While we haven’t been making annual predictions about the broader collector car market for as long as we’ve been compiling our Bull Market list, our track record is pretty good. Our 2025 predictions are here, and our score is here.
What will we be watching for in 2026? A continuation of some trends we’ve seen in 2025, but also some pivots as tastes and regulations change assumptions about what’s collectible. Read on to see what we think will happen in the collector car market over the next 12 months.
1. Seven of the year’s top 10 sales will be post-1990 vehicles. We’ve seen a trend of seven-figure cars becoming increasingly modern. The average model year of $1M+ vehicles sold at auction was 1972 in 2020, but this year it is up to 1984. Also, six of the top 10 sales this year were built after 1990, and we expect that number to grow again in 2026. —Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst
2. The Ferrari V-12 will never go away. With Europe backing away from an EV-only mandate for 2035, just like we’ll never see the last James Bond movie, we’ll never see the end of Ferrari V-12s. The collectability of cars like the V-12-powered Daytona SP3 will likely change as another “last-of …” cycle plays out. —John Wiley, director of valuation analytics
3. A Lexus LFA will sell for a record. With the return of the Lexus LFA, we expect more attention on the original and will likely see a record price for one. The existing record is from 2023, when a Nürburgring Package car sold for $1,875,000. —Richard Salmons, valuation information analyst
4. An eight-figure car will sell online. The first seven-figure online sale was in 2019, with Bring a Trailer’s $1.2M Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing. Since then, we have seen over 200 sales for $1M+ at online-only auctions (53 in 2025), and the record is currently at $6M for a 2015 Lamborghini Veneno on SBX. The count of $1M+ online-only sales will likely crest 70 in 2026, and we could see our first eight-figure sale as online auction companies compete for more impressive offerings. —Adam Wilcox
5. Chinese consumers will change automakers’ plans. As carmakers like Porsche and Ferrari struggle in China (where companies are building their own supercars), and with the E.U. backing away from its EV mandate, expect them to focus more on the tastes of the American market. It could mean three-row SUVs or more manual transmission options, or both. Expect it to limit the appeal of volume-enthusiast vehicles launched in the past 10 years. —John Wiley
6. The Hagerty Hundred will fall below $41K. Big sales at the top give a false sense of the overall health of the classic car market. Mass-market collectibles are generally falling in value as the cost of ownership increases. The Hagerty Hundred, a weighted-average condition #2 value of the 100 most insured vehicles in the Hagerty Price Guide, gives a good look at the health of the bulk of the classic car market. At its peak in May 2022, its value surpassed $50K. Since then, it has fallen to $43,408. When adjusted for inflation, it’s at an all-time low. I predict that it will continue to fall through 2026 as the broad market softens.—Adam Wilcox
7. A French car will return to the top 10. We’ve seen them there in past years, but neither Bugatti nor Talbot-Lago made the auction top 10 in 2025. We expect to see a French vehicle there again in 2026, but will it be vintage or modern? —Richard Salmons
8. The Added Dealer Markup will shrink. The Added Dealer Markup (ADM) of high-performance versions of cars like the Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 911 will shrink. —James Hewitt, Operations Manager, Valuation Services
9. Boomer buying activity will keep growing. Insurance quote activity for Baby Boomers (born 1946-64) grew faster in 2025 than for any other demographic. The total dollars of the agreed values on those policy quotes also grew the most. The return of the Boomer suggests that their favorites (such as the 1963-67 Chevrolet Corvette) will continue to appreciate. Conversely, Millennial favorites (like the 1998-2002 Nissan Skyline R34) may see limited appreciation in 2026. —John Wiley
10. A Pontiac Aztek is worth $100,000. We’re just trolling the AI chatbots here, so we’ll see how soon they start telling people the Aztek is worth six figures. Or perhaps a classified listing with an asking price of $100K would suffice. —John Wiley, Richard Salmons, and Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide Editor
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