The cars that made Britain worth driving.
The history, the models worth knowing, and the practical side of keeping a classic on the road: insurance, storage, and the DVLA paperwork. All of it researched in-house.
Latest guides
Austin-Healey 100 values: the 100M and 100S premiums, BN2 over BN1, the 100/6 discount, and a market that has halved
11 September 2026
Land Rover Lightweight: the military family, from Airportable to 101 (1968–1984)
11 September 2026
Towing a classic car on a trailer: licence, weights, speed limits and the plate
11 September 2026
Vauxhall Astra GTE: Ellesmere Port's hot hatchback, from the Mk1 to the 16v red-top (1983–1991)
11 September 2026
Agreed value insurance for a classic: what the Ombudsman says, and why market value fails old cars
10 September 2026The marques
What they sell for
Sold prices from public auction results to 10 August 2026, not valuations: the median, the usual range and the direction of travel for every marque and model with enough sales to show one. Start with a marque:
Britain, decade by decade
From the vintage years to the rise of the modern classic, the cars that defined each decade.
The vintage years
The Austin Seven kills the cyclecar, the Bentley Boys win Le Mans, and Sunbeam takes the land-speed record.
The age of the baby car
The Austin Seven motorises Britain, the first MGs and SS Jaguar are born, and the coachbuilders are at their height.
Austerity & export-or-die
The post-war restart: the MG TC, the first Land Rover, and the XK120 sent abroad under "Export or Die".
The sports car boom
The XK120, the TR2 and the Austin-Healey 100 build the American market.
The golden age
The Mini, the E-Type, and Britain at its high-water mark.
Brilliance & chaos
The Capri, the XJS and the Stag shine through the British Leyland years.
Turbos & hot hatches
The Sierra Cosworth and performance landing on ordinary driveways.
The modern classics
The McLaren F1, the Lotus Elise and the TVR boom as an old industry wound down.
British classic cars vs the stock market: 25 years of auction prices
We took 621,935 auction results, found every British classic with enough sales to measure fairly, and compared its inflation-adjusted price change since the late 1990s with the stock market, gold and cash. Most classics rose in cash terms; barely half beat inflation; gold beat every one of them.
Read the guideOwning a classic in Britain
Insurance, DVLA paperwork, tax, tyres and storage: what it actually takes to keep an old car on the road here.
Insurance & valuation
Why a classic belongs on an agreed-value policy rather than a standard one, and what that changes when you claim.
Read the guideDVLA & the law
Historic vehicle status and the 40-year rule, with what they unlock on road tax and the MOT, decoded without the jargon.
Read the guideOwning & running
Number plates, road tax, tyres, fuel and storage: the practical side of keeping a classic legal and on the road.
Read the guides