Classic car prices have skyrocketed in recent years, which means many of them are now out of reach to most people. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable future classics.

Top Gear’s Richard Hammond explained modern classics perfectly, saying these cars are either too new or too underrated to be classics now, but one day, they might be. Are these future classics worth your time and money? Let’s explore.

The Selection Process

We chose these classics-to-be based on personal opinions and what they represent. They could be the last iteration of a specific model, or maybe an automaker has sworn off making similar vehicles in the future.

We also chose them based on the driving experience reported by various experts in the field, as well as their pricing trends on car market evaluation website Classic.com. Let’s dive into our picks.

Audi R8 (First Generation)

According to Autoevolution, Audi launched the R8 in 2007 as a proper halo car for the brand. What better way to do a halo car than a mid-engined supercar, right?! The R8 was based on the Lamborghini Gallardo, but was initially only available with a 4.2-liter V8 from the B7 RS4. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.

The latest Audi R8 is a huge thing on social media, where self-proclaimed car enthusiasts fawn over R8s without rear bumpers and fitted with intricate twin-turbo setups. Forget that! The first-generation R8 is more worthy of your time. Find a good one with the gated manual transmission, and buy one now before the first digit of their price becomes 2 instead of 1. As reported by Car and Driver, Audi might bring back the R8 with the plug-in hybrid powertrain from the Lamborghini Temerario, but it won’t be the same as the first gen. Evo Magazine found out that it’s a special experience.

Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ

Both Toyota and Subaru had the brilliant idea to put together a simple, lightweight RWD sports car with a naturally aspirated engine, reminding us that speed isn’t everything. At the time, only Mazda was really brave enough to do such a thing, as their Miata was a proven success.

The resulting GT86, BRZ, and Scion FR-S proved that Toyota and Subaru were on to something. For years, they were some of the best driving sports cars on the market, as confirmed by Autocar Magazine, they didn’t cost a fortune, and they weren’t scary or overwhelming. While you can pick up a first-generation “Toyobaru” sibling for a good price nowadays, this is bound to change. Even though Toyota is committed to fun performance cars, the future models probably won’t be quite on the same visceral level as the original 86 and BRZ.

Dodge Viper

This one is extremely obvious. After a 25-year production run, we finally said goodbye to the Dodge Viper in 2017. Well, except for the handful of leftover examples that continued to sell long after that. Jalopnik reported on a brand new Viper that sold as recently as last year! This car was one of America’s proudest automotive achievements, and there are several reasons why.

With current emissions regulations, there is simply no way that we will see another sports car with an 8.4-liter(!) naturally-aspirated V10 under the hood. MotorTrend reports that, throughout its life, the Viper was exclusively RWD, and it only offered a manual transmission. It takes a serious level of driving skill to get the most out of a Viper, and due to its sheer insanity, it’s firmly on the way to becoming a classic in the coming years.

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

The F-150 SVT Raptor’s transition into a classic car has kinda already begun, considering its age and value. As per Autoevolution, back in the late 2000s, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team had the bright idea to take an F-150 and turn it into an unstoppable factory off-roader — like a trophy truck for the road. It was a gamble at the time, but it worked so well that other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon.

Originally, the F-150 SVT Raptor was exclusively available with V8 power, and it wasn’t just good at off-roading, as The Truth About Cars tells us, it was good at off-roading at high speeds! It instantly became a hit, and as a result, values have never really gone down on the used market. Due to it being the first of its kind, and also the last regular Raptor with a V8, values will stay high, and they might rise in some cases.

Volkswagen Golf R32

What do you do after bringing back one of the most iconic models in your lineup after years of complaints that it’s been watered down? You make a faster version with six cylinders, of course! The Golf R32 debuted with the Mk4 Golf, and instead of a turbocharged inline-4, it used the VW Group’s fascinating narrow-angle VR6, which the Autopian explains very well.

According to Autoevolution, the Mk4 R32 used a 3.2-liter version of the VR6 and put out 238 hp. The Mk5 bumped up the power to 250 hp and combined with AWD, according to Top Gear Magazine, it was quite the experience. Yes, even with the extra weight over the nose. The Mk4 R32 is already reaching classic car prices, and the Mk5 is going that way as well. Values will rise, especially in North America, where both generations of the six-pot Golf were sold in very limited quantities.

