Classic Car Market Update: 2020 Year in Review

What a year! Just six months ago the classic car market looked like it would have one of the worst years in its recent history. Then July came roaring back and online sales took the market by storm every month thereafter. Q4’20 was up over 50% from Q4’19, and December 2020 alone was up 129% over December 2019. 

Overall, at $1.3 billion* in sales, the market was down a meager 10% for the full year, but this was largely due to the lack of blockbuster sales that are typical every August during Monterey Car Week. For the year, the number of listings was actually on par with 2019, but the average sale was down 8% to $49,531 from $53,758. 

Note: Stats quoted in this post are as of December 31, 2020 @ 7pm eastern.


Top Models

Here’s a new chart for you: The top 10 models in the classic and collector car market. The Porsche 911 takes the top position with 11% growth for the year, followed by the Chevrolet Corvette with an 11% drop in gross sales. Stay tuned as we break out results by model variants in the coming weeks on Twitter and Instagram.  

View top 10 models of 2020

Top Sales

Apart from a trio of Alfa Romeo concept cars topping the charts at a combined $14.8 million, the biggest sale for an individual car goes this 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport that clocked in at $7.1 million during Bonhams Amelia Island. 

View top 10 sales of 2020

Flips & Flops

A lot of flipping and flopping in 2020, a trend we saw accelerating in the second half of the year. The top flip for 2020 goes to this 1967 Toyota 2000GT which sold for $912,000. The top flop? This 2017 Ford GT. Ouch. We hope the 8 miles of fun were worth it. 

View top 10 flips & flops of 2020

From all of us at CLASSIC.COM, Happy New Year! 

Thank you for joining us as we geek out on data and analytics for the classic car market. 2020 has been a big year for us – our team has grown, our user base has grown tremendously, and we have big plans for 2021. Do not hesitate to reach out and share your ideas and thoughts on how we can improve – and what you’d like to see from us.


Upcoming Auctions in January 

2021 kicks off with a bang right away! While some traditional January events have been moved to March due to COVID, many events are still taking place live and online. Here’s a list of auction events this month that you can track on CLASSIC.COM:


* These stats include sales reported in US Dollars only. Sales reported in other currencies are not taken into account… yet.


2 thoughts on “Classic Car Market Update: 2020 Year in Review

  1. Mich würde mal interessieren, wie sich die Ford Thunderbird Modelle 1958 bis 1960 Hardtop und Convertible entwickelt haben. Aber auch die Fairlane Retractable Skyliner.

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