The Porsche 911 has emerged as the best classic car ever, following a detailed search process by Car & Classic - Europe's biggest classic-vehicle marketplace.
That might not be a surprise to car enthusiasts, given the 911's enormous following. Predictable, even. But it's also fact, not opinion, says C&C; because the whole thing is data-driven, using numbers from the past 15 years of sales, searches and social media hashtags.
A formula was applied to all the numbers to get the best all-rounder. So that's where the smart money should go: to the car with the engine in the back.
But C&C has also compiled a list of the top 10 classics, based on the same key data: cars sold and average sale price (not too relevant for New Zealand, so let's not fixate on that), monthly searches and hashtag uses as of May 2023.
Porsche 911
(1.45m monthly searches, 4,950,404 hashtags)
Topping the order, the Porsche 911 is one of the best known and most recognisable sports cars in the world, and undoubtedly Porsche’s most iconic car. While it has changed in many ways since its inception, its silhouette has remained instantly recognisable throughout all variants for almost 60 years.
Ford Mustang
(1.2m, #4,490,482)
The silver medal winner is the trendsetting Ford Mustang, one of Ford’s most successful models and its most long-standing. Hailed as the ultimate American muscle car, it has been in continuous production since 1964.
Range Rover
(3.24m, #5,205,454)
The Land Rover Range Rover, in production since the 1970s, gets the bronze. "Range Rover" also happens to be also the most-searched model on this list.
Chevrolet Corvette
(1.12m, #5,812,154)
Like the top three models, the Chevrolet Corvette has enjoyed an ongoing production run of over 60 years. It also earns a special mention as the most Instagrammed classic car in the list.
Jaguar E-Type
(140,000, #162,951)
The immortal Jaguar E-Type could not be missing from this list, and sits at the halfway mark. It's also the marque and model with the highest average sale price on the C&C website.
Volkswagen campervan
(104,000, #162,951)
The quirky and iconic VW Campervan is a poster child for the swinging Sixties and has also graced movie screens for decades, adding to the pop-culture status – including an appearance as a standout yellow camper in Little Miss Sunshine.
Land Rover Defender
(896,000, #155,396)
The second entry for Land Rover, its off-roading variant, the Defender, is a true off-road workhorse that boasts a huge amount of heritage.
BMW 3-Series
(362,000, #887,380)
The BMW 3 series lands itself in position eight and is one of the more affordable classics on the list - although rare and high-performance variants, like the early M-cars, also fetch big money.
Ford Escort
(675,000, #299,824)
Earning its place as one of the 10 ten classics, the ubiquitous Ford Escort is as versatile now as it was when it was launched. The British icon remains popular amongst classic car collectors, thanks to good parts and support. It’s also one of the easiest to maintain.
Mini Cooper
(2.24m, #4,059,781)
Instantly recognisable, the Mini Cooper is a design classic - and the final (also smallest...) entry in this top 10 list.