Audi TT (First Generation)

You’ve likely heard the story thousands of times, so let’s sum it up briefly. Audi introduces a concept car and the world absolutely loves it, so Audi puts the concept car into production with minute changes despite never having plans to do so. Boom, we have the first-generation Audi TT.

Purely in terms of aesthetics, the first-generation TT is an absolute design masterclass. The bodywork is so well sculpted, and it all fits together perfectly. Despite being over 25 years old, the design has aged rather gracefully. Audi recently canned the TT for good, but there are plenty of first-gen models available. Between the styling, the great drive (which I can personally vouch for), and being relatively rare, the original TT is knocking on the door of classic car status, and eventually, it might just knock the door down and barge in.

Mini Cooper S (R53)

First debuting in 1959, the original Mini completely changed the world of the small family car. With its revolutionary transverse front-engine layout, the original Mini completely reshaped the way we think about and view small cars. Even though it went away after model year 2000, BMW wasn’t ready to call it a day.

A couple of years later, we saw the debut of what would be colloquially known as the BMW Mini. Much bigger than the original, but still full of charm and character — and still small by modern standards. The first-generation Cooper S was properly fun to drive, as The Truth About Cars found out, thanks to a brilliant chassis and a supercharged four-banger. You can still buy one of these relatively cheap, but as Mini now focuses on EVs and will no longer sell you a car with a manual transmission, the R53 is slowly catching up to its predecessor in terms of used market valuation.

Shelby GT500 (S197-II)

With Carroll Shelby being one of the main reasons why the Ford Mustang received serious V8 power, it should come as no surprise that there would eventually be a special Mustang named after the man himself. The Shelby GT500 was a mainstay of the Mustang lineup in the early days, and then it disappeared for a while.

In 2007, the Shelby GT500 came back for the S197 Mustang, but as cool as those early cars were, that’s not the one we care about. The final versions of the facelifted Shelby GT500 from this generation, that’s what we want. This was, famously, the last car that Shelby himself personally signed off on. The 5.8-liter supercharged V8 made 662 hp, and although this was a pretty scary car to drive, it was also pretty spectacular, according to MotorTrend. Due to it being the last old-school and muscle car-like iteration of the GT500, this is one modern Mustang that won’t stay cheap.

BMW M3 (E92)

So many automakers were having fun with engines throughout the 2000s, and BMW decided to join in on that. As well as putting a massive V10 in the E60 M5, it also decided to give the M3 a high-revving, screaming V8. As Top Speed says, the E92 M3 is one of the most talked about iterations of the performance sedan, and for good reason.

For one, it’s the only example of the breed to use V8 power. The E30 was a four-cylinder, and all the other M3 models before and after the E92 used a six-cylinder engine. For a while, though, BMW engineers had some fun. The 4.0-liter V8 in the E92 screams its way to 8,300 RPM, and as Drive Australia found out, it’s an especially good car to drive.

Nissan GT-R (R35)

Finally, we have a veteran in the performance car world that just recently went into a long-deserved retirement. For the R35 GT-R, Nissan decided to take it global. This would be the first GT-R to be sold officially outside of Japan, and boy, was it worth the wait.

Although it lost this status over time, the R35 GT-R was known as the supercar killer back in the day. It only has a twin-turbo V6, but packs incredible levels of both performance and handling. As Jeremy Clarkson found out on Top Gear, it quite literally did breakneck speeds. A lot of GT-R owners modified the daylights out of these cars, and due to the fact that Nissan cannot decide what it wants to do with the next one (the least of its problems, frankly, as CarScoops reported), the R35 GT-R will join its ancestors in being a classic, but also absurdly priced.

Why Buy A Future Classic?

This is just a handful of amazing cars that are either firmly on the way to becoming future classics, or have basically already reached that status. Some of these are the last of their kind, some of them are the first of their kind, and for a lot of them, the automakers have made it clear that we won’t be seeing similar stuff in the future.

While buying cars as an investment isn’t always a good idea, if you’re looking for an epic machine, you should buy one of these now before they either reach six figures, or their already six-figure prices increase even further.