After rooting around on various websites and internet forums, I’m yet to find a definitive answer to the title question – leaving plenty of space to contribute a few suggestions.In Britain, there are no real set rules to define the qualities a “traditional” classic car must hold, let alone a “modern” classic. However, a number of people are happy to categorise a classic by using the DVLA car tax system: if a car was built before 1973 it is deemed as historic and thus tax free. Cars of this age also tend to need specialised classic car insurance cover.
Over the years there have been requests to implement a rolling 25 year system, implying that cars become classics after 25 years, but this system is yet to be (and may never be) put in place.
As most modern classic cars are built much later than 1973, it is surely in the mind of the user as to what is truly a modern classic.
So, in the guise of “news”, here are a few cars that I feel deserve to be celebrated as modern classics, or at least deserve to be called classic cars in the future:
Audi TT
The Audi TT was put in to production in 1998, after its debut as a concept car at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show. The reason this car deserves its place as a modern classic, despite being only a decade old, is that it still looks like the future – even today. All it took was the addition of a minimal body-kit and the TT was featured in I, Robot, a film set 25 years in the future!
Peugeot 205 GTI
VW pretty much invented the “hot hatch” in the late 70s with their Golf GTI, and the 205 was in no way original or innovative for its time (hatchbacks had been around for years by the 1980s), so why does Peugeot’s little car deserve its reputation as modern classic? Bascially, the car is a high-water mark not only for Peugeot but the hot hatch world – the car is still used as a comparison point when new hot hatches are reviewed – probably something to do with the 1.9 litre engine beneath the bonnet. The fact that the car hasn’t become an eyesore like many other cars from the 80s is down to Peugeot’s simple styling.
This article will be updated when more modern classics come to mind!
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