What defines a ‘classic car’? One popular definition uses the Show and Display exemption under U.S. import law, which states that vehicles older than 25 years are historically significant and can be imported without complying with modern American safety standards. In other words, they're classics. And even then, it’s a debatable gray area.In the motoring world, though, classics, especially ‘future classics,’ are even trickier to define. The Ford Focus and the Cadillac Cimarron, for example, released in 1999 and 1982, respectively, both qualify as classic cars as per the above guidelines. However, few of you would argue that either would be considered a ‘classic’ in the Jaguar E-Type or Ferrari Testarossa sense of the term. But a car doesn't have to be 25 years old to be of significant historical importance already.The '90s and 2000s gave us several cars that are widely considered classics or at least future classics – cars like the Lamborghini Murcielago or Dodge Viper. This list is NOT about those cars – it's about '90s and 2000s models no one expected to explode in value and become as desirable as they are practically overnight. Each future classic on this list was chosen either based on an upward or stable trend in the used car market, rarity, and unique features and powertrains that make it nearly extinct in today's world, as well as the general consensus among gearheads and collectors posting on forums.All images and information relating to the models below were sourced from each manufacturer’s respective online pressroom. Prices for second-hand examples sold were sourced from Classic.com and are based on market trends between December 2021 and December 2025. The Average Value, as per Classic.com, has been included for reference, with models ranked from cheapest to most expensive. Volkswagen Golf Mk.5 R32 (2007) Average value: $16,500 VolkswagenWhile the earlier Mk.4 is the poster child for Volkswagen’s Golf R-heralding ‘R32’ line, the Mk.5 marked a notable step forward (even Mate Rimac agrees). The legendary 3.2-liter VR6 under the hood sent a weighty 250 hp to all four wheels – 12 hp up on the Mk.4 and 50 hp over the GTI’s 200-hp turbocharged and offered a sportier soundtrack to boot.The Mk.5 Golf’s already stellar platform was improved yet further thanks to stiffer dampers and springs, a lower ride height, larger anti-roll bars, and the added traction from VW’s upgraded four-wheel drive system. Moreover, staples of the Golf R range, like aluminum trim across the dash, blue brake calipers, and the flat-bottomed three-spoke steering wheel, can be traced back to the Mk.5 R32. With only 5,000 examples made exclusively for the United States, upwards of $16K for VW’s trail-blazing R32 is a market trend worth paying attention to.Where research meets the right dealBrowse This Model Mitsubishi 3000GT (1990-1999) Average value: $22,856 Bring A TrailerThat Mitsubishi’s answer to Nissan’s R33 Skyline and Toyota’s fourth-generation Supra is here shouldn’t be much of a surprise. HotCars even wrote last year that entry-level 3000GT coupes – more so than the sought-after VR-4, in fact – have gained significant traction in the used car market.Sure, the additional 20 hp, twin-turbochargers, larger brakes, and upgraded six-speed gearbox are all missing, but that still leaves a sprightly 3.0-liter V6 sending 222 hp (or 223 hp, if you opt for the Series 2) to all four wheels, admirably composed handling, and a sleek Japanese Kabuki-inspired look that still looks sharp today. Moreover, while prices for the top-of-the-range crested $42,000 in the mid-'90s, entry to mid-range 3000GTs and GT SLs started from just $27,645 in the US. Save a random spike in the early 2022s, prices for second-hand models have stayed consistently around $22K in recent years. Not a bad investment for a Kabuki warrior of your very own. Honda S2000 AP1 (1999-2009) Average Value: $28,919 HondaWith the revived, 2+2 Prelude set to land in North America next year, enthusiasm for Honda’s last two-seater sports car – the comparatively short-lived S2000 – is on the rise again. When it first arrived, the S2000 boasted Honda’s typically bulletproof build quality, but still dipped well below the asking price for BMW’s early Z4 and Porsche’s 986 Boxster. Moreover, like the Miata, the S2000 was lightweight, affordable fun – as indeed