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Forget price points. For this list, we’re going money no object for cars with the most potential to make you even more if things turn out well, from Aston Martin to Nissan.
The eight best investment cars for 2022
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Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
Yours for: £100,000 and up
The V8 was always plenty for the Vantage. But the V12 was a bit special. Pop the bonnet and the engine pretty much burst out of the bodywork, like a Christmas paunch released from hipster jeans. There’s nothing flabby about the way it goes, though. The first batch of V12 Vantages from 2009 are cheaper to buy and appeal for their rawness but, frankly, the second-gen S version is the one to go for.
The investment head says stick-shifted ones will be more coveted in years hence but the Speedshift automated manual is actually the better to drive, the lightweight single-clutch transmission requiring deft timing and greater application than the boring dual-clutch gearboxes of more modern machinery. If you’re looking to celebrate all that was mad and bad about the ICE age, a compact Aston Martin shrink-wrapped around an enormous V12 looks a good way to do it. So good, in fact, Aston Martin has just announced a version of the latest Vantage with the same under the tagline “It’s not just a Limited Edition, it’s a Final Edition!”
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Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Yours for: £180,000 and up
Sure, snobs will tell you it’s a Maserati Gran Turismo indulging in some Alfa Romeo cosplay. But given the foundations comprise a revvy and very noisy V8 and the natural balance of the traditional transaxle layout used by generations of Italian GTs from back in the day this is no bad thing. And the 8C has additional things in its favour – even more gorgeous looks, rarity and that kind of need-to-know appreciation that means it is sought after by the right people but still, relatively, undervalued in today’s mad world.
As outright performance becomes an increasingly abstract and irrelevant quality those looking to the recent past for their thrills may well come to agree style, fabulous noise and an arch celebration of Alfa Romeo’s traditional values are a desirable combination. Get in there before everyone wakes up to the fact.
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Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997.2)
Yours for: c. £180,000
Values for 911 GT3 models follow a fairly predictable trajectory, with a bubble of excitement where those on the exalted dealer list quickly flip them for six-figure overs (much to the annoyance of everyone else), the market becomes saturated before settling down in anticipation of next one. 997 GT3 RSs aren’t exactly cheap at around £120,000 and around £180,000 for the 3.8-litre second-gen ones. But the latter is arguably peak modern 911, at least for those who like to apply themselves to the driving process.
Usefully smaller than more recent 991 and 992 versions, way more interactive and seemingly built to take proper hard miles, the 997 GT3 RS is a car that makes demands of its driver. But, if you’re up to the job, rewards with one of the richest driving experiences anywhere. And at some point prices will go daft again. Keep the miles down (but make the ones you do count) and it should see you right one day.
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Lamborghini Diablo
Yours for: £200,000+
The missing link between Lamborghini’s traditional era of the Miura and Countach and its modern one under Audi, the Diablo seemed left behind by the likes of the Bugatti EB110, McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJ220 that elevated the mere supercar into the ‘hyper’ era we now know. But appreciation of the Diablo’s rawness, and its dramatic looks, is increasing, likewise the soulful nature of its performance.
Those with an eye to a return on investment would be wise to look at coveted special editions like the later SV, while real collectors will be chasing the likes of the SE30 (iconic for its appearance in Jamiroquai’s Cosmic Girl video) and the GT, the Diablo’s outrageous last hurrah. The latter is already in the realms of seven-figure collectors’ car, meaning good examples of the rest will soon be playing catch-up.
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Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
Yours for: £250,000 and rising fast
The relationship between Mercedes and McLaren wasn’t quite as harmonious on the road as it was through the hugely successful Häkkinen and Coulthard era in F1, but the SLR McLaren remains a fine legacy and one that time is being increasingly kind to. It’s far from perfect, the twitchy steering and rear-set driving position an odd combination while the five-speed auto seems more SL than supercar.
But the looks totally hold up, and you’d cause just as big a stir turning up in one now and sliding out from under its giant dihedral door as you would have done back when it was new. And the supercharged V8, bellowing out of stubby side exhausts, remains utterly fearsome, and actually a better combination with the transmission than you might think. Get the McLaren Special Operations retrofit steering linkage mod and it even drives way better. Hardly cheap now. But values can only go one way.
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Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)
Yours for: Silly money
It wasn’t long ago we considered Skylines as solid investments at BMW M3 money and now they’re going for six figures, proving just how powerful an icon Nissan’s legendary bruiser has become. Or, perhaps, always was. It’s just now the market – and the folk who grew up idolising GT-Rs – are maturing, the latter to the point they’re in a position to pay top dollar for the best examples. Dollar being the operative word, as Skylines reach a vintage where American fans can finally bring them Stateside.
They’re all great cars and the R32s and R33s will surely gain value, too. But the R34 – the last of the line – is the one making the big numbers, an undriven one making £400,000 at auction earlier this year. Some may think it’s peaked already but as more and more people chase the diminishing numbers of really good ones it’s not hard to see Skylines joining the ranks of silly money exotica in the not too distant, especially the truly special ones like the homologation ready N1, the final edition V-Spec Nür or the ultra-exclusive factory restomod NISMO Z-Tune.
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Ferrari 458 Speciale
Yours for: £250,000 and rising fast
As we reach the end of the ICE age and people consider a final, petrol-fuelled blowout before going electric the idea of a Ferrari looks ever more attractive. There aren’t really any bad choices but, if you want to make some money in the process, you need to try and predict which will be on those reflective ‘best internal combustion powered cars ever’ lists we’ll be compiling in the not too distant future. And you can bet the 458 Speciale will be top of many of those compilations.
A screaming V8 revving to 9,000rpm, tech that enhances the experience rather than dominates it and the perfect balance of power, agility and raw speed make the Speciale, well, special. They’ve never been cheap and you’ll do well to find a coupe for less than £250,000. But given the Aperta spider versions can go for nearly three times that suggests there is still room for values to go up. And we’d rather the Berlinetta anyway.
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Jaguar XE SV Project 8
Yours for: £120,000
What turns a car from being merely interesting into something you could consider an investment? A 600PS (441kW) V8, fat tyres squeezed into widened arches and the credibility of a blistering Nürburgring laptime will all impress your petrolhead mates. But not necessarily your accountant, who will be asking harder questions.
Given there are plenty of high-powered saloons out there, why is the Project 8 the one to put your money into? Well, there’s an argument the 300-car production run was a little too much, the oddly muted reception was perhaps surprising and there are plenty in the market for less than the original £150,000 asking price. But that leaves room for growth, and as people look for a spectacular final blowout with something noisy and uncouth this quirky, factory-built hot-rod may yet have its moment.
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Exposure to a Performance Car review of the Lamborghini Countach 5000QV at an impressionable age set Dan Trent on course for a life-long obsession with cars. Immersion in the world of used car temptation with a spell as editor of PistonHeads.com only sealed the deal, compulsive online tyre-kicking now a daily ritual. He’s still some way off that Countach though.
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