Hagerty’s 2020 Hot List Names Six New Vehicles That Will Still Be Popular, Fun to Drive and Possibly Worth a Lot More Decades From Now
When it comes to cars, love can fade. So can value. (The average new car loses about 25 percent of its value in the first year after being driven off the dealer lot, and another 10 to 15 percent the year after that.)
But every year, manufacturers produce vehicles that buck this trend to become the collectible stars of tomorrow. To identify them, each year Hagerty’s staff of industry analysts, valuation experts and busted-knuckle gearheads reviews the crop of new cars, trucks and motorcycles and picks a select few for its “Hot List.”
“Hot List cars have that just-right blend of performance and appeal that add a lot of value over time,” said Hagerty’s Jonathan Klinger. “These are also the cars that our team thinks will still be fun to drive years from now and grab people’s attention.”
To be considered for the 2020 Hagerty Hot List, a vehicle must be available in, or close to, the 2020 model year. Preference is given to newly and recently released vehicles, so don’t be surprised if a previous winner doesn’t show up despite still being present in showrooms. In the past, the list has been limited to production cars with a base price of $100,000 or less, which is why it has seldom included high-end manufacturers like Lamborghini and Maserati. This year, however, we moved the price limit up a bit, just for fun.
Think we’ve committed a grave injustice with one our choices, or overlooked a deserving vehicle? Make your voice heard in the Hagerty Community.
The 2020 Hot List includes:
- 2020 Shelby Mustang GT500 ($74,095) – Saying “it won’t get better than this” is a proven way to be proven wrong, but this 760-horsepower Mustang looks to be the exception. Like a certain cross-town rival, this Shelby makes the point that there comes a time when the solution to your problems isn’t more horsepower. That this model is the most deserving of the hallowed GT500 nameplate since the 1967 original is almost incidental.
- 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C8) ($59,995) – The six-cylinder 1953. The split-window 1963 coupe. Those first, thundering Z06s. The Corvette’s seven decades are littered with legendary cars that time turned into six-figure auction results. But 2020’s mid-engined car is the single biggest step in that storied history. Smart investments don’t get easier than this.
- 2020 Polestar 1 ($156,000) – With a turbocharger, a supercharger and two electric motors tucked into a concept-car body, the Polestar has the performance, the looks and the “wait, what?” weirdness that make for auction gold. You probably didn’t even know it was made by Volvo.
- 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon ($43,545) – The Jeep Wrangler does not depreciate. As sure as the sun will rise, this is true. Now take that Wrangler and add a pick-up bed and all of the go-anywhere hardware—and while keeping the doors-off freedom—that has minted money for Jeep for decades, and a Gladiator Rubicon is ready to mint money for you, too.
- 2019/2020 Cadillac CT6-V ($97,190) – The right car born at the wrong time, the CT6-V was supposed to usher in a new era at Cadillac. But after management pulled the plug, all it ushered in was a meager handful of sales. GM isn’t planning any other uses for the car’s 4.2-liter, 550-horsepower “Blackwing” twin-turbo V-8, so the only piece of this car’s story that isn’t already written is just what sort of return that scarcity will turn into.
- 2021 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP ($28,950) – Last time Honda sold anything close to this motorcycle, they charged nearly $200,000 for it. This time, it only costs $28,950. Exotic construction, racing-derived aerodynamic innovations and wheelie-popping power ensure that the Fireblade SP will spend the next 30 years climbing toward that old untouchable price.
For Hagerty’s full Hot List article, visit www.hagerty.com/media/