10 Future Classic Cars on the Road Today

We hear this story all the time: "my grandad bought this car and left it in his barn and now it's worth $3.4 Million." It's like the automotive equivalent of that "one weird trick" a local (based on your IP address) mom came up with for losing weight/fighting children/curing hemorrhoids. Was grandad an investment genius with a good eye for cars? Maybe, but probably not; he probably just bought a car he though was cool and didn't have to sell it in the ballin' '50s economy when he bought another one.

Want to retire on your car auction money? There's no telling what's going to make you rich in 2050, but we at least have some pseudo-professional guesses. These are 10 Future Classic Cars on the Road Today.

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Nissan GT-R

The Nissan GT-R earned the nickname "Godzilla" pretty quickly, and it did so for annihilating other cars that cost two or three times at much on track. The GT-R became Japan's performance legend almost immediately. The cult-like following this car has ensures that there will be people out there who are willing to pay tons of money to own the legend in the future. And that's not even mentioningthe two-second NISMO verision supposedly in the works. 

2010 Subaru WRX STi Special Edition

Does anybody else remember this car? It was a STI that was lightened via having all the superfluous crap, like the six-disc CD changer, taken out, the suspension was reworked, and it had some awesome lightweight BBS wheels thrown on there. The result was an even sharper STI that annihilated race tracks while costing less than the regular STI.

Alas, only 500 were made in 2010, and if statistics have taught us anything, it's that a significant number of those have been totalled by idiots by now.

Honda S2000 CR

We really miss the Honda S2000; it was essentially a hardcore Madza Miata and as a result, is still very sought after even if it was discontinued in 2009. The Club Racer version was a faster, lighter, and sharper special edition that dropped in 2007, and fewer than 2000 of them were made.

Ford Mustang

That bone stock V6 might be worth something some day, but probably not. We think people should be on the lookout for editions like the GT500, the Boss 302, and if you're a super rich and crazy car collector that U.S. Air Force Thunderbird edition. 

Tesla Model S Signature Performance

In the history of electric cars, the Tesla Model S is quite clearly the watershed moment. Electric cars went from being impractical to practical, slow to fast, and ugly to sexy all in one fell swoop. We expect the interest in this car to still be there in a few decades, but the Signature Performance edition from the launch year is certainly going to be the most likely of the bunch to headline an auction.

Jaguar F-Type

Let's face it: style is one of the main factors in what makes a classic car valuable. That elusive "it-factor" is another. The Jaguar F-Type is all about those two things. It's fast, but not as fast as its price would suggest. It is, however, incredibly stylish and the engine makes an incredible noise. Those features will never go out of fashion, and a Jaguar badge is a good predictor of future value.

Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507 and Black Series

The C63 AMG is one of the last AMG cars to bear the company's glorious naturally aspirated V8. We drove the new CLS63 AMG, and while it was great, it was missing the magic provided by the older engine. As turbochargers spread over the coming years to the rest of AMG's cars, we're going to miss this crazy vehicle, and we think others will too. Of course, the up-tuned special editions will appreciate in value the most.

Pontiac G8 GXP

This attractive, fast, precise, and powerful Pontiac may have been the saddest automotive casualty of the recession. Only 1,829 of these made it on to the roads in the U.S., and they are now viewed as Pontiac's swan song. The G8 GXP's LS3 V8 sent it to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, and it gripped the road like a much smaller car. We'll see if the Chevy SS can serve as any sort of replacement very soon. 

Ferrari California

The Ferrari California is much maligned by those who can't afford one, and for that reason we don't think it's going to be a hot seller in 50 years, except for two of them. Only two Californias were sold with a manual transmission before said gearbox was discontinued, and those were the last manual Ferraris to ever be made. 

We're willing to bet that those things are already worth a fortune.

BMW 1-Series M Coupe

Stupid name aside, this is one of the best cars of recent memory. It was also so obviously good that we're not sure anybody has even paid MSRP or lower for one. Dealers were charging an extra $10,000, and people were lined up to pay it. The sticker price was $54,000, and if you find a used one with 20,000-30,000 miles on it, you can expect to pay about $70,000 for it now.

These are going to cost a fortune.