are these contemporary two-seater roadsters – offering perfect balance, plenty of feel through the steering column, and a gutsy VTEC four-cylinder that performed at its best just below the redline.Slow sales post-recession, and Honda’s re-focus on its passenger cars, meant the sub-$35,000 roadster was gone by 2009. Today, however, examples of the AP1 generation hover consistently around the $28K mark, just $2K less than the original 1999 sticker price.Where research meets the right dealBrowse This Model Mercedes C63 AMG W204 (2008-2015) Average value: $28,989 Mercedes-BenzAs clichéd as it sounds, when Mercedes announced the C63’s naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 would be downsized for a hybrid, turbocharged four-cylinder in the latest generation of the tire-shredding lunatic, AMG and sport sedan fans alike went nuts. The switch from natural aspiration to twin-turbocharging almost a decade earlier had been bad enough! Where was the chainsaw-wielding anger, defined by that wailing V8, that made the C63 what it was? Certainly not in the well-handling, more powerful, though far more sedate C63 S E Performance that arrived in 2024.The furor was such that even Mercedes has had to admit defeat, with production of several hybrid four-cylinder AMG models reportedly being canned next year. Hardly surprising then that many AMG fans, keen to relive that W204 fury, have since headed back to the classifieds. Don’t let that comparatively low value fool you. Well cared for examples have sold recently for over $50K, and as the first ‘pure’ AMG C63, sports sedan fans won’t let the W204 sink without trace any time soon.Where research meets the right dealBrowse This Model GMC Typhoon (1992-1993) Average value: $39,859 via GMCGMC’s certifiable SUV has struggled to wrench itself clear from the shadow cast by its Syclone sibling. The pair, after all, shared the same 4.3-liter turbocharged V6, mated with the same four-speed automatic transmission (no manual was available) and producing the same 280 hp. They shared the same transfer case (lifted from a Chevrolet Astro Van), the same rudimentary ladder chassis, the same lower ride height, and the same sub-five-second 0-60 MPH sprint.And yet, today, 'the truck that could outrun a Ferrari’ gets most of the plaudits. Which, oddly enough, may have played into the Typhoon’s favor. Available new from $29,470, used prices for the Typhoon – a sleek two-door model, but with enough room for at least four passengers – today hover between $42K to $50K, compared with its previous $27-$28K benchmark just four years ago. High demand, meanwhile, means used Syclone prices have slid below the $50K mark. Three decades after the fact, the Typhoon’s time in the spotlight could finally be just around the corner. Cadillac XLR-V (2006-2009) Average value: $42,489 CadillacThe XLR-V is as off-beat as it is underrated. Launched in 2006, the performance-focused XLR-V was only the third member of Cadillac’s Mercedes-AMG-rivaling V-Series range. It didn’t sell particularly well either, as North American customers, balking at the $100K price tag, instead made a beeline for Mercedes’ more established – and, ironically, more expensive – SLK 55 AMG. Beneath that bling-tastic bodywork, however, lay some clever engineering.GM’s technologically advanced supercharged Northstar V8 produced 443 hp and an almost sarcastically wide torque range. Its C6 Corvette-borrowed chassis, wide track, fat tires, Corvette Z51 brakes, and fine-tuned adaptive suspension meant the XLR-V handled confidently too, without upsetting the ride quality. Sadly, just over 2,000 examples were sold before the plug was pulled in 2009. Still, the Sollei’s unveil last year suggests that a course-correcting Cadillac could – could – revisit the premium roadster path for only the fourth time, and with, arguably, the best Corvette chassis of them all to work with. A future classic? Or long-awaited redemption? Maybe...Where research meets the right dealBrowse This Model C6 Corvette Z06 (2006) Average Value: $47,848 Via: General MotorsThe C6 Corvette Z06 caught a lot of Chevy fans off guard in 2006. Its 7.0-liter ‘LS7’ V8, at the time at least, was General Motors’ most powerful naturally aspirated engine with 505 hp on tap. It was also the lightest Corvette to date, courtesy of its aluminum chassis (the base