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These Classic Cars Will Make You Want To Remortgage Your House

Cameron Eittreim September 1, 2022

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1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible – $360,000

Another car that is increasingly expensive to own is the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible. This car was the pinnacle of the GM performance lineup back in the day. The Chevelle itself was legendary, but the open-air feeling of a convertible only added to the fun. The unique driving experience and the powerful V8 engine are not to be underestimated (via Motor Trend).

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The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible has been fetching more and more money as time has gone on. The car will set you back a pretty penny, and it is one of the rarest models on the road. There are very few cars that could compete with the 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible on a performance level.

1970 Buick GSX
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1970 Buick GSX – $380,000

Much like the muscle cars that came before it, the Buick GSX was another GM creation. The car had all the performance of its stable mates, but it took things up a notch. This was not a Buick geared toward retirees and people who wanted comfort. The 1970 Buick GSX was a performance-built car, and it left a heavy reputation (via Motor Trend).

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The value of the 1970 Buick GSX has continued to rise because the car is so rare. You’ll seldom see one of these on the road anymore and that’s because the production numbers were lesser. The 1970 Buick GSX is by far one of the most iconic muscle cars in the Buick division. The styling and attitude of the car made it an instant classic.

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1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster – $380,000

The 1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster only added to the mystique that was the Thunderbird. The car was built for a purpose and that purpose was performance and style. The 1962 models especially have started to increase in value. The reason for this is the beauty of the car and the ability to upgrade the performance fairly easily (via Motor Trend).

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There are very few cars from this era that could compete with the Thunderbird when it came to beauty. The styling of the car was unlike anything that was on the road at the time. The 1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster was fast, stylish, and got the job done. The 1962 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster is a great collector’s item.

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1996 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster – $400,000

Few supercars in the world have been as influential as the Diablo VT Roadster. The Diablo VT Roadster changed the way that we think about supercars and what they bring to the table. The Diablo VT Roadster was iconic, it had a long swooping body and a design that you’d only see in a movie. Lamborghinis from this era are some of the most beautiful cars on the road (via Motor Trend).

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The Lamborghini Diablo VT has increased in value steadily since the 1990s. Part of the appeal of the Diablo VT was the legendary performance, but it was also the one-of-a-kind styling. There aren’t many cars on the road that could pull off the extreme styling that the Diablo VT did, which is why it remains iconic to the day.

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1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000S – $467,500

The Lamborghini Countach is a famous car, so much so that even Jay Leno owns one. Like Diablo, the Countach had a unique design that has remained iconic throughout many years. The performance of the Countach is one of the reasons that the car was a runaway hit for Lamborghini. But it was the styling of the car that became synonymous with success and wealth in the 1980s (via Motor Trend).

Lamborghini Countach
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The Countach has continued to fetch higher prices on the auction block. Because of the car’s notoriety and interesting styling, there is a lot to like about it. Fast sports cars were a focal point of the eighties and the Countach was one of the sports cars that lead the charge. Even today, the car still invokes all kinds of emotions when you see one on the road.

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1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster – $468,500

The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster was known for being one of the first roadsters on the market. The 6-cylinder engine moved the car with authority, and the styling was iconic. The car was often referred to for its “toothy” grill on the front. The Corvette varied in styling in the years that followed. The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster performed great and looked beautiful (via Motor Trend).

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The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster has increased in value since its inception. The car was one of the first Corvette models on the road, and every model that came after it followed the design. Most cars from the 1950s were large and clunky, but the Corvette was one of the first cars that were nimble and fun to drive.

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1959 Chevrolet Impala Convertible – $470,000

There are certain models of the Impala that come to mind first when you think of classic cars. The 1959 model was special in its own right with a big powerful V8 engine and a nice attractive exterior styling. That was not the only thing that made the 59 Impala great. The car was also available in many body styles, which made it appealing to consumers (via Motor Trend).

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1959 became a surprise hit with the classic car community. The value continued to rise for the car, and it can be expensive to get your hands on one. The aftermarket community for the Impala is great and there are a lot of upgrades that you can do to the car. The 1959 Impala was one of the most attractive cars of its era.

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1955 Chevrolet Nomad Custom – $480,000

The Chevrolet Nomad Custom is a well-known car in the hot rod community. The Nomad had a unique look to it which included an aggressive stance with a low-slung demeanor. To the average family who needed extra cargo space, the Nomad Custom was the way to go. This was in an era long before the minivan and the crossover were even a concept (via Work & Money).

