John Ponders The Classic Cars Of The Future

We’ve asked the question often enough before, but I’m asking it again now.

- John Simister

What will be the classic car of the future? This time, though, I mean really in the future. Not Focus RS, or Porsche Cayman 718, or Aston Martin DB11. I’m talking about when most cars are electric, and have been for a long time. Maybe 40 years from now.

That sounds ridiculously far in the future, and I for one won’t see it unless I can hold out for a telegram from King William V, but does a P-reg MGB or Escort MkII really seem so impossibly ancient today? It’s said that electric cars will be making real inroads into new-car sales by 2020, and already a Tesla Model S, a Nissan Leaf, a Renault Zoe and a BMW i3 are everyday sights.

In 2056, the oldest of the above electric cars (the Leaf) will be 45 years old, plenty old enough for a classic. But will there be any of them left for car club charge-ins and swap meets of power inverters? Will owners be reminiscing about the days of range anxiety and charging points that didn’t work, or had laughably filthy petrol cars parked in the way?