Officially The Best Classic Car Ever

As Europe’s biggest classic vehicle marketplace, the team at Car & Classic are in a prime position to name the best classic car ever, and that is exactly what they have done!

However, the results haven’t come from opinion but from actual data based entirely on statistics. Car & Classic analysed data that went back further than 15 years and looked at the number of classic cars sold, the number of monthly searches, average sale prices, and hashtag use on Instagram.

The findings of the study revealed that the best classic ever is the Porsche 911.

The top 10 classic cars are:

Porsche 911 – The Best Classic Car Ever

The Porsche 911 is one of the most recognisable sports cars in the world. The name 911 is commonly known by petrolheads and non-car fans alike. Although the Porsche 911 has gone through quite a few changes in its almost 60-year production run, the silhouette has always been instantly recognisable and has become an icon in the automotive world.

Dale Vinten, Head of Editorial at Car & Classic said “Whilst a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS could set you back the best part of £500,000, there are many more affordable models, which bring the average sale price of a 911 on Car & Classic to £58,000 – the third highest average selling price of any make and model on the site. This first-generation 1973 Porsche 911 Lux Targa sold last year for £115,000, and would probably fetch even more now.”

Ford Mustang

In second place was the Ford Mustang. It has been hailed as the ‘ultimate American muscle car” and has been in continuous production since 1964. Average Mustang sale price on Car & Classic is around £31,000 and it is one of Ford’s most successful models.

When speaking about the Mustang, Dale said “For a classic ‘60s matching numbers example in excellent condition you could quite easily pay the best part of £250,000. However, there are many more modestly priced cars available too. This 1967 Mustang 2+2 Fastback sold for £50,500 at the end of last year, and was in excellent condition with only 7k miles on the clock.”

Land Rover Range Rover

The Land Rover Range Rover has been in production since the 1970s and came third in Car & Classic’s study. When looking at the model of car most searched for, ‘Range Rover’ is the most-searched term with more than 3,000,000 average monthly searches.

“You can pick up a classic second-generation Range Rover from as little as £5,000 if you’re happy to have a car that is well used or needs a bit of TLC. The average sale price of a classic Range Rover on Car & Classic is around £18,000 (13th highest average sale price),” reveals Vinten. “But if you’re looking for an early first-generation model in excellent condition, you could pay over £100,000. As always, a good example with extremely low mileage can command more than average prices, like this 1973 Range Rover which sold for £27,750.”

Chevrolet Corvette

Just like the 911, Mustang, and Range Rover, the Chevrolet Corvette has been in production for over 60 years. Although it is the 4th best classic car in the study, it is actually the most ‘Instagrammed’ classic car with almost 6,000,000 related hashtags.

“A premium classic car with average sale prices on Car & Classic of over £34,000, a pristine Chevrolet Corvette could set one back to the tune of more than £100,000. Or you can drive off in a 1988 Corvette C4 Targa for £7,600 if you don’t mind a left-hand drive car,” said Dale Vinten.

Jaguar E-Type

The legendary Jaguar E-Type was once described by Enzo Ferrari as “the most beautiful car in the world” so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that it’s featured on the list of best classic cars ever. The average sale price of a Jaguar E-type on Car & Classic is over £89,000, making it the marque and model with the highest average sale price on the website.

“If you are looking for a Series 1 Roadster in excellent condition, you can expect to spend up to £250,000,” predicts Vinten. “A Series 2 or 3 will cost less, as they are not as desirable, but in decent condition you can expect to pay around £40,000-£50,000. Even a barn-find 1969 E-Type Series II Roadster can set you back to the tune of £33,000.”

Volkswagen Campervan

The iconic VW Campervan has always been an extremely popular classic vehicle. Dale said about the VW Camper “The average sale price of VW campervans on Car & Classic is just over £26,000, but prices range from as little as around £3,500 for rough examples up to well in excess of £35,000. For middle-of-the-road split-screen models, such as this 1963 Type 2 Sundial Campervan, you’re looking at around £23,250.”

Land Rover Defender

Another Land Rover in the top 10 best classic cars ever comes in the form of the legendary Defender. As the workhorse of the British countryside, Dale Vinten said about the Defender “Some are worked harder than others, and you can expect the value of a Land Rover Defender to fluctuate depending on age, mileage, and condition. The average sale price through Car & Classic in recent years is around £17,800 – but a pickup variant such as this 1987 Defender 110 can be ‘picked up’ for less than £5k.”

BMW 3 Series

Dale explains that “The average price is a little over £11,000 on Car & Classic’s website, making the BMW 3 Series amongst the more affordable classics available. This modern classic 1992 E30 convertible was just over £10k. But in reality, certain models – in excellent condition – such as the M version, can set you back closer to £40,000 or £50,000.”

Ford Escort

As one of the easiest classics to maintain, the Ford Escort has always been versatile and extremely popular. Taking ninth place in the lineup, Dale said “At home on the track as much as it is the road, thanks to a colourful rally history, the average selling price of a classic Ford Escort on Car & Classic is just over £22,000. But sale prices vary hugely. While you can pick one up in need of some work for a few thousand pounds, a pristine condition classic rally car could cost the best part of £90,000. For example, this 1977 Mk2 1600 Sport Rally car (LHD) fetched £44,000 at the beginning of the year.”

Mini Cooper

Another iconic classic car, the Mini Cooper takes the title of 10th best classic car ever.

