, its priced from a punchy £65k. But you’re playing the long game.
Ferrari F430 (2005-2009) and 458 Italia (2020-2015)
Sinking your savings into a mid-engined Ferrari V8 is an exciting/terrifying prospect, but both the F430 and the 458 Italia were landmark cars – not to mention stunning driving machines. The F430 was the last mid-engined Ferrari V8 to be sold with the marque’s iconic open-gate manual gearbox, and it’s this that makes it so sought after. Indeed, low-mileage F430 values aren’t far behind those of the later and more popular 458. Talking of which, if you’re happy to ‘put up’ with a flappy-paddle gearbox, the 458 Italia is a future-classic no-brainer. Truly beautiful like few contemporary Ferraris and with that exquisitely musical and free-revving V8 engine, future generations – raised on dull, heavy and near-silent electric hatchbacks – will be awestruck by the 458’s automotive hedonism.
AMG C63 S (W205)
There’s a pattern emerging here. This list could be titled ‘Last-of-their-kind greats’, and the outgoing C63 S is most certainly that. Lord only knows why (emissions regulations, the electric future, and to tie into its hybrid hypercar and F1 programmes, perhaps?), but in its infinite wisdom AMG’s gone hybrid with its new hot C. Together, the four-cylinder turbo engine and electric powertrain serve up enormous power. But they come bundled with enormous weight, an enormous price tag and a not-quite-right soundtrack. So, buy a proper AMG C63 and love it until the end of your days. £50k buys a 20,000-mile saloon; £70k a barely run-in Night Edition Coupe in Obsidian Black. Yes please.