5 cars to watch this auction season

Jaguar E-Type:

Can we really call a Series 1 a value buy?

Jaguar E-types were going to be the next Cobra, right? Put away a Series 1 car and plan for retirement. Well, after prices steadily climbed during the early stages of the pandemic, they have since fallen, with Hagerty showing a steady decline since late 2022. 

What hasn’t changed, though? An E-type still represents a motoring icon. It’s beautiful, it’s thrilling to drive, it’s welcome anywhere. Today’s bonus: The point of entry can be a little easier to swallow.

This car here: Could this 1964 Jaguar E-type be the ultimate driver? It sports the desirable Series 1 bodywork, complete with the covered headlamps, but at some point, the original 3.8-liter block was replaced with a later 4.2. The color has been changed, too, from its original Opalescent Silver Blue. RM Sotheby’s sold it for $64,400; you could easily spend more on a CPO Lexus.

BMW M3

When did the E36-chassis cars get so desirable?

An original BMW M3 is now easily a six-figure purchase–and with good reason. You get a street-legal take on a bona fide Group A touring car. Is the follow-up model about to cross that same price threshold? 

Like the first M3, this one also got the goods needed to thrive on the race track, meaning more power, more grip, more brakes. The U.S.-spec car, offered for the 1995-’99 model years, didn’t receive all of the tricks found in the overseas model–no individual throttle bodies, for example–but it still found much success: IMSA and SCCA titles plus those all-important healthy sales figures.

This car here: For years, prices on a good E36-chassis M3 sat in the teens. Lately, though, nostalgia has taken hold–and we’re talking about the standard cars, not the rare, track-ready Lightweight versions. At this winter’s Scottsdale sale, RM Sotheby’s got $89,600 for this 1995 example: 4832 miles since new and one-family ownership. Photograph courtesy RM Sotheby's

Chevrolet Corvette

What C3 for what price point?

This was the Corvette of the future–and apparently the future lasted from the 1964 unveiling of the Mako Shark II show car all the way through 1982. And with that long model life comes the fact that you can find a C3 Corvette within a wide budget range. Plus, here you get the option of open versus closed bodywork.

C3 Corvette production started with the 1968 model year, with performance starting to decline once the ’70s got going. Apparently the masses didn’t mind, however. Best year for the Corvette? 1979 with more than 53,000 sales.

This car here: What determines Corvette selling prices? In addition to the usual–condition being the most significant–rarity and the appropriate documentation are huge in Corvette circles. Mecum’s top C3 Corvette at Kissimmee was an unrestored 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible that sold for $759,000. Chevy built just 116 Corvettes with the big-block L88 engine. This 1969 Corvette–one of 12 believed to carry an M-code engine casing–sold for $44,000. Photograph courtesy Mecum

Ford Mustang SVO

Today’s solid entry-level classic?

How would you like to own the most technologically advanced classic Mustang offered in its day? We’re talking about refinements like improved aero, five-speed transmission and four-wheel-disc brakes. Oh, and it even gets a cool offset hood scoop.

Power for this seemingly futuristic creation? Instead of a V8, how about a turbocharged four? Meet the Mustang SVO, a limited offering for the 1984-’86 model years.

The traditional Mustang, at this time, faced a somewhat uncertain future. Could a V8 engine meet impending emissions and economy figures? And did the future have a place for a rear-drive layout?

The Mustang SVO gave us that Mustang for tomorrow–or maybe an interim model until Ford could figure out the nameplate’s future.  “For tomorrow” didn’t mean slow, however, as the SVO more or less matched the output for the V8-powered Mustang.

This car here: When the V8 Mustang roared back with a vengeance, the SVO became a short-lived specialty that, today, can serve as a fun, entry-level classic. Mecum sold this 1985 Mustang SVO for $15,400. Photograph courtesy Mecum

Porsche Reimagined by Singer

How much more can these fetch?

Why watch the prices on a bespoke, million-dollar creation? Because we want to see how much higher they can go, especially since the cap has been set: Back in 2022, Singer Vehicle Design announced that it had closed orders on its Classic Study cars based on the non-turbo Porsche 911.

These Porsches–reimagined by Singer, as the official statement goes–are each built to the owner’s wishes. The usual upgrades include backdated bodywork–much of it carbon–plus healthy Ed Pink engines. Creature comforts abound, too, including air conditioning–functional, we’re told–plus Apple CarPlay and leather trim from the trunk to the engine compartment. Is this the Gullwing for a younger audience?

This car here: Despite only about 450 examples being built, cars from Singer’s Classic Study run do turn up at auction–where they often sell for about a million. This 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera, fitted with 4.0-liter power, a six-speed gearbox, big Brembos and some 24-karat accents, sold for $935,000 at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale sale. Photograph courtesy Barrett-Jackson

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