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The Nomad became a hit in the aftermarket community as well. The performance of the car was great, and the room for upgrades was almost endless. Even in the factory configuration, the Nomad was an impressive wagon. Finding one of these for a cheap price is almost impossible nowadays.

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1965 Mercury Comet A/FX Lightweight – $500,000

The 1965 Mercury Comet A/FX Lightweight is one of the most understated muscle cars ever released. But in recent years, the Comet has gained traction in the collectors market. The 1965 Mercury Comet A/FX Lightweight was everything that made the factory Comet great but added to the performance (via Work & Money).

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That’s why the rare 1965 Mercury Comet A/FX Lightweight fetched quite the price at the auction block. The car at its core was built for drag racing, but it could be driven on the street. While the Mercury brand doesn’t come up often in the muscle car market, the 1965 Mercury Comet A/FX Lightweight is worth noting.

1968 Plymouth Road Runner
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1969 Plymouth Hemi Road Runner Coupe – $510,000

The Plymouth Hemi Road Runner Coupe is often referred to as the king of the hot rod era. The styling of the car was unlike the other muscle cars of the time, and the performance was exceptional. The Hemi V8 engine was referred to as one of the best to come out of Chrysler Corp. The values for the Road Runner continue to rise (via Work & Money).

1968 Plymouth Road Runner
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The Road Runner kept the reputation of the Plymouth brand in the limelight. The styling and the performance of the car influenced a whole new generation of drivers. It also helped cement the Hemi V8 as one of the greatest performance motors of all time, and that is important in the muscle car era.

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1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16 – $525,000

The 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16 was a car that took the Chevelle name to the next level in terms of performance. The car had all the styling cues of an aggressive sports car and took them to the next level. The factory engine that came with the car was one of the best that GM had designed in a long time (via Work & Money).

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16
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The 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16 showed the world that the brand could be more than just a family car. It brought the performance that consumers had hoped for in a large sports car. The notoriety of the 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16 has continued to make the car popular on the auction block to this day.

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Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible – $560,000

In a few short years, the Pontiac GTO Judge dramatically increased in value. The reason behind it is that the Pontiac brand was discontinued in 2010. Now there is a much larger consumer appetite for the classic Pontiac cars from the past. The Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible had a powerful V8 engine that broke records (via Work & Money).

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The car also had the signature GTO styling that made the brand a hit. The Judge came with all kinds of modifications from the factory that made it perform like nothing else on the road. When it came to an interesting sports car that took things to the next level, the Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible was it.

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Equus Bass 770 – $600,000

A few years ago, the Equus Bass was getting quite a bit of media attention. A completely new automaker built the car, but the styling and the design were all classic Mustang. In fact, the car was basically the first generation Mustang with a completely modern interior and exterior. The Equus Bass had impressive off-the-line performance and track times from the factory (via Work & Money).

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The price for one was expensive, but if you wanted a completely modern muscle car, this was the way to go. The Equus was not just a carbon copy of the Mustang either. It had its own unique twist on the styling and when you saw one up close, you knew it was different. The way that Equus captivated the muscle car world is something that not many automakers have accomplished.

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16: Pontiac Trans Am ‘Smokey And The Bandit’ – $550,000

It should be of no surprise why the Smokey and the Bandit Trans Ams are worth a ton. The notoriety of the car alone makes for a high price tag in the automotive world. The car was not only expensive but it was also one of the most legendary cars to ever be on a TV show. Not to mention that it was a GM F-Body (via Work & Money).

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In a lot of ways, the Smokey And The Bandit Trans Am put Pontiac on the map in more ways than the GTO did. The car was easier to attain and it offered some serious performance for the price. The Trans Am was a popular pony car, and it offered a decent competitor for the Mustang and even the Camaro, which was essentially the same vehicle.

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Shelby GT – $600,000

Carroll Shelby always maintained a great relationship with the Ford Motor Company and the Mustang was usually the subject of his new projects. The Shelby GT was a limited-run sports car that put out some of the best performance that the Mustang has ever seen. The styling was dark and sinister, and one look at the car made other drivers know that it meant business (via Work & Money).

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The Shelby GT was a very limited production vehicle which meant that finding one costs a pretty penny. Every once in a while the Shelby GT will come up at the auction block and when it does it’s expensive. What made the car great other than the groundbreaking performance, was the styling and notoriety.