C06 used steel), and liberal use of magnesium, aluminum, and carbon fiber across the bodywork. True, voracious weight saving meant cabin build quality was more ‘rugged’ than expected, but that didn’t matter.The Z06 was quick. ‘0-60 MPH in under four seconds’ is quick. So quick, in fact, that Chevy engineers worried the yet-to-be-launched ZR1 would struggle to keep up. It also looked sensational, and, with a wider rear track, sportier suspension, and more communicative steering, the Z06 handled remarkably well too (its 7-minute 43-second lap around the Nürburgring is impressive even by today’s standards). Today, the C6 Z06 continues to surprise, with average values consistently hovering around the $50K range. Porsche 996 GT3 (1999-2001) Average value: $91,687 PorscheIntroduced in 1999 as successor to the 993-gen Carrera RS, many wondered why Porsche had forsaken the ‘Rennsport’ name for the new ‘GT3’ nomenclature. Little did anyone know, though – even Porsche hedged its bets with a more conservative approach than in the years that followed – that the first 911 GT3 would create a dynasty.Based on the 996 Carrera 4, the GT3 was lighter, yes, but not excessively so, and was far sharper and more responsive than its base model thanks to uprated suspension, bigger brakes, and, of course, a fixed rear wing. Gone also was the water-cooled flat-six that was still being barraged by rotten fruit by air-cooled 911 purists, replaced by a detuned Mezger boxer engine plucked from Porsche’s GT1 Le Mans car.Power was a sizable 355 hp, 0-60 MPH was done in 4.8 seconds, and the more driver-focused 996 GT3 was the first production car to lap the Nürburgring in under eight minutes. A once skeptical audience was won over completely, and the initial production run sold out rapidly. Nearly 30 years on, asking prices for the first GT3 have continued to rise from $70K and are now agonizingly close to the $100K mark as per Classic.com. BMW M3 E46 CSL (2003) Average Value: $122,237 BMWA little on the nose perhaps, but then, we are talking about arguably the greatest M3, and, quite possibly, the best M car of the lot. Borrowing the ‘Coupe Sport Leichtbau’ (or Lightweight) name from its legendary 1970s tin top, the E46 CSL boasted a 3.2-liter straight-six that produced 360 hp, just 40 hp less than Bimmer’s E39 M5.It blasted from 0-60 MPH in 4.8 seconds, but speed wasn’t the CSL’s only forte. Handling and mid-corner stability were typically BMW sharp, and the aggressively rear-biased setup meant this was an M3 owners could truly throw around by the neck. If you could forgive the radical, and often inconsistent, SMG transmission, that is.Unsurprisingly, exclusivity (just 1,383 examples were made) and well-earned esteem mean the average value for second-hand models today is just over $122K, higher even than the CSL’s original $108K (ish) asking price. Notably, just four years ago, multiple CSLs were let go for ‘as little’ as $81,900. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R (2000) Average value: $169,433 Mecum AuctionsWhile the original 1993 Cobra R – with which Ford’s ‘Special Vehicle Team’ aimed to prove what the Mustang could do when fully off the chain – and its more rounded 1995 follow-up may seem more likely candidates for this list, it’s the comparatively more ‘mainstream’ 2000 Cobra R that has been slowly gaining cult hero status. Just 300 examples were built (50 more than in 1995, and double the 1993 count), and, like its predecessors, the ’00 Cobra R ditched the rear seats, the air conditioning, most of the sound deadening, and left only the windshield wipers and door handles as absolute necessities in the pursuit of absolute performance.SVT stoked the 5.4-liter V8 to 385 hp – 85 hp more than the ’95 model – to dust the quarter-mile in under 14 seconds. And yet, SVT’s attention to the chassis, the suspension, and the steering meant this still-3,580-pound, two-door coupe could monster the corners too. Added bonus, the 2000 model was the first Cobra R that did not require an SCCA competition license for its owner. True, pristine models could easily set you back north of $200K today – double its $55,845 MSRP, 25 years ago – but it’s a value that’s stayed consistent in recent years. And it’s not like interest in the last SVT Mustang ever made is going to dwindle, right…?Sources: Classic.com, Mecum.