You have been a car enthusiast for the longest time. You love having a garage filled with cars that you not only enjoy driving but also enjoy looking at. The garage is almost full and you want some iconic modern classics that many have forgotten or ignored maybe due to badge snobbery.
Let us share with you ‘OUR’ Top 5 modern classics that WE want to have in our garage when space and money comes available. Maybe this list might persuade you to take all the 5 vehicles presented/shared for a test drive and ignore what your buddies at the cigar club or golf club might think.
We do believe that the cars on this list below check all of these necessary boxes and will make them desirable for years to come and maybe even more valuable.
1) Mazda MX-5 Miata (RM220,000) – Since 1989, this car has consistently flown the flag of being the ultimate fun in your pants roadster. In a segment filled with British built roadsters from the likes of MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey, which will all be flakey and eccentric with leaking oil and liquids on the driveway almost all the time, it will be better to look for this bullet-proof, trouble-free roadster from Mazda. And thank goodness Mazda persists in the quest to bring real roadster values in a modern well-built version of the iconic MX-5. The newest generation is shorter and more nimble than the preceding model and is quickly gaining the respect of driving enthusiasts around the world. Supply is low and demand is high resulting in a waiting list that is growing in every market it has been launched in. Don’t waste any time……test drive it.
2) Ford Fiesta ST (RM149,888) – Ecoboost powered with 182bhp and 240Nm of torque from this Ford reminds us of the early hot hatch from Ford, the Laser TX3 which made the wanted list of every young hot blooded driver. With a 6.9 seconds time from 0-100km/h this compact hot hatch not only looks good but it has all the necessary handling to entertain the driver. The 6-speed manual gearbox is slick, precise and light enough for daily office commuting. Buy one before you miss out on it. Its limited numbers will make for a future conversation piece.
3) BMW M2 (RM498,888) – The all new M2 which has been described by many as the true spiritual successor of the classic E30 M3 has just arrived and only 2 units made it to Malaysia despite high demand. It has a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six petrol engine, pushing out 370hp and 465Nm of torque with a 500Nm overboost function. It is mated to a 7-speed M dual-clutch automatic. 0-100 km/h acceleration takes 4.3 seconds. It has all the elements to say ‘buy me’. Fans of classics like the E30 and the E36 Ti will love it. No need to test drive, just order one and own it.
4) Porsche Cayman GT4 (From RM840,000) – This just might be one of the most exciting driver’s cars ever to come from Stuttgart. It borrows components from the current-generation 911 GT3 and puts them to work in a smaller, mid-engine package that makes many people wonder how much further the Cayman can go. It will do the 0-100km/h run in just 4.4 seconds and hit 295km/h when the law is asleep…….which is often. There is 385bhp ready with 420Nm of torque on tap when you find an open track to work the slick 6-speed manual gearbox which will probably be the last manual you will see in a production Porsche. We do not need to remind you of how high-performance, low-production Porsches have done in the used collector car market in recent times. This will be on the top three list of Porsches to own in recent times.
5) Land Rover Defender Pickup (RM168,000) –The last classic Land Rover Defender rolled off the production line in the UK a few weeks ago, 68 years after output of the iconic off-roader first began. This is the final version of this iconic vehicle and with locally assembled versions here in Malaysia still on sale you should get one quick and have it in your garage for weekend jungle bashing. Not the easiest to live with in heavy traffic and not the best drive dynamics but you can’t help but admire one when you see it on the road. Rugged, rough around the edges and basic, this is a 4×4 that you can drive to the village and to the mall in the same day and get the same respect. Totally classless and yet classy at the same time, buy one before it is sold out.
