Trying to predict which cars will be million-dollar collectibles is a roll of the dice. It's hard to know what combination of looks, racing pedigree, rarity and hyper-inflation will combine to make a big winner. Yesterday, we asked you to take a shot at it, and here your top ten guesses.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our Jalopnik summer feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit:potarou
10.) Ford Escort RS Cosworth
Suggested By: Jackie's honeymoon headcold
Why It Could Be Valuable: The Escort RS Cosworth is up there on the list of all-time legendary rally cars. It would be piloted by many of rallying's greatest drivers, including a win at the 1994 Rally Finland at the hands of Tommi Makinen, Carlos Sainz, Ari Vatanen, and Juha Kankkunen, amongst others. Over its four-year production lifespan, 7,145 examples were produced for road and competition, though many have no doubt succumbed to death while in the field. Many more were modified. Finding a stock example in the future could bring the big bucks.
Photo credit: eplusm
9.) Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Balboni
Suggested By: Crossdrilled
Why It Could Be Valuable: Named for Lamborghini test driver Valentino Balboni, this edition of the Gallardo takes the thoroughly modern Lamborghini and strips it of its four-wheel drive, adds a sweet stripe down the middle, and re-calibrates its ESP system to allow for greater drift angles. What you end up with is one of 250 of these 542 horsepower, 3,000 pound, rear-wheel drive monsters, and because of that, a very collectible car.
Photo credit: jl5ro
8.) Nissan R390 GT1
Suggested By: ThatDamnDrunk
Why It Could Be Valuable: There were eight examples of Nissan's R390 Le Mans race car produced over its two year run from 1997 to 1998. An additional two cars were built for homologation purposes to run the competition versions at Le Mans. One of those street cars lives at Nissan's Zama, Kanagawa Warehouse. The other is in the hands of an undisclosed winner at an undisclosed auction and stored now in an undisclosed location. If these cars aren't already million dollar babies, then they could be soon.
Photo credit: Ric Quintanilla
7.) Toyota 2000GT
Suggested By: TheSwagger
Why It Could Be Valuable: The 2000GT is considered amongst collectors to be the first seriously collectible Japanese supercar. Toyota turned out 337 of these beautiful cars from 1967 to 1970, and examples have sold at auction for as much as $375,000- a number that's sure to only go up from there. Two convertible examples were produced for James Bond's You Only Live Twice, but a convertible was never available for the public from the factory. Most of the cars produced were painted either red or white, so if you can find one that came from the factory in a different shade, don't ask questions, just buy it.
Photo credit: RUD66
6.) Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Suggested By: Gamecat235
Why It Could Be Valuable: Well, first off, it's beautiful. Regardless of what it is, eventually someone would drop big money for this thing. The fact that it's an Alfa Romeo with a Ferrari engine and only one of 500 coupes and 500 spiders means that that big money may eventually become huge money. If you live in the United States, then it's one of only 90 coupes and 35 spiders on our shores. Its Ferrari V8 is built in Maranello, and gets the 8C Competizione from 0-62 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds.
Photo credit: FotoSleuth
5.) Toyota Supra (Mark IV)
Suggested By: HaterSlayer
Why It Could Be Valuable: Finding an unmolested, never-crashed, minty fresh 1992-1998 United States-model Supra is going to get harder and harder as time goes on. Especially if it's the 320 horsepower, twin-turbo monster you're looking for. In total, 7,866 of these cars were built, but only some of those came to the States. Only some of those were twin-turbos, and only some of those had the awesome targa roof.
Photo credit: Brian Gaid
4.) Porsche 911 RS
Suggested By: Brian, The Life of
Why It Could Be Valuable: The Porsche RS was a homologation special built in 1973 and 1974 so that the full-on race version, the RSR, could go storm Le Mans. They're already valued by collectors for their limited numbers (1,580 all-in) and beefed-up mechanical bits. The RS got a bigger engine, good for 210 horses, as well as stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, and widened wheels & fenders. They're considered by some to be the best 911s of all time, so it's not unreasonable to expect to see their value increase.
Photo credit: RUD66
3.) Pontiac Solstice Coupe
Suggested By: underachieva
Why It Could Be Valuable: Arguably, the best looking car to come out of General Motors in years, it's a real shame that the Solstice had to go down with the Pontiac ship. It's an even bigger shame that only 1,266 coupes made it out the door before the padlock went on. They may not be the fastest, or best handling cars out there, but as a last-gasp from an American automaker (and a damn good looking one, too) they may command a premium in the coming decades.
Photo credit: JBSpec7
2.) Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth Evo II
Suggested By: SennaMP4
Why It Could Be Valuable: In the very early 1990's, Mercedes-Benz and BMW were engaged in an even more intense arms race than they are today. When the Evo II debuted at the 1990 Geneva Auto show, all 502 examples were sold on the spot. It had a 232 horsepower engine (with a number of Cosworth enhancements), electronically adjustable suspension, and its signature bodykit. All of the cars produced were black, except for the last two, which were silver. Very few come up for sale, so current owners no doubt think they're sitting on a soon-to-be-classic.
Photo credit: Automotive Addicts
1.) GM EV1
Suggested By: pauljones
Why It Will Be Valuable: In the future, when our daily drivers go "whirr" instead of "grrr" historians will look back on one of several early mass-produced electric cars. The EV1 will be one of them. There were 1,117 EV1s produced over three years, and nearly all of them were destroyed by General Motors when their leases ran out and they were taken from their owners. There are still some in existence, including one at the Smithsonian, but they have mostly all been deactivated by the factory. These cars are important as historical documents, and the few remaining cars will one day be valued as such.
Photo credit: RightBrainPhotography