lozgti1

Was a ground breaker though and spawned a miliion wannabees....... all of which were great!

Tidgy

GTR yes, focus rs, don't think so. There just a fwd 300bhp hot hatch that can;t use the power it has. The new AWD version is nothing new, evo's, scoobs, audi etc have all done similar type of thing for donkeys years.

scoobygaz1

iTrader: (3)

Ford puma racing ?

Saxo Boy

I can't remember which came first, I think it was the 106. They have the same chassis, engine, gearbox, etc. There were some subtle differences in set up; the VTS was a bit more lift-off happy. At the time it split opinion, as some preferred the more locked down feel of the 106 and others preferred the lively (205 GTI-esk) rear end of the VTS. The Saxo was great to throw around

hodgy0_2

Yes, I was driving 30 years ago and the Golf GTi was iconic then

A simply stunning drive - unreal how fast it could go compared to pretty much everything on the road

A magazine tested it against a testarossa and said it covered the ground quicker

However, my first love, and the car I still have (subject to a rebuild) is my 1965 Mini Cooper S - the car that brought performance motoring to the everyman

grahamc

iTrader: (10)

Fixed

Woohoo, will be holding onto my GTR then

Love the old cooper S saw one in South Africa and the owner has been debating for the last 2 years as to whether or not to respray the car.... some of the paint is not looking good, but its completely original, from the factory and been in the family since new.

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

A lot of people think the MK2 Focus RS will become really desirable in years to come, but I think the MK1 Focus RS will become more desirable due to lower numbers made, last year you could pick up a 50k mile mk1 focus rs for around the £6-7k mark and people where struggling to get rid, I look at prices now and them same 50k mile cars are £9-10k, and really low mileage cars are £15k+. Time to buy one now i think while prices are on the up.

Another example is a red Tommi Mak Evo 6, these are fetching £15k+ at the moment, but the same condition/mileage car in a different colour(other then red) fetch £5k less

pcressie

I'm not sure modern cars will be as iconic as cars from the 70's and 80's. The likes of the mk 1 and 2 escorts, the Cosworth range, lancia's, early m3's etc most were homologation specials, where as todays hot hatches have nothing to do with motorsport. That's not to say they won't become icons of some sort.

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

It was only 20 years ago that I was driving my golf gti, but I would say I knew it was something iconic.

The modern era cars are all very disposable feeling. There's nothing special about a focus RS MK2, fakery, plastic fantastic.

I can't think of a modern day cheap car that has a special feel to be honest. You look under the bonnets and they might as well be any mass produced car.. All black plastic, plastic pipes, black hoses, nothing special at all.

Lillyart14

I think it comes down to many manufacturers being too 'conservative' with their designs. Too often we see new cars designed to be easy on fuel, loads of interior gadgets that bring the weight up, basis styling and general all-round boring. Designers don't think about 'how can we sell this to a 20/30-something who likes thrashing it around corners on a sunday morning' but rather 'how can we sell this to a family of 5'. It also doesn't help that many manufacturers are looking into all this electric/hybrid stuff that has no interest from me in the slightest.

There's some exceptions in my eyes: The first-gen Focus ST (driven one, great fun if a little heavy) and the brand new Civic Type R, that could be future classics.

Look at cars like the Mini Cooper. Years ago it was a properly quick little car that was fun to drive, now they make things like that awful 5-seater that has two doors as a boot! It's like a van!

richs2891

My suggestions are

The current mini coopers
The V8 engine M3's
Audi R8 V10

Of the 4x4's I would say

Range Rovers - especially the SVR's
Merc G Wagen
Land Rover Defender

grahamc

iTrader: (10)

I would think too many coopers, but maybe some of the special editions and the older "S" cars that actually came with a supercharger, not a turbocharger.

C63 AMG Black and maybe the C63 with the V8 engine...

I tested the R8 V10, wasnt blown away, but Im difficult

Merc G Wagon, nice..... always liked them

rovermb6

Impreza sti blobeye widetrack, many would call it the last real impreza.

Devildog

Lots of nice cars being mentioned here but few of those meet the "current" or "affordable" tags. in the way that say the 80's hot hatches did.


If you set £25k-£30k as a new price point based on that being what it costs these days to get a top end hot hatch, I recon you're going to struggle to get "iconic" status. Does one of the current 30k "super" hatches stand out that much in the way that, say the 205GTI did? If you're looking at biggest (new) bang for your 30k buck (leaving aside the Caterhams etc) you've got, what, the Golf R and the BMW135i. Possibly an Audi S3.


Can we really consider any of those to be worthy of "iconic" status?


The Mk1 Focus RS is too old. The Mk2 is (comparatively against the competition) not fast enough. They might become iconic in the ford community but that's about as far as that will go.


