The gains in the latest Hagerty Price Guide are absolutely wild

We’ve just published the 47th edition of the Hagerty Price Guide, and as the editor I’m here to tell you: It’s a wild one.

To stay current with the market, the Hagerty Price Guide is updated every four months. Our team of specialists and analysts pour over mountains of recent, confirmed sales, private and dealer listings, input from marque experts, and data from the insurance side of the business.

This edition, those data sources sending a loud and clear message: Values are rising. An astonishing 56-percent of the vehicles we track gained in value in the latest price guide, with only 7-percent losing value. This is the broadest growth we’ve seen since 2014—and our coverage has grown considerably since that date.

In other words, the appreciation we saw in 2021 was not just confined to big-dollar online sales or select cars. Still, there were some vehicles that stand out.

Late model Porsches are smoking hot

For years now, air cooled Porsches have been the hot commodity. No doubt, they're still the ones everyone wants— the purest expression of Porsche performance. However with air-cooled 911s firmly out of the range of what anyone could reasonably call "affordable" for years now, it was only a matter of time before water-cooled 911s would have their day. In the latter half of 2021, that day arrived.

The biggest movement for any Porsche was seen by the 997-series 911 Turbo S Coupe, with an average increase of 67-percent, it is one of the biggest movers of the publication. Even the standard Turbo Coupe rose by 60-percent. Call it substitution, or just a tempering of opinions towards water-cooled 911s, but every 996 and 997 experienced some degree of appreciation. Outside of 911s, the Carrera GT appreciated by 30-percent, and the earlier 911 SC posted modest gains.

Japanese cars are becoming an ever bigger part of the market

While top tier models like the Mark IV Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R and Acura NSX continue to gain ground and dominate headlines, the more affordable Japanese cars are also appreciating quickly. The biggest gains in the Japanese segment were posted by the 1988-91 Honda Prelude Si, which posted gains of up to 55-percent on average.

Likewise, although most of the focus has been on newer Japanese cars, older models also posted serious gains. The 1966-70 Honda S800 appreciated 40-percent on average, and 1963-70 Datsun Roadsters gained an average of 24-percent. All told, the Japanese segment of the mainstream collector car market continues to grow.

Muscle Cars continuing their rise

A little over a year ago, the "smart" line was that muscle cars had their day, and that the big movement in the classic car market would be for newer, likely imported metal. Like so many expert opinions, this one has been proved profoundly wrong by the last twelve months. Muscle cars posted their strongest gains in more than a decade.

Even with a tapering of auctions where these cars are regularly sold toward the end of the year, they still posted solid gains While we didn't have any more Hemi Cuda Convertibles come up for sale, plenty of GTO Judges, LS6 Chevelles, and Boss 429 Mustangs did bring ever higher values.

A rising tide lifts all boats

There were some clear winners in the 47th edition of the Hagerty Price Guide, but the real story is that there were almost no losers. No matter what classic car is in your garage, there's a good chance it's worth more now than it was even four months ago.

Editor's note: I'm excited to announce that starting this year, the Hagerty Price Guide will be updated four times a year, rather than three.