What is a Classic?

Not an easy question to answer.

I looked for a definition, in the UK, HM Revenue & Customs has one;

Definition

A classic car is one where:

the age of the car at the end of the year of assessment is 15 years or more and
the market value of the car for the year is £15,000 or more

It's a definition, but not one I would agree with, I kept searching...

The Classic Car Club of America’s (CCCA) definition. The club defines CCCA Classics or Full Classic Cars as “...fine or unusual motor cars which were built between and including the years 1925 to 1948. All of these are very special cars which are distinguished by their respective fine design, high engineering standards and superior workmanship.”

In an effort to narrow down the search I looked for the definition of classic ….

‘… judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind…’

This doesn’t encompass lots of the cars I would consider a classic.

"In considering this question of making motor cars in modest numbers, and at the same time making a profit, the fact has to be faced that the product will cost more in any case. And here is where salvation comes in - the intense individualism of the Anglo-Saxon race. Mixed up with this is a certain amount of innate snobbery. Without it, all efforts would be hopeless. To this end a motor car must be designed and built that is a little different from and a little better than the product of the big quantity manufacturer. "

March 1934 Cecil Kimber in a speech to the Institution of Automobile Engineers. (Full details click here )

An online dictionary brought me a little closer to a more acceptable definition,

‘A car which is still popular although it is no longer produced’

I think you get the point.



I have a cut down a short list of just over 200 but here are a few to get the ball rolling.

My definition is;-

"A car that is no longer produced with a fan club following and an enthusiasts forum."

Leigh Ping wrote: My definition is;-

"A car that is no longer produced with a fan club following and an enthusiasts forum."

I looked at this sort of definition, the problem I had with it is ......Allegro, Princess, Marina to name but a few.

Some 'Classic Car' shows have some pretty awful old cars, cars which were not loved in their day and just because their old doesn't make them more desirable now.

Still beauty is in the eye of the beholder, live and let live and all that ....

One man's classic is another man's pile of scrap! :yesnod:

Just because a car's old and some people are enthusiastic about it doesn't, in my very subjective viewpoint, make a Classic.

A classic, for me, is an older car that I would want to own.

The Allegro is a perfect example. I thought it was an awful car when it was new, and to me, it still is. However I can appreciate the love and attention that someone lavishes on an Allegro to keep it immaculate


So for me, a Triumph TR series up to TR6 is a classic but a TR7 isn't.



For me a Nissan 200sx S13 is a classic but an S14 orS15 isn't.

Standard S13


Now

Totally subjective!

:rant: Photo's please, this thread needs photo's



David, I reckon you need to add the Nissan 200sx S13 pics

Just on the point about a classic having to be old. I disagree I would say jthe DB9 or the Bugatti Veyron could be described as a classic car.

What is a classic car? Great question! And some excellent answers too. It just goes to show that there is no simple answer. In my opinion its a mixture of the comments above. Maybe its the design philosophy that is older - an MGF/TF is generally considered a modern classic as is the MX5 because their basic designs are nigh on 20 years old. I'd maybe say the Elise is a classic, but not the Veyron. I'd put it as a future classic - still to youthful to me! And I'm in the NOT a classic side for Allegro, Marina etc. I did my driving lessons in an Allegro - dreadful car!

I think Leigh's video highlights the problem of 'what is a Classic car?'

Most of those cars are not classics in my view, they are hideous junk.
Plus, they are hideous junk that has been customized by people with no idea of good taste.
Plus, they have been customized to the point that they are no longer viable vehicles, in that they would probably be a complete nightmare to drive on the road.


Cars customized to that extent can not be Classics.

Primarily a classic car must be recognisably still the car it started as. Yes it can be embellished, improved etc and still be a classic, but sticking 28" chrome rims on a POS or covering it in flame decals does not make it a classic.

A classic is an older car that I would love to drive, love to own, would beam like a loon while driving etc.

To clarify:- This is NOT a Classic.



This IS a classic



All the above is my totally subjective viewpoint, and please feel free to discuss.

I'd like to drive the top one home - the look on my wife's face would be 'classic' :lol:

I had a chance to buy one of these in 1990 but it wouldn't fit in our garage and I wasn't going to park it on the street in London :nonod:



'57 Chevvy - imho definately a Classic :thumbsup:

I agree with your comments, a Classic, Vintage or Veteran car, in my opinion, has to be mainly to the original spec when it left the factory. entering a Pride of Ownership or Concours competition, a large number of points would be deducted for non original modifications. These american Hot -Rods would get zero unless they were in a special hot rod show :rant:

I always thought that Veteran was before 1919, Vintage was 1919 to 1930 ish and Classics thereafter to around 1995 (the early MGFs are now classed as classics). the DVLA decided in 1998 that a classic car was over 25 years old and would be road tax exempt, that was until the government stepped in and froze the 25 year rolling programme :bust: Who started this "" What is a Classic"" :rant:

When I was 17-18, my older cousin had one of these and we used to cruise the mean streets of Carlisle, :bust: The girls fell over themselves to ride with us. :broon:

David Aiketgate wrote: When I was 17-18, my older cousin had one of these and we used to cruise the mean streets of Carlisle, :bust: The girls fell over themselves to ride with us. :broon:

NOW, that is a classic :woohoo: bet its worth a bomb now?