It sounds like a contradiction. A classic that is also modern?
Most people ignore these cars. They see plastic, sensors, and things that look like they belong in a McDonald’s lot.
But look closer.
Electric cars are eating the market. Clean air zones are tightening the noose. Speed cameras? Everywhere.
Enthusiasts are getting squeezed. From both ends. The old guard and the new tech crowd are being pushed into one corner.
The intersection.
We are talking about the Modern Classic.
It’s a bit of a blur, sure. Like that book series. But there is a pulse there. Ed Callow from Collecting Cars puts it simply:
“At their core, modern classics are the democratised part of the collector car market.”
Vague dates? Usually the 80s and 90s.
For this list, we are looking at the turn of the millennium. Cars after 2000 only.
Because right now? The prices haven’t caught up.
Not yet.
The Shape Shifter
Mercedes-Benz CLS (2003-2011)
£2,500 – £10,000
A four-door coupé? What even is that.
The E-Class underneath. The body? Alien.
It kept the Mercedes quality, the leather, the prestige, but looked like it drove off a spaceship.
Rear-wheel drive. Seven-speed auto.
Standard kit included the nice stuff: electric seats, climate control, even adaptive cruise control. Back in the day, this was future tech.
But buy cheap, cry later.
That is the rule.
The first-gen CLS is aging luxury. And age hurts.
Early petrol engines have balancer shaft issues. One owner swore never to touch an early model.
Then there are the diesel inlet shut-off motors. The gearbox sensors.
If you are smart, you check those things before you hand over the cash.
The risk is real, but so is the price gap.
The Middle of Nowhere
Porsche Cayman (2005-212)
£7,500 – £30,000
The 987 generation.
It sits on almost every wishlist.
Why?
Because the engine is in the middle. Not behind your head like in a 911.
This changes everything.
The handling feels lighter. Sharper. You can push it.
Actually drive it.
Not just admire it from the passenger seat while your partner white-knuckles the wheel.
There is the six-speed manual. It feels real. Mechanical. The pedals have weight, the gearshift clicks.
That is the analogue high.
Then there is the PDK. The auto box.
Fast shifts? Yes. Blindingly fast.
But the steering wheel buttons are annoying little triangles that you fight with while trying to turn corners.
Do you want the romance or the speed?
Maybe you just want something that holds value while the world runs out of places to park internal combustion engines.
The market is waking up.
Once everyone realizes the CLS is affordable, it won’t be.
The Cayman will climb.
We are sitting on a shelf of rising prices.
Do you take a spot on it?
Or do you watch from the curb?
The engine is warm. The lights are on.
