He believes these are the “COE cars” our kids will be lusting after, two decades from now.
CONFESSION time. When the wife isn’t around, I can’t resist whipping out the iPad and spending an intensely pleasurable half hour or so gazing at forbidden fruit and, yup, indulging some lustful fantasies. Which invariably leaves me feeling guilty and remorseful thereafter. Yes, Sgcarmart does that to you. The ads I find myself most drawn to are the “COE car” ones, particularly those for 1990s or early-2000s machinery.
Probably because that’s the period when my desire for performance cars bore the most inverse relation to my ability to aff ord one. Mazda Efini RX-7, Honda Integra Type R (DC2), BMW M Coupe, BMW M5 (E39), Mercedes 190E 2.3-16, Alfa 156 GTA wagon, VW Golf GTI Mk1, Subaru WRX (GC), Lotus Elise S1, Coupe Fiat – each of these has caught my eye at one time or other. In fact, over the years, I’ve actually succumbed and bought a couple of these cars. Not everything old automatically becomes desirable, of course. But when I think about it, almost everything that has seriously piqued my interest on that blasted carporn website is a collectible, and a few of them can even be described as cult classics.
It got me thinking: Which of today’s current crop would qualify as future classics 15 or 20 years down the road? Which cars will our kids be salivating over (behind their wives’ backs) while locked in the bathroom or bedroom surfing Sgcarmart? Porsche’s Cayman GT4 comes immediately to mind. Gorgeous, uncompromisingly hardcore, boasting superb engineering pedigree and sold out almost before it was launched. The Nissan GT-R is another possibility.
Those brutal Gundam-inspired looks haven’t aged a day since the coupe appeared in 2007, and the GTR’s supercar-slaying straightline performance and cornering ability are likely to remain jawdropping, even years from now. The current VW Golf R, I think, will be the object of future desire, too. Flying slightly under the radar with its subtle looks, it has nevertheless gained huge praise from enthusiasts and journalists worldwide for its thumping performance, playfully agile handling and allwheel- drive security married to everyday Golf useability.
Finally (and probably controversially), I would cite the Toyota 86 and its Subaru BRZ twin. This obscure duo have sold so poorly that they will almost certainly not be replaced when their time is up, but that not only ensures their rarity, it also means they will be the last of their line, giving a further boost to their collectible status. And they are brilliant to drive – hardly electrifying in a straight line, but light on their feet and beautifully balanced, with sublime, feelsome steering. This side of a Lotus Elise, nothing feels as intimate and connects you as closely to the road.
Should edric feel the need to show his grandkids what it was like to drive something truly involving, he would just hand them the keys to the 86/brz “coe cars”.