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Chevrolet Corvette L88 – $825,000

Every generation of the Corvette gets a model that defines that specific generation of the car. In the 1960s, it was the L88 model, which was a high-performance variant of the Corvette. Now the Corvette itself was no slouch on the track, but the L88 took things even further with a car designed to break performance records. The L88 was not a weekend cruiser, but rather a track bruiser that introduced a whole new world of performance to the Corvette (via Work & Money).

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The L88 was one of the rarest Corvette models that you could get your hands on. Sometimes it was hard to find, but nowadays more examples have been showing up at the auctions. This Corvette was the model that broke the mold when it came to performance. There was nothing slow or mild-mannered about the L88 Corvette.

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Shelby GT 500 – $742,500

The original Shelby GT 500 was also an impressive car that got the Mustang labeled a supercar. The performance of the Shelby GT 500 was among the fastest in the Mustang during the second generation. Carroll Shelby was instrumental in the design of the car and every aspect of what made it perform as it did. The Shelby GT 500 did everything right and challenged the status quo of the muscle car segment (via Work & Money).

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The Shelby GT 500 is also among the most expensive and most highly sought-after Mustang models on the road. There weren’t a lot of them made at all and the few that are on the market have been restored. The Shelby GT 500 is one of the few Mustang models that continues to increase in value every year.

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Dodge Charger Daytona Hemi – $900,000

There was a time when automotive manufacturers sent stock cars to the NASCAR racing circuit. Hence the reason why they were called stock cars in the first place. Dodge needed a way to start winning more races, and thus the Charger Daytona Hemi was introduced. The car had many similarities to the Plymouth Super Bird, which also had similar styling (via Work & Money).

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The Charger Daytona Hemi went on to win many races in NASCAR. The design of the car was legendary and cemented Dodge as a serious contender in the muscle car world. Unlike the other Charger models of the time, this one had a distinct nose that made it much more aerodynamic than the other models.

1970 Plymouth Superbird
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Plymouth Superbird Hemi – $1 million

Perhaps more notable than the Charger Daytona was the Superbird Hemi which fetched a cool million on the auction block. The Superbird Hemi was the car that Plymouth won many NASCAR races with. Richard Petty made the Superbird famous in what was dubbed the “aero wars” of the 1960s and 1970s. Cars were becoming more aerodynamic to win the races (via Work & Money).

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The Plymouth Superbird was among one of the most famous cars in the muscle car era. Its styling and performance of it were unlike anything else that was on the market. There were competitors, but never anything that came close to the quality of the Superbird when it came to performance.

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Shelby GT 500 Eleanor From “Gone In 60 Seconds” – $1 million

Movie cars also fetch a pretty penny on the auction block and the Shelby GT 500 from Gone in 60 Seconds was a popular ride. The car which was driven by Nicholas Cage in the movie was a real car. It was sold to various owners over the past 20 years after the hit movie faded into the limelight (via Work & Money).

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The Shelby GT 500 itself was one of the most notable muscle cars that ever hit the market. The styling and the excellent performance made it stand out from the standard run-of-the-mill Mustang models. The fact that the car was featured in such a popular movie made it even more famous in the collectors market.

Chevrolet Camaro - Chevrolet Chevelle
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Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – $1 million

The Camaro ZL1 was another highly anticipated sports car built by COPO. If that company sounds familiar it’s because they also built the special edition COPO Camaro. The COPO Camaro was fast off the line and had one of the most custom engines that GM had put into the car. The COPO Camaro ZL1 is different from many other Camaro models that hit the market (via Work & Money).

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The COPO Zl1 offered the type of performance that was not seen on a Camaro model before. The styling and the complete package were popular, with a select few customers. The first generation of the Camaro was an iconic model for many reasons, and the ZL1 COPO made it an even better car.

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Pontiac Catalina 421 “Swiss Cheese” – $1 Million

The GTO often overshadows the Pontiac Catalina and other muscle cars from that era, but it was pretty fast in its own right. The styling of the Catalina 421 made it stand out from the crowd, and the special Swiss Cheese edition was a rare car. Infused with the kind of performance that you only found on the top performance cars in the world (via Work & Money).

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The car has been fetching even higher prices on the auction block which is one of the reasons that it is so rare. To find a Pontiac Catalina 421 “Swiss Cheese” that has all of the original markings is a pretty difficult thing to do. You’ll seldom see one of these on the auction block anymore, but when you do they are rare.

