This is a question that flashes across the minds of most car enthusiasts and collectors. Will your car be worth a lot of money someday? After gaining fame in the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice”, Toyota’s 2000 GT has become a legitimate collectible car in the global sports cars scene. With only 400 units made and only three in existence here in the Philippines (one is owned by emerging taipan and car collector Ramon Ang), this sexy Japanese classic sports car has spiked in value. One sold for $1.2 million at an auction in 2013, making it the most expensive Japanese car ever sold.
Since the Philippine market has been dominated by the Japanese since the seventies, MST has come up with its own list of Japanese cars which are already considered classics and appreciate in value someday.
Collectible Japanese cars
When famed ‘Father of the Z car” Japanese Yutaka Katayama died in 2015, owners of the Datsun 240Z just hit the jackpot because their cars had just racked up some additional collectible points. Penned by the same person behind BMW’s stunning 507, the Datsun 240Z has maintained its timeless good looks. However, a penchant for rusting has depressed their values, though now “many have been restored and they’re climbing up in value.
Before its appearance in the “Fast and the Furious” movie, motorheads were already enamored with the Toyota Supra. It was easy to tune, quick on its feet and damn good looking. Since production ended, the Supra’s value has skyrocketed in value and Toyota seems to want to cash in on this phemenon. At the Philippine International Motorshow (PIMS) this year, Toyota Philippines unveiled a car which is touted as having risen from the embers of Toyota Supra.
Others would argue that the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is not old enough and is unlikely to make the classic car cut. Fast forward 20 to 30 years from now and you’ll be hard pressed to not include Mitsubishi’s pocket rocket. Why? Because it racked up three World Rally Championships in a row, its ability to harass supercars, sheer engine brutality, rarity and drop dead good looks. Need we say more?
Launched as a modern interpretation of a British classic roadster in 1990, the Mazda Miata has become one the most beloved cars ever to come from Japan. Mazda has sold more than 900,000 Miatas, and its reliability, affordability, and relative ubiquity makes it a great entry-level sports car. After a quarter-century of the Miata, it’s hard to imagine the automotive landscape without the little roadsters, and first-generation Miata’s are already being snatched up as collectibles.
When Honda unleashed the Civic SiR in 1998, racers lapped it up because it is tuner friendly and had a powerful B16A 1600cc DOHC engine pumping out 160bhp. The SiR’s buttoned down styling, sleeper looks and a sleek Passion Orange color, makes it a future classic. It still commands a hefty sum these days. If you have an unmolested SiR sitting in your garage, keep it. It could be a diamond in the rough.
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