Ones to Watch: Retro Rides’ Guide to the Best Buys in 2025

Retro Rides’ inaugural list of ‘Ones To Watch’ uses 2024 auction and market results to identify classic cars with prospects for renewed growth in 2025 and beyond. 

Sitting on the sidelines watching other people buy cars you can only dream of owning can be an entertaining task. It can also raise more questions than it answers.

Why would a car owned for decades by the same family suddenly enter the open market? Why would two examples of the same model that seem so similar deliver quite different results when sold a few months, or even a few minutes, apart?

Australia in the context of the global classic market is a tiny player. We also tend to be quite insular in our tastes, attaching much higher values to cars that were built here than to comparable designs from other countries.

On several occasions and for different reasons during the past 40 years, the values of cars we covet have surged and then collapsed. Only once, it must be said, have all the gains made during a boom been lost due to a bust, however buying when prices are at their peak is risky.

Our classic car market’s latest peak occurred during the Covid-19 Pandemic and since then has been in decline, hammered by global uncertainty and rising interest rates.

Money that might have bought a ‘hobby’ car is these days diverted to more pressing purposes,  and fewer potential buyers dip into home equity when the cost of doing so is rising, due to higher interest rates. This dynamic also dampens the once-rampant FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), meaning buyers today are more circumspect than they were a few years ago. 

The US market kick-started the recent interest in classic LandCruiser models such as the iconic FJ40 (Image: Collecting Cars)

The most significant evidence of the downturn has come during the past 12 months, as seen in the example of the same car being offered on two occasions at the same auction house in the space of a few months, with a resultant decline in value of around 15 percent.

Local performance cars built on production lines now silent for almost a decade were once in hot demand and able to generate several times their list prices when sold at auction. 

Those values set between 2018 and 2022 are now distant memories and cars showing ‘delivery distances’ now sit under their tailored covers waiting for better times to come again.

None of those vehicles have made their way into Retro Rides’ inaugural list of ‘Ones to Watch’. Their prospects for renewed growth are too dim for our liking.

Our ‘Prospects’ rating is a bit of fun but worth checking as the years roll by to see how various models perform in an evolving market. 

Of course, there are no guarantees in life other than death and taxes, and therefore absolutely no guarantee from us that the models listed will make any gain on previous values. 

In an unpredictable world, where a single political or weather event can boost confidence or create market carnage, the values of items like recreational motor vehicles move in delightful or devastating ways.  

This 1966 Roadster attracted a $103,500 winning bid when sold last May, which we feel is a fee typical of the car’s status (Image: Collecting Cars)

C2 Chevrolet Corvette (1963-67)

Early in their brief lives, any C2 Corvette Stingrays that found their way to Australia was ranked on a scale of 10 to Divine.

Dealers who managed to acquire a C2 as second-hand stock just needed to park it prominently and wait for the crowd. With hidden headlights and those knife-edge creases it had punters clambering over adjacent Jaguar E-Types and Maserati to get a closer look.

Of late though, the gloss has worn off the C2. Several cars offered during 2024 were sold at or below $70,000, with better examples selling for around $100,000.

Early in 2024, a coupe in ready-to-show condition did make $180,000, however it was the 1966 Roadster pictured here which brought $103,500 when sold last May that we feel is more typical of the car’s status. 

Above the 327-engined C2s sit big-block cars, headed by Holy Grail 427/435 (horsepower) models. These when auctioned in their homeland can top US$300,000 but we don’t have many of that quality here.

5-10 Year Prospects: 6/10

Few Aussie cars have the pedigree of Peter Brock's personal VK Group A (Image: Collecting Cars)

HDT VK Group A (1985-86)

These most mighty of HDT performance cars have fallen a long way since the time one very special example was sold for more than $1 million.

It was Car #5 of the 500 VK Group A built, first owned by the late Peter Brock and with a documented 79,000 kilometres.

Similar cars even without the Brock connection were still able to generate significant money; one making $365,000 when auctioned several years ago.

April saw the million-dollar Brock Group A again back in the market via an online site but failing to sell for an undisclosed top offer. 

Other cars during the year did find owners but at prices that were down significantly on the records of 2-3 years ago.

