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5 Things Nobody Expected From the Collector Car Market in 2026 | Market Insights - Ep 04

Classic Driver

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There's a version of the collector car story that gets told every year: the market's up, the market's down, insert obligatory Ferrari headline. Classic Driver's latest Market Insights episode makes a rather better case that in 2026, the market isn't moving in one direction at all. It's splitting.

At one end sit the truly extraordinary cars, F50s, F40s, Enzos, McLaren F1s, doing things that would have seemed absurd even five years ago. At the other, a lot of very good, very lovable $100–200k enthusiast cars are simply sitting there, unloved by comparison. Monterey's headline number this year, north of $750 million, tells that story neatly: modern supercars were expected to account for 58% of sales and ended up closer to 69%. Everyone predicted the shift; nobody predicted quite how much.

The takeaway, though, is refreshingly unfashionable: buy the car you can't stop thinking about, not the one you think someone else will overpay for later.

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Host: JP Rathgen
Director of Photography: Luca Pieri Pilotti
Production and Editing: Alpineracer.ch
Creative Direction: Jan Baedeker
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20 Comments

@gregkimura5906 3 weeks ago

Perfect advice. For regular folks like me, I can't buy a rare Ferrari - I just don't have the funds. But, I've decided to buy what I truly love. What works for me is much different than others feel. Is it better to have a car that needs to go 150 mph to feel fast? My reflexes are not what they were, so a car that feels fast at 85 to 90 is perfect. The analog feel with a manual transmission , road feel, the sound of air flowing into carbs and a suspension that lets you feel what the tires are doing - that's what makes driving feel so good. Add to this, an engine bay that I can actually see into and if I need to change parts, I can do so myself. A car I understand mechanically and electrically, so I can patch it up and limp home if I need to vs calling AAA.

I know that my money is well spent if I can get pleasure from my cars. Whether it's looking at the beauty of the car as it sits in my driveway or the feeling when I'm driving - that's what I think our generation wants ... and it will not be what the next generation is looking for, so I know I shouldn't buy based on what the future value is, or that I think it'll be.

@jimmyyoh8144 8 days ago

My take is the heavy hitters buy the cars they envy while they were young, the wall poster cars. While the real classic cars like the 1960‘s are slowly fading away from the spot light due to the baby boomers are gradually fading away from the market while the new comers didn’t have those 1960‘s on their wall poster.

@briananderson3220 4 weeks ago

Great observations…I’ve been saying some of this for several years, that it’s fractured micro-markets…this was prophesied by a collector/broker I knew 20 years ago who said as each generation grows up, makes money, and wants the cars that we’re posters on their walls(or in their video games), those generation cars spike. Then the people get old, pass away sadly as we all will, and collections go to market, the rarest cars separate more from the ones of plenty thereafter because less living people have a connection with them. This is most observable in the American Post-War, and now Muscle Car segments, as the numbers made/survived are much higher.

@BarrieWood-j9y 3 weeks ago

The working class collectors are having a tough time in UK and are not currently buying in any numbers so the sub £100k market is depressed. The higher earners are unaffected by the economic woes and continue to buy the rarer /dearer cars pushing the prices up. The idea that its generational is not really that prevalent IMO, after all, low chassis Lagondas are still finding buyers that were not even born when they were made

@thealvand1361 4 weeks ago

one critical factor that drives prices up too not mentioned which is design value. the alpina b12 coupe, a manual one is extremely expensive...it is rare, has a name, v12, manual and it is a stunning looking car. the alfa romeo 8c which was criticized for being dynamically flawed now is an expensive car....being limited also helps. but its looks and sound plays a key role to being far more successful in the market than many of its contemporaries. the thing with enzo ferrari is that he loves his racing cars and was very fussy with how they looked. the story with aerodynamic cannards for instance and it is here also why older ferraris are so expensive, not just the sound or being rare but they are jaw droppingly beautiful. and it is here where ferrari draws a gap between other marques. i also believe bugatti also is like this

@bkendrick52 2 weeks ago (edited)

I’ve attended the Mecum Kissimmee auction, the largest auction in the world, for 12 years and I recently attended the GAA auction in Greensboro. I have forever been hearing from the “sky is falling” crowd that the classic car market is dead or dying. My observation is that buyers have access to a lot more data and are therefore smarter. And, I think sellers are often unrealistic. They see a #1 or #2 car sell for xx and use that as an anchor for pricing their #3 or #4 car. I still see quality cars selling for quality money (or sometimes insane money) and average cars selling for average money or not selling because the sellers have unrealistic expectations. I’ve often wished I had a sign at auctions that read “You Should Have Lifted the Reserve”.

@johnbaez7659 17 hours ago

It’s cars like the Ferrari F355 that have skyrocketed and continue to do so as people search cars that define their young lives.

@scoutandscooter 3 weeks ago

Why collect? Enjoy. We die.

@ZsoltCsikós-b9z 3 weeks ago

4x4-s and SUV-s are also dramatically coming up.

A good broadcast there.

@Spa67-1 3 weeks ago

Just like everywhere else. The K shaped recession. The growth of the top is phenomenal and at the bottom it’s horrific. So many of us are now dependent on the ultra wealthy continuing to spend as if no matter how much they spend they will still gain wealth.

How is this possibly sustainable?

@Toni62R 3 weeks ago

And in the wake of the GTO, F40, F50 an Enzo, the prices of particularly beautiful cheaper Ferraris like the F355 are also rising...

@dat2ra 3 weeks ago

The young, uber-rich driving the market? How fascinating.

@johnnya9001 3 weeks ago

Very interesting analysis and sounds about right on. After 50 years of desiring a 60s XKE and having so many factors get in the way of owning one, I recently purchased a 1964, one owner car in very drivable condition. It was a spontaneous buy even if it was 50 years late. While I did not buy it to make money, I believe there will always be a market for cars like the E type and I am going to enjoy it for what it is and was. Cheers.

@John-i5q3p 3 weeks ago (edited)

In 1996, people made fun of me for buying a 1969. "You paid $4000 for a 27 year old car ?" But it's still running perfect in 2026. Only paid $150 per year.

@urbanstrencan 3 weeks ago

Another great video, JP talking about car collecting landscape, prices (that are going through the roof 🤯,,), and cars at large is always interesting. Would love the video on McLaren as a company and at least for me their cars being undervalued!!
Keep it up with this great content 🤟

@Phoenix-Wino 4 weeks ago

This is the #1 Best Car Collecting podcast on the internet. Keep the great stories and analysis coming!

@johnmoulton9728 2 weeks ago

Very interesting,thanks

@Old_Man_Horsepower 4 weeks ago

Very well presented with excellent content!

@hhoussami 4 weeks ago

Thanks for a descriptive and realistic analysis of this exclusive market. Your statement couldn't be more true "buy the car you love not the one that others will pay more for" and that's exactly why I bought 4 years ago a 1975 w116 280SEL similar to the one my late father had in 1975.
Looking forward to more content on this channel 🥂