There's nothing from Subaru built from 2010 onwards that could be considered iconic imo.


The Mk 1 Golf GTI was iconic because it was the first car of its kind. The Mk2 possibly fits in 16v guise. The current GTI's and Rs are just the continuance of the brand. That doesn't make them iconic.


I'd say as far as UK cars go the DC2 Integra fits the bill. Sublime front drive chassis, fantastic engine & gearbox. But has there really been anything quite as good since? Certainly nothing current that meets the OP's criteria.


I recon the problem is that cars nowadays are generally considerably better and so nothing sits head and shoulders above the rest. there's no real stand out in the way that say the original Golf GTI or the 205GTI was. Or in the way that the classic Impreza was in the mid to late 90's.

Saxo Boy

I think one of the issues is the amount of platform sharing going on. Even if you were to declare the Golf R as a potential "icon" of the future, it's worth remembering that the Leon Cupra 280 is a very similar steer and considerably cheaper (spec for spec). Equally, you must then compare the Leon to the VRS which, again, spec for spec is cheaper still (albeit, softer with far less power).

The MK1 Golf GTI stood out as a unique product, so did the 205 GTI (although did it not share some stuff with Renaults of the time?). The 106/VTS muddy that water slightly but now we have such high levels of chassis, engine and component sharing that no one product really elevates itself from the crowd. In the 1990's it was the uniqueness of the Impreza that really made it stand out.

So, on reflection, I think you'll struggle to get an "iconic" car out of MQB platform (or similar) as there will always be several other similar products. Taken in isolation, I think the Leon and Golf R are phenomenal products. However, they aren't unique or special as you can choose from several other similar products. The one possible exception is the M135i - with a straight 6 and RWD in the hot-hatch sector it's a little out there on it's own

coupe_20vt

iTrader: (2)

Fiat Coupe

sunny1989

good shout on the FRP, possibly certain clio RS models such as the 172cup, 182 trophy?

beef-on-the-bone

iTrader: (5)

106 rallye

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

I'm 38 and I'm picking this up as a daily driver in about 3 weeks time when it hits our shores. Pre-facelift JDM EP3 with 35k miles on the clock. Looking forward to it

Civic 2 by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

I really am struggling to think of anything new at the moment of a reasonable price that will become iconic. Everything is becoming too much alike - same bloated heavyweight shapes and turbo-charged. Yaaaaawn.

lozgti1

Thats lovely :-)

lozgti1

Im definitely in with the Type R

That will be an icon......

BLU

iTrader: (27)

Same thing was said about 70's and 80's cars in the early 90's. Golf GTis, 205 GTi's XR2's etc where all available for pennies! Then they become a little older and because so many have been crashed/rusted/broken they become rare (and desirable again) then the price rockets! Its a cycle that keeps repeating and will continue to!

I think the Mk2 Focus ST will be one to watch (especially in orange!) in the future and daft as it sounds I think oddball cars like the Lupo GTi etc will become collectable!

S204Darren

Amen to that! What a stunning car, I checked out the prices of Integra's in Japan today and they seem to be on the increase.

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

I think if you want to find something of TODAY that will become a future classic, you'll have to chat to drivers that have recently passed their test and ask what they would want to be driving.

These kids are mostly broke, because most people are in their teens/early 20s, so they can't afford to buy the cars. However, they'll go on and make money in a decade or two, and they'll look back with fond eyes on the cars they couldn't have as a "kid", and there won't be enough old cars to satisfy demand so the value will rise.

All IMO and my own experience. I've just bought the car I wanted when I was 22 but couldn't afford, and I've been slowly ticking off the (some of them decidedly odd ball) cars I wanted but couldn't have when I was younger.

I also have to say, I'm not "down with the kids" enough to know what they actually want nowadays. Maybe they don't even want cars and none of the current crop will become iconic? Maybe we should all be investing in mk1 ipads instead

rossyboy

iTrader: (8)

Too interested in their phones and social media

One things for sure - a Golf R will never be iconic ....looks exactly the same as a GTD.

the shreksta

iTrader: (20)

Astra vxr could be a contender

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

That's a really good point thinking about it. Out of a large group of friends of mine, say 30 people who I know very well, only me and 2 others are "into" cars. The one guy is in his Clio 172 road track car and the other guy loves his old BMW's and Merc's. We're 25 years old if that's any gauge. I think that these days, most younger people don't actually care enough about modern vehicles apart from brand spanking new Ferrari's and Lambo's that they see on Top Gear etc.

Fabioso

That is lovely! Which importer you using rossyboy?

hodgy0_2

The editor of "Practical Classics" lives in our village, I spoke to him about this subject the other day

In his opinion, a future classic needs two attributes

1. fast
2. Relatively cheap

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, none of which the modern cars are unless you pay £30k+. That's not cheap even by today's standards.