Sales today will likely result in prices ranging from $160-210k but that situation is unlikely to persist for long.

5-10 Year Prospects: 8/10

The market has recently been filled with Hardtops selling 15-30 percent below the values they would have achieved a couple of years ago (Image: Retro Rides)

Ford Falcon/Fairmont XA-XC Hardtop (1972-78)

Two-door XA-XC Fords have been getting plenty of attention of late on the Retro Rides site, but that’s not why they snared a spot on this list.

The recent market has been filled with Hardtops of various kinds, selling at prices 15-30 percent lower than they would have achieved a couple of years ago. 

An XB Falcon GT Hardtop with oversized wheels did top $200,000, but it was a pristine car in a rare colour with manual transmission and in brighter times would have seen $240,000. 

Also selling below its potential was an XC Falcon Cobra which, even with the smaller 4.9-litre engine, should have made much more than the $162,500 accepted by a keen vendor.  

Further down the value chain were other forms of two-door Ford, priced from $60,000 to slightly above $100,000 and including a scarce P5 Landau at less than $70,000.

Thanks to low production numbers, Hardtops were never a common XA-XC Ford variant. Now, with even fewer viable survivors, prospects for growth provide owners with plenty of incentive to maintain their cars. 

5-10 Year Prospects: 7/10

While VN Group A prices peaked around the $300k mark a few years back, the rarest example of them all sold for just $190,500 in 2024 (Image: Collecting Cars)

HSV VN Group A

If you wanted an HSV that’s largely immune to declining values, then the VN Group A offers a logical choice. 

Only 302 of these imposing sedans were built and prices a few years back peaked at more than $300,000. However, during 2024 it became possible to buy the rarest VN Group A of them all and pay just $190,500.

That was the price achieved in April by a car believed to be the sole survivor of two black-painted Group As which had been created as contest prizes and given away in conjunction with the 1991 Tooheys 1000 race.

The Tooheys car wasn’t the only one of its kind offered during the year. Two others in their standard Durif Red were offered as well; one showing 125,000 km making only $160,000 when sold during August.

With production numbers comparable to Ford’s Falcon GTHO Phase III and a strongly committed HSV market, future interest and value growth are virtually assured.     

5-10 Year Prospects: 8/10

This 1977-built, Australian-delivered 911 may sport a sky-high 353,000km on its odometer, but an $80,000 winning bid at auction fulfilled ownership aspirations for someone (Image: Collecting Cars)

Porsche 911 (1974-82)

With pre-1974 911s remaining mostly beyond the realms of affordability, cars from the second half of the 1970s deliver increasing appeal. While the difference in shape between these and the earliest versions is minimal, the 2.7 and later 3.0-litre cars have more power, better brakes and more comfortable interiors than the 2.0-litre originals.

Top quality Carreras can reach $200,000 in the current market, but that is beyond the reach of many people and a big investment for any enthusiast owner to be juggling in a market where circumstances can rapidly sour.

The car in our photograph cost a lot less than $200,000 yet is still able to deliver plenty of what once was called ‘kerb appeal’. 

This 1977 built, Australian delivered 2.7 Sportomatic showing 353,000 kilometres certainly falls short of show quality, but for $80,000 at auction fulfilled ownership aspirations for someone. 

Later 911 SC versions with 3.0-litre motors didn’t come new with this car’s evocative Fuchs ‘cookie cutter’ wheels, but in the retail market at $100,000 they still offer some scope for growth.

5-10 Year Prospects: 5/10

This 1968 Mustang 2+2 sold for just $68,000 back in July 2024 (Image: Burns & Co)

Ford Mustang 2+2 (1965-68)

People – most of them American – will tell you that the place to go to find good Mustangs is Australia. And they might be right. 

The queues of cars displayed at All Ford or Mustang Club display days are invariably excellent but most usually they are coupes or convertibles.

The Mustangs we favour are 2+2 Fastback versions of the First-Generation body shape, especially the early cars which on occasion have become donors for Shelby 350GT replicas. 

One such car in stunning Silver and mildly modified made a reported $100,000 when sold at ‘auction’ by a Queensland-based performance car dealer.

Further down the price scale but still eye-catching and apparently in excellent condition was our pictured 1968 model 2+2 – this car in Sunlit Gold sold in July for just $68,000. 

