Browse over 9,000 car reviews

What do the HSV GTSR, Land Rover Defender, Mazda RX-7 and Toyota Supra have in common? Some great investments you probably should have made

At the time of launch, there was an expectation that this final Commodore-based HSV would become a future classic.

Predicting the future with complete accuracy has so far proven elusive, which is why it can be difficult to predict exactly which cars will be great investments - and which will cost you money.

Recently, we took a guess at short-listing some possible good investments for the future, and we also looked at the current trend of cars being worth more than retail due to the global supply chain crisis.

This time around, we’ve decided to take a look at some cars that would have been good investments when new, based on the current advertised classified prices for them.

As usual, we must stress that an advertised price isn’t a guaranteed value, but it does typically provide a good indication of what the market is willing to pay.

Land Rover Defender

While the new model is off to a successful start and outselling the old model significantly, it seems there is still an enthusiastic audience for the original Land Rover.

Before it was phased out in 2016 it seems some shrewd individuals decided to be careful with what they had and keep kays low, because there are several examples of Defenders with less than 50,000km on the odo and asking prices north of $90,000.

This is a good result, given that many of these models would have cost less than $70k when new, so any time your car goes up in value you can consider that a big win.

Toyota Supra

Call it the ‘Gran Turismo effect’ or perhaps the Fast and Furious movies are responsible, but whatever the reason, the demand for the previous ‘MkIV’ or ‘JZA80’ Supra is high. As a result, a low mileage could cost you more than a brand-new 2021 Supra.

Such is the demand for these 1990s sports cars, even ones with relatively high kays can still demand more than when new, close to or beyond $100,000.

This is because the Supra is a key part of the current ‘JDM’ boom, which we’ve reported on previously. Kids who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s playing PlayStation’s Gran Turismo game or watching the Fast and Furious movies are now looking to buy a real-life version of the cars they saw on screens, resulting in the current high demand.

Mazda RX-7

Unsurprisingly, the Supra’s arch-rival from the ‘90s is also in demand today. Mazda’s rotary-powered sports car always had a unique appeal, but the final generation ‘FD’ series is currently in hot demand.

Despite costing roughly $70,000 when new, a well-maintained or special edition can demand more than double that in 2021. 

Of particular value is the special edition, Spirit R, which can be found advertised for more than $175,000 for a 2022 model. A $100k return in two decades is a good result for an automotive investment.

HSV GTSR

This is kind of stretching the rules here, because even at the time of launch, there was an expectation that this final Commodore-based HSV would become a future classic.

In fact, the decision to buy a GTSR as an investment had arguably dented prices because of the sheer volume of choice available. There are currently more than 35 GTSRs for sale online, with the cheapest we could find asking $182,000 - more than $70k on top of the original $109,490 price tag.

So even with the expectation of them being collectable, these last-of-kind HSVs are still great investment pieces. Particularly with experts predicting the market will remain strong in the coming years, even beyond the current pandemic-induced price spike.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Like the HSV, this was really a pretty safe bet when it arrived, but even so, the current prices asked for these cars is probably beyond most original buyer’s expectations.

While not all examples of the 991 generation GT3 RS are valued above the original asking price, there are several advertised at the time of publication demanding a premium on the $416,500 original price.

But the best example of a 911 worth buying is the 2011 GT3 RS 4.0, with only one currently available to buy with an asking price of $1.09m. That’s well above the $409,100 the original owner paid, and given the decline in naturally-aspirated sports cars, this is likely to remain a strong buy.

But that is arguably true of any recent, well-maintained GT3 RS, as enthusiasts who love petrol power become more willing to pay for it in the face of more electric vehicles.