`Times have changed a lot,` Andrea Modena – Director of classic cars at Ferrari – commented after telling the above story.

These are two of the billions of dollars worth of transactions each year to buy classic cars globally.

The value of classic cars has increased 185% in the past decade, surpassing many other competitors in the luxury goods segment such as wine, watches and works of art.

Vintage car collector Florian Zimmermann at his garage in Lindau (Germany).

From a small group of collectors, the scale of the classic car market is now much larger.

`We have been following this market for a long time,` commented Giorgio Medda – CEO of asset management at Azimut (Italy). `The history of the past 30 years shows that classic cars are becoming a financial tool.

In 2021, Hetica Capital asset management fund (Switzerland) also launched a 50 million euro fund.

This plan is considered bold.

This is also not a field for the faint of heart.

Besides, even a small scratch, or a broken part that needs to be replaced, can cause major damage.

Costs related to collecting cars, such as insurance or parking, can also cost 5-6% of the portfolio value each year, said Florian Zimmermann – a classic car collector.

However, the classic car market is still growing as the number of rich people in the world increases.

Classic car insurance company Hagerty estimates global collector car transactions at up to $80 billion a year, including auctions and private sales.

Observers say the global electric car race will only increase the demand for classic cars.

Ferrari is currently the most valuable classic car, according to Adolfo Orsi – founder of Classic Car Auction Yearbook.

In 2021 – 2022, Ferrari cars fetch an average of 589,000 USD per car at auction.

“The classic car community has changed a lot in the past 5-10 years,” said Zimmermann. “Initially, only people who knew about cars participated. But now, their thoughts are ‘I like these cars.