With its C-Code 289 V8 with automatic transmission, this Mustang typifies the cars of its kind available in our market at a price low enough to accommodate growth when a more buoyant market returns. 

5-10 Year Prospects: 5/10

While there are plenty of imported Zs around, our tip is to find a local Aussie car with as many documents as possible (Image: Nissan UK)

Datsun 240Z

It is surprising to see how fast the money available for early Zs in good condition has declined. Here we are talking local cars with their life-threatening rust replaced by new metal but excluding recently arrived JDM stock which offer less appeal than cars with local history.

Recently the market saw a couple of very early 2.4-litre cars become available; one achieving more than $180,000 when offered at auction while the other slightly newer example at the same sale couldn’t surpass $70K. 

Looking at Zs with prospects means finding a local car with as many documents as possible. Virtually all survivors will have undergone body restoration; invoices will tell when this occurred and how extensive the work was.

Replacement of the original engine, switching to Weber carburettors and installing rear disc brakes will keep a 240Z in use for decades without significantly affecting its value, so don’t be deterred by sensible modifications.

5-10 Year Prospects: 6/10

There are plenty of affordable Aussie classics still available under the $30k mark (Image: Lloyds)

Mid-Priced Locals (1968-82)

This selection is by nature generic because so many choices exist and individual taste is a significant factor.

The only stipulation was that the cars had to be Australian made, with auction hammer prices below $30,000. To illustrate the kind of car that would meet these criteria, we grabbed a pic of a spacious and well-presented HX Statesman which at auction cost $28,500. 

However, the $10-$20,000 segment was also packed with great choices such as a very original and excellent VH Valiant Ranger that reached $16,500.

Central to these cars’ appeal during future decades will be familiarity and that factor will help maintain demand.

People who as children experienced cars like the HX Statesman will likely retain strong and positive memories which will be a factor when choosing a hobby vehicle.

Cars like these will be easy to maintain, with stocks of used and even ‘new-old-stock’ parts remaining available and many mechanical repairs within the scope of competent owners.

5-10 Year Prospects: 6/10

E-Type prices rise and fall with alarming unpredictability, but this does provide buyers of lesser means the chance to own one while insulating themselves from future downturns (Image: Donington Auctions)

Jaguar E-Type (1962-71)

Like a dinghy battling the incoming tide, E-Type values rise and fall with alarming unpredictability. 

The first notable instance occurred in conjunction with the 1990s recession but mostly affected people who had bought early 3.8-litre versions or V12 Roadsters.

During recent decades, demand and values increased, only to plunge as fallout from the Global Financial Crisis hit E-Type prices harder than most.

Now, in post-Covid times, it has happened again and is providing buyers of lesser means with the chance to own an E-Type while insulating themselves from downturns that may lay ahead.

Experience suggests that cars bought when the market is in sharp decline rarely lose money and don’t suffer at the same rate as those bought during ‘boom’ times.  

The Roadster pictured was authentic right-hand drive and looked excellent yet was sold mid- year for $155,000. Similar quality Series 1 Roadsters were two years ago achieving $200,000+.

5-10 Year Prospects: 6/10

This 1954 Land Rover pulled a $27,000 winning bid back in July 2024 (Image: Collecting Cars)

Pioneering Offroaders: Land Rover & Toyota LandCruiser

It was the US market that kickstarted demand for early off-road 4WDs, paying huge money for restored FJ40 LandCruisers then spending similar amounts on early Ford Broncos. 

The Brits got aboard as the Land Rover reached its 70th Anniversary, with UK values topping £40,000. Recognising the model’s growing significance within the older vehicle sphere, top prize at Brisbane’s All British Car Show was this year taken out by a perfectly presented short wheelbase Landie.

Values here and offshore have faltered though, offering opportunities to acquire these early 4WDs in premium condition for much less than has been spent on their restoration.  

LandCruiser FJ40 and FJ55 wagons have also seen growing demand and increased asking prices, however very good vehicles have now fallen below $30,000.

This likely will remain the situation for some time, but Australians’ love of off-road recreation will help maintain demand for vehicles that represent the earliest days of 4WD touring in this country.  

5-10 Year Prospects: 5/10