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Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS6 – $1.2 million

The Chevrolet Chevelle was a popular muscle car, but in addition to the SS being popular, there was also a special LS6 model. The Chevelle SS LS6 is among one of the most sought-after examples on the market. What made it special was the 454 performance motor that was under the hood. Even by today’s standards, the Chevelle SS 454 was a powerful muscle car that offered a lot of bang for the buck (via Work & Money).

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Of course, the Chevelle LS6 was not a common car, and finding one is not an easy task. You won’t find this example of the Chevelle for sale very often. When they are for sale, they fetch a high price because of the rarity of the car. The unique styling of the car and the fact that it was a Chevelle SS have all contributed to the unique qualities it had.

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Shelby Cobra 289 – $1.6 million

The Shelby Cobra 289 was one of the rarest versions of the popular Shelby Cobra Roadster. The most recent sale of a Shelby Cobra 289 was for over $1.6 Million at the auction. Part of the reason that the car was so rare was that it had a limited production run. Carroll Shelby had a hand in every Cobra 289 built and put into production (via Work & Money).

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The Shelby Cobra 289 was by far one of the rarest and most highly sought-after Cobra examples. There are many on the market, but the 289 is unlike anything else. The attention to detail that went into the car, and the sheer performance that the roadster has, will leave a smile on your face every time.

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Shelby EXP500 Green Hornet – $1.8 million

The Shelby EXP500 was by far one of the rarest muscle cars ever produced in a Carroll Shelby factory. The unique look of the car is only magnified by the stellar performance under the hood. The Shelby EXP500 Green Hornet broke many records when it came to being a notoriously fast and rare muscle car. The Shelby Green Hornet was not well marketed, and thus there are very few still on the road (via Work & Money).

Photo Credit: Barrett Jackson

The Shelby EXP500 Green Hornet was a powerful muscle car that made it a hit with the muscle car community. Carroll Shelby was instrumental in creating a version of the Mustang that could perform the best that the world had to offer. There aren’t many muscle cars like the Shelby EXP500 Green Hornet.

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Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible – $2 to 4 million

The Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible is also one of the rarest muscle cars that have come out of Chrysler. The Hemi Cuda itself was a massively popular muscle car at a time when Chrysler was growing. The look and feel of the car made it a monstrous success for the company, but it was also the fast performance that made it fly off of dealership lots. The Plymouth Barracuda proved to be one of the most successful muscle cars ever produced in a Chrysler factory (via Work & Money).

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The Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible maintained dominance in the muscle car market. Generally speaking, a convertible was not considered to be a real contender but that all changed with the Hemi Cuda. The timeless styling and iconic performance of the car made it stand out from the crowd.

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Shelby GT500 Super Snake – $2.2 million

The Shelby GT500 Super Snake was another great muscle car that came out of the partnership Carroll Shelby had with Ford. The styling of the car and the one-of-a-kind performance made it stand out from the crowd. The engine that came under the hood performed better than any other muscle car competing at the time. The GT500 Super Snake was an impressive addition to an already impressive lineup of Mustang models (via Work & Money).

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The Super Snake kept the reputation that Carroll Shelby had for quality and performance. The product that hit the market was well above the competition’s expectations. The car was not only fast but it was also one of the fastest production vehicles on the road. There weren’t a lot of examples of the Super Snake put into production.

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Ford Mustang GT390 Bullitt $3 Million

The Ford Mustang GT390 Bullitt was the car that made the Mustang name famous in the movies. You probably heard about the Bullitt, but seeing one in person is not as easy. The car was a limited production run, and the only thing that makes it noticeable is the forest green paint job and the unique pinstripe up the side. The Bullitt remained an integral part of the Mustang heritage and a car that Ford has revived over various generations of the car (via Work & Money).

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The Ford Mustang GT390 Bullitt will go down as one of the most notable Mustang models of all time. The amount of design and engineering that went into the car further cemented it as a classic. When it comes to Ford and the Mustang, there are few cars as noticeable as the Bullitt.

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Shelby GT 350 R – $3.85 Million

The Shelby GT 350 R is another muscle car that has come a long way in its development. The notable design of the car and the one-of-a-kind performance separated it from the pack. The Mustang was not considered a high-performance muscle car, but when the GT 350 R hit the market, that attitude towards the Mustang changed. The Shelby GT 350 R was considered a groundbreaking performance car for both Shelby and Ford (via Work & Money).

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The Mustang GT 350 R was unlike anything else on the market at the time. Take one look at the paint job, and it’s evident that this was not a run-of-the-mill muscle car. There was a lot to like about the Mustang, and the main thing was the excellent performance and the almost never-ending line of special edition models like the GT 350 R.

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