The Trillion Dollar Collector Car Market—By The Numbers

Keeps Getting Bigger

For most of us, our car collections extend to the one or two vehicles currently sitting in our driveway. But for real collectors, we're talking many, many cars and many, many, many dollars spent. But how many? And how much? And who are they? And we have more questions...

So, let's take a look at the ever-growing collector car market and see what the numbers have to say.

2.2 Billion

According to Hagerty Inc (a company that specializes in insurance for classic vehicles), the total sales from all North American car auctions in 2021 was $2.2 billion.

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43 Million

As of 2021, there were about 43 million vehicles in the United States that qualified as collector vehicles by Hagerty. At the time, that made up 16% of the total registered vehicles in the country (275 million).

So, what qualifies as a "collector" vehicle?

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1916 To 1930

Vintage Cars: A car can usually be called "vintage" when it has a manufacturing date between 1916 and 1930.

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25

Antique Cars: According to the Antique Automobile Club of America, one can call a car an antique when it is 25 years or older.

Heather Craig,

1915 To 1948

Classic Car: The Classic Car Club of America defines a classic car as a, "fine or distinctive automobile, American or Foreign built, produced between 1915 and 1948" (yes, there is plenty of grey area in these "collector" time-frame definitions).

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1 Trillion

Remember those 43 million collector cars? Well, Hagerty estimated their total insurable value at $1 trillion.

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72

As many of you probably know, there are both live and online car auctions these days. The whole online auction thing really took off in 2021 during the pandemic and has continued to outpace their live counterparts for a few years now. In 2024, online auctions outnumbered live auctions by 72% around the world.

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11,483/24,210

Diving a little farther into those numbers, we can see that in 2019, there were 11,483 online car auction transactions in North America—as compared to 24,210 live.

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54,160/26,300

In 2024, while the number of live transactions had only gone up by about 2,000 (26,300), the online auction market had gone berserk and was sitting at 54,160 in North America.

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34 Million

Although the number of online transactions has outnumbered live sales since 2021, it wasn't until 2024 that the amount of money from online sales finally surpassed the live dollar amount. Online sales wound up about $35 million ahead of live sales last year in North America. If we look globally, the difference narrows to about $25 million.

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10

Yes, online sales have surpassed live, but when it comes to the most valuable cars being sold—those still happen at live auctions. In fact, of the 10 most expensive vehicles sold at auction in 2024, all were live auction events.

And, what were those 10 cars? And how much did they sell for?

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$7.9 Million To $11.1 Million

These are the top six through 10 live auction sales:

6: 2014 Pagani Zonda LM Roadster: $11.1M 

7: 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Alloy Coupe: $11M 

8: 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Aluminum Gullwing Coupe: $9.4M 

9: 1979 Ferrari 312 T4: $8.2M 

10: 1969 Ford GT40 Lightweight Coupe: $7.9M

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$12.1 Million To $17.9 Million

And five through one:

1: 1963 Ferrari 250 California SWB Spider (closed headlight): $17.9M 

2: 1960 Ferrari 250 California SWB Spider (closed headlight): $17.1M 

3:1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider: $14M 

4: 1955 Ferrari 410 Sport Spider: $13M 

5: 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP Roi des Belges: $12.1M

Curious about the top 10 online sales of 2024?

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$1.7 Million To $1.8 Million

The top six through 10 online auction sales of 2024 are:

6: 2022 Lamborghini Essenza SCV12: $1.8M 

7: 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing: $1.8M 

8: 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: $1.8M 

9: 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort: $1.8M 

10: 2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport: $1.7M

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$2 Million To $4.2 Million

And five through one:

1: 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari: $4.2M 

2: 2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport: $4.1M 

3: 2018 Bugatti Chiron: $3.1M 

4: 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4: $2.5M 

5: 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K 500 K Special Style Roadster: $2M

Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

69 Million

Determining exactly how many car collectors are out there is an almost impossible task. However, Hagerty estimates that about 69 million people in the United States could be considered car enthusiasts—and it's from among these car folks that collectors come.

So, what do these enthusiasts look like?

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56, 144, 20

Some of the key demographic numbers of the average enthusiast are:

Average age: 56 years

Average household income: $144,000

Average amount of time in the hobby: 20 years

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34, 22

More demographic numbers:

34% of enthusiasts are retired, and 22%of them have children under 18 years old living at home.

With that being said, the younger generation of car collectors is growing...

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9

As of 2024, Gen-Z (those born after 1996) have 9% of insurance quotes with Hagerty. And while that might not sound like a lot—it's about double what they had just two or three years ago. It's also almost three times as much as the Pre-Boomers (born before 1946) had in 2024.

What two generations have the largest percentage?

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34, 33

As you probably guessed, the two generations with the largest percentage of car collectors are Gen-X and Boomers—at 34% and 33% respectively.

So, we know the age and generational breakdowns—but what is the biggest reason they all want a collector car?

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58

Among all ages of collectors and enthusiasts, these are the three biggest reasons they all give for owning a collector car:

1: Fun to drive: 58%

2: Look great (visual appeal): 46%

3: Personal nostalgia: 38%

Are you curious as to what cars have seen the largest percentage increase in value in the last five years...?

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137.7

The Datsun 280ZX (1978-1983) has seen its value in the car collector market rise 137.7% since 2019 (and, at least according to Hagerty, there is still some room for growth).

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47.8

Millennials, specifically, have been digging the Volvo P1800 (1961-1972) lately—and since 2019, the value of this one has gone up 47.8%.

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50.9

The Ferrari 400/412 (1976-1989) wasn't universally loved when it first hit the streets. In fact, there were those who called the design dull even. But it looks like "dull" is cool now, because since 2019, the value of these rides has gone up 50.9%.

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87.1

It might sound a little strange to some to see the Honda Prelude (1997-2001) mentioned in a conversation about collectable automobiles, but here we are mentioning it. And the younger generation of collectors is why. According to Hagerty insurance data, the owner of a prelude is "13 years younger than the typical enthusiast".

Which helps explain the vehicle's 87.1% rise in value since 2019.

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73.4

The DeLorean DMC-12 (1981-1983) and Back to the Future will always be linked and thus, the car will always have a special nostalgic place in the hearts of generations who grew up on the movie and the younger folk who are just discovering it now. And the car also just looks super cool. The value is up 73.4% since 2019.

And while those are some cars on the rise—these are a few that have been on a downswing lately...

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24

Whiles it's true that the 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird is up 42% since 2019—the last year or two has seen the car's value follow a downward trajectory. 2024 auction results for the Superbird were anything but super and values for Hemi-powered and 440-cid/390hp Six Pack vehicles are down 24%.

Greg Gjerdingen, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

160,000 To 100,000

The value of the 1968-78 Lamborghini Espada in the collectors' market has been a roller coaster ride for the last 15 years. From 2010-15, things were looking up as the value more than doubled. Then, after heading down some, the pandemic market saw the Espada value heading back up—and around mid-2023, they were at an all-time high of almost $160,000.

It has been downhill since then, though—and in 2024, multiple Lamborghini Espadas sold for under $100,000.

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24

The value of the gorgeous 1963-68 Maserati Sebring was booming in the mid 2010s and reached its peak value during the pandemic in 2021. However, their value has dropped about 24% recently—and a number of 2024 auctions saw Sebrings going for under $200,000.

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Sources: 1, 2, 3