You don’t need to be rich to drive something that may well end up being enviously ogled in the years to come – and compared with vintage classics, these are comfier, better to drive and way more reliable. To spare you combing the classifieds, here are Murray Scullion’s investment tips

The term ‘modern classic’ may well be an oxymoron, but frankly, if it’s good enough for Penguin Books, it’s good enough for us.

Not so long ago, any mention of the word ‘classic’ would have conjured images of old boys in MGBs and Morris Minors en route to the Dog and Duck’s annual autojumble. Modern car magazines and websites tended to steer well clear of that sphere, while classic publications were keen not to alienate their audiences with cars whose readers might think were better suited to a McDonald’s car park.

But that has all changed, with wildly fluctuating prices and changing perceptions pushing enthusiasts from either end of the Venn diagram into the middle to converge on a market populated by slightly newer cars with lower list prices, more durable mechanicals, comfier cabins and – crucially – equally strong enthusiast appeal.

Ed Callow, head of business intelligence for online auction house Collecting Cars, told us: “At their core, modern classics are the ‘democratised’ part of the collector car market. At the very top end of the market, we see ever-larger sevenor eight-figure sums spent on rare 1960s sports cars, but the price of entry for many legendary cars of the 1990s or 2000s could be as little as £10,000.

“And, of course, they appeal to very wealthy collectors too: in 2022, we sold a Renault Clio RS 182 Trophy to a McLaren F1 owner.

“There’s also the simple fact that many of these models are genuinely terrific driver’s cars. Plenty of enthusiasts who’ve owned a £150,000 Ferrari realise they feel just as engaged in the driving experience, sometimes more so, driving a £15,000 Peugeot 205 GTi.”

So, then, the definition of a classic is no longer as rigid as it once was, and a car that might have been a bit overlooked just a few years ago is now tomorrow’s hot ticket.

It’s difficult to know exactly where the lines are drawn, though (but the Toyota Picnic and Daewoo Espero definitely aren’t there yet), so we’ve put our heads together and rounded up a varied selection of smart-money buys that you should consider while the going’s good.

You never know, you could be looking at the Ferrari 250 GTOs and Lamborghini Miuras of the 2030s…