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The Future's Most Collectible Cars

For most people, automobiles are used for practical purposes. A lucky few drive expensive status symbols.

But then there's the rare breed: the collector with one or even a stable full of rare, collectible cars. For these buyers, automobiles are a treasure. And an investment. For example, in May 2010, an unnamed buyer paid a record $30-plus million for a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. The previous owner had purchased the car in 1971 for $59,000 — a hefty price at the time, no doubt — but a pretty nice rate of return at almost 17 percent annually.
But what cars made today, or more specifically in the last 20 years, will become the 1936 Bugatti of the future? We asked McKeel Hagerty, a car aficionado and CEO of Hagerty Insurance, the leading insurer of rare and collectible automobiles and boats, which cars he thinks will lead the field when it comes to investing.

Top Five Most Collectible Cars of the Future

Dodge Viper

Production: 1992 - 2010
Transmission: 6-speed Manual
Horsepower: 600 bhp @ 6,000 rpm
Top Speed: 202 mph
Purchase Price: $90,000 - $100,000
Today’s Value Range: $35,000 - $100,000

"During his stint at Chrysler, 'Maximum' Bob Lutz decreed that Dodge needed an AC Cobra for the new millennium," Hagerty says. "And while the V-10 engine sounded a bit rough at idle, nobody seemed to much care. The American car scene is far richer for having the Viper."

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

Production: 2009-Present
Transmission: 6-speed Manual
Horsepower: 638 bhp @ 6,500 rpm
Top Speed: 205 mph
Purchase Price: $100,000
Today’s Value Range: $80,000 - $100,000

"This is the Corvette that elevated the model into a new class of world class sports cars," Hagerty says. "Nowhere has this news been more prominently displayed than on the recent ZR1, the most powerful Corvette to date. And unlike the big block screamers of the1960s, like the L88, the ZR1 is totally trackable and downright docile."

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

Production: 2003-2010
Transmission: 5-speed automatic
Horsepower: 617 bhp @ 6,500 rpm
Top Speed: 208 mph
Purchase Price: $450,000
Today’s Value Range: $300,000 - $350,000

"A rather porky super car with a two ton curb weight, the modified gullwing doors, 600-plus hp and McLaren association ensured that the car would be anything but mundane," Hagerty says.

Ford GT

Production: 2005-2006 (4,038 total)
Transmission: 6-speed Manual
Horsepower: 550 bhp @ 6,500 rpm
Top Speed: 205 mph
Purchase Price: $150,000
Today’s Value Range: $125,000 - $175,000

"Now this was a gutsy move for Ford," Hagerty says. "Build a near copy of the company's famous endurance race car from the 1960s, give it enough creature comforts to be semi-practical and offer it in colors that evoke the car's greatest racing victories. Voila, instant sure-fire collectible that did wonders for the brand and spoke to the hearts of many enthusiasts."

Porsche Carrera GT

Production: 2004-2006 (1,270 produced)
Transmission: 6-speed Manual
Horsepower: 605 bhp @ 8,000 rpm
Top Speed: 205 mph
Purchase Price: ~$400,000
Today’s Value Range: $275,000 - $300,000

"Porsche’s bid to gain the same sort of supremacy in the supercar world as the famous 917 had gained on the track a generation ago, the V-10 605 hp Carrera GT found the field rather crowded," Hagerty says. "However, less than the planned 1,500 were built which bodes well for future collectability."
Click here to see the full list of The Most Collectible Cars of the Future

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