First and foremost, I’m a huge fan of quirky old cars. Until recently, RADwood-era classics were largely overlooked by collectors. Now, some sports cars from the 1980s and 1990s are finally getting noticed, personality and all. If you want one of these quirky classics, you may need to move fast.
1995–1998 Volkswagen Golf GTI VR6
Hagerty recently published its 2026 bull market list of classic cars rapidly gaining value. The list included familiar Porsches, muscle cars, and Italian exotics. One entry, however, made everyone look twice: the 1995–1998 Volkswagen Golf GTI VR6.
Back in its day, it was called “the hottest hot hatch Americans had ever seen.” For the third-generation GTI, Volkswagen upgraded from a four-cylinder to a 12-valve, six-cylinder engine. It became a favorite project car for RADwood enthusiasts. But “these cars are cheap no longer.” The finest examples already command around $30,000 at auction.
1997–2001 Honda Prelude
The fifth and final generation of the Honda Prelude may represent the peak of 1990s front-wheel-drive sports car engineering. It offered a 200-horsepower VTEC engine and an “Active Torque Transfer System.” That system routed more power to the outside front wheel while cornering.
The result was handling that outperformed the Mazda Miata and BMW 3 Series of its era. Hagerty listed the fifth-generation Prelude on its 2025 bull market list, even before Honda revived the nameplate as a hybrid. At the time, top examples had already climbed past $25,000. Today, the challenge is finding a rust-free car that tuners never modified.
1981–1983 DeLorean DMC-12
The DeLorean remains the quintessential quirky car. Movie fans love it for its role in Back to the Future. RADwood enthusiasts admire its wedge-shaped design, stainless-steel body, and gullwing doors.
Yes, more powerful sports cars exist. More prestigious 1980s classics also sell for similar money. But there is only one DeLorean. Pull up to any car show in a DMC-12 and you will draw a crowd. DeLorean built just 9,000 cars before the company collapsed. That scarcity helps explain why prices continue to rise. Perfect examples have already sold for $100,000.