“The average sale price on Car & Classic is just over £16,000. But if you get an early Mini Cooper in pristine condition you can expect to part with over £100,000 to make it yours,” concludes Vinten. “That said, one of the last carburettor-equipped Minis, this 1991 Rover Mini Cooper, sold for £7,500 only last month.”

A Successful Car Show 2023

The Bridge Classic Car Show 2023 took place on Sunday 30th July and it was a great success. With around 800 cars in attendance, The Hangar, at Bentwaters Parks and the surrounding runways were packed with a huge range of vehicles spanning multiple eras, makes, and models. From a Ford Model T from 1912 to 2023 Aston Martins, there certainly was something for everyone to admire.

With the addition of a vintage fair, swing dancers, a live draw, and much more, our show more than doubled in size from previous years. The Bridge Classic Car Show 2023 was a definite sign that our show could very well be one of the biggest in the local area in the very near future.

The History Of The Bridge Classic Car Show

Since its debut in 2018, The Bridge Classic Car Show has steadily grown in size and popularity. Previously held predominantly at our Pettistree workshop, this year was the first time we hosted the entire show from our Bentwaters Parks facility.

With almost unlimited space, we were able to accommodate hundreds more cars and bikes. With the stunning backdrops of the former military air base, every car in attendance looked beautiful in this setting.

A Spectacular Display Of Automotive Elegance

We had several car clubs attend The Bridge Classic Car Show 2023 including Porsche Club GB, Clacton Classic Car Club, East Coast Mini Club, ISMOC, East Coast Japanese, and East Coast Retros.

The heart of the show was obviously the impressive array of classic and sports vehicles on display. The whole team loved seeing so many car owners and their cherished vehicles that have been meticulously cared for and lovingly maintained.

Visitors were treated to a snapshot of automotive history, with cars spanning several decades, each representing its era’s unique design language and engineering marvels.

An All-Inclusive Event

This year, we made a big effort to make The Bridge Classic Car Show an all-inclusive event. While classic car enthusiasts made up the core audience, the event catered to the whole family, including the four-legged variety!

Throughout the show, vintage DJ Nigel Woodhouse and his dancers from Simply Swing were entertaining the crowds with their impressive dancing skills. We also welcomed Sparkle Bar who applied glitter to many faces. The Heart of Suffolk Distillery offered some beautiful gin, while the Cheese and Pie Man added even more choice to the selection of food on offer.

Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank all of the vendors who helped us make our 2023 show as successful as it was.

• Nigel Woodhouse
• Simply Swing
• Sparkle Bar
• The Cheese and Pie Man
• Heart of Suffolk Distillery
• Sally B Vintage
• The Cake Kitchen
• Alexandra Vintage
• Hannah Iris Vintage
• Le Keux
• Ace Auto Memorabilia
• Blue Pig Photography
• Ransomes Mobility

Our Charity Partner – East Anglian Air Ambulance

At 3:30 pm, our very special charity competition came to an exciting conclusion when we found out who the lucky winner of our 1973 Triumph Spitfire was in the live draw. All profits from this competition will be donated to East Anglian Air Ambulance to help them continue their vital life-saving work around the region.

By the time the competition closed, £40,000 was generated which is a result we are very happy with!

East Anglian Air Ambulance was a big part of our 2023 show by teaching children and adults the extremely important skill of CPR and AED use. With so many lives literally being saved with this knowledge, we are extremely proud to help them spread the message and continue their work.

A highlight of the show was a flyover of the EAAA helicopter which everyone seemed to enjoy.

Best In Show

Local radio presenter Mark Murphy MBE was the judge for The Bridge Classic Cars Best in Show 2023. He awarded the title to Bryn Jones for his Jaguar XK120.

The two runners-up were Martin Dawson for his Mustang and Derek Simonds for his Jensen 541R.

Testimonials

“Ideal location, good varied selection of cars from the man who restored in his garage, to the high end professional restoration, all unique in their own right. Nice atmosphere with the swing and jive music, and not a ghetto blaster. Would like to have seen more stalls generally, including an Autojumble, maybe weather forecast was to blame. Keep up good work, Look forward to next year. Jilly.”

“A great day , enjoyed seeing everyone’s cars. More stalls would be nice, perhaps some car accessory stalls (cleaning, detailing and gadgets). Nice to see everyone look forward to the next.”

“Excellent venue and show with great variety of cars and easily accessed. Look forward to next year.”

“Great day out lovely collection of cars and motorcycles.”

“Great show and people were so friendly. My son has autism/adhd and he loved it.”

On Social Media

The Bridge Classic Car Show

Following the great success of this year’s show, we have already begun plans for the 2024 show. More information on this will be available very soon.

Remembering Hugh Mitchell

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the sad passing of Hugh Mitchell.

Hugh was a really good friend to Bridge Classic Cars and a personal friend to Gordon, with the two of them having spent many laughing hours together. 

Hugh was an ex-car trader whose love of classics was not limited to one marque, although his true passion was for Rolls Royce and Bentley. He could often be heard saying that once you had driven a Rolls, you wouldn’t want to drive anything else!

Still with him was his Rolls Royce Spirit 3, Mercedes CLK Convertible, Metro Convertible, Mercedes Estate and his Classic Camper. 

He attended all of our shows with his fellow Bentley enthusiast Steve and was always a smiling cheerful man with a cheeky, and sometimes sarcastic, glint in his eye. 

We will miss you Hugh.

Hugh Mitchell 1936 to 2023