At RNG Classics, being obsessive enthusiasts as we are – we’ve been watching the market shift for a while, but what we’ve been seeing and hearing is now clear: younger enthusiasts are the ones fuelling the classic car world!
Hagerty (insurance guys—but also top-tier car nerds) do a great job tracking these trends. Their recent insights from the US paint a clear picture, and while it’s across the pond, the same patterns are showing up here in the UK.
So who’s buying? Collectors aged 60 and under now account for 64% of interest in the classic car market. Leading the charge? Millennials and Gen Z. That’s right—collectors born between 1981 and 2012 are now shaping the scene, and they’re not chasing the same dream their parents did….
They’re turning to modern classics, cars from the 1980s through to the early 2000s. These are the last of the analogue greats. The ones without 30 ECUs, lane assist trying to take you off a cliff, or touchscreen dashboards that crash more often than Windows 98.
We’re talking about the hot hatches of the 1980’s—the Mk1 Golf GTI, 205 GTI, XR2s. Lightweight, lively, and fun in a way modern cars just aren’t. And then there’s the grand tourers of the early 2000s—take the Aston Martin DB9, for example. Launched in 2004, it’s one of the last truly elegant GT cars before the tech-heavy tide rolled in. That naturally aspirated V12, Ian Callum’s perfectly balanced design, and a six-speed auto that still feels connected—modern enough to use daily, classic enough to stir the soul.
Why does this matter? Because this generation grew up with posters of these cars. They saw them in video games, in early Fast & Furious films, or parked at the end of their street. Now they’re chasing the real thing—nostalgia you can drive. And crucially, many of these cars are still relatively affordable. Not cheap, but reachable. And available to hire with us too HERE
So peak car? The era of pre-touchscreen, pre-autonomy, pre-overweight hybrid everything—might just represent the sweet spot. Beautiful engineering, raw driving feel, and just enough tech to keep things civilised. The DB9, the E46 M3, the 80’s 500SL, the Ferrari 360, even a good ol’ RS6—they’re what we’d call Peak Car.
The classic car world is alive and thriving. It’s younger, it’s broader, and it’s more dynamic than ever. And while the future may be electric, the present still smells like petrol. At RNG Classics, we’re not just watching the market—we’re part of it. From film shoots to brand activations, and from hot hatches to V12 GTs, we live and breathe classic character. The analogue dream isn’t going anywhere just yet!
