JOHN MAYHEAD reveals the ’70s and ’80s sizzling hatches rising in worth

A sizzling hatchback within the seventies and eighties was the car of selection for boy racers on a funds who could not fairly stretch to a full-blooded sports activities automotive.

But fast-forward forty years and these fashions are actually being scrambled over by a few of the most demanding and ruthless car collectors.

That’s as a result of the values of this class and period of automotive is accelerating quicker than a Mk2 Golf GTI leaving a McDonalds automotive park on a Friday evening in 1982.

But which of the new hatches from this exceptional era have gone up in worth most within the final 5 years alone? Classic automotive valuations guru John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty UK Price Guide, has the reply… 

Which seventies and eighties period sizzling hatches have risen in worth most within the final 5 years? John Mayhead, traditional automotive value specialist at Hagerty, can let you know the reply…

John says: These vehicles are those that each automotive fanatic who grew up within the Seventies and 80s needed. 

The racing variations had been in every single place, rallying by forests or dicing collectively in BTCC races, and these had been these we noticed on the roads. 

Many had been thrashed, crashed or stolen; discovering one right this moment that has survived in wonderful authentic situation is troublesome, however people who have made it are actually very, very collectable. 

And it is the Fast Fords which are nonetheless within the lead on the subject of traditional values of sizzling hatches… however solely simply. 

This 1985 Escort RS Turbo S1 is not any regular Fast Ford. It was pushed by Princess Diana and in August 2022 set a brand new document when it was offered at public sale for a whopping £650,000

Of all of the Fast Fords, the one which has shot up in worth most lately is the Eighties Sierra RS Cosworth. The limited-run RS500 Cosworth now instructions costs above £100k when good examples head to public sale

One of the extra attainable Fast Fords from this period is the Fiesta XR2, however even these are rising in worth at some charge

The most up-to-date Hagerty Price Guide reveals that common values of Seventies and ‘80s performance Fords rose by 31.9 per cent in the past five years, just beating Renault into second place.

John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty UK Price Guide

The team here at Hagerty grouped the hot hatches, then tracked the average value over the past five years. 

Values of the fast Fords – the Escort RS, XR3 and Turbo models, Fiesta XR2 and RS, and Sierra XR4 and RS Cosworth – maintained the lead over their rivals despite values flattening over the past 12 months.

Renault (5 Turbo and Clio Williams) came a close second with 28.9 per cent, with Audi (Ur Quattro) just drifting into third place with 27.6 per cent. 

Volkswagen (Golf GTI and Rallye) increased 19.7 per cent and Peugeot (205 GTi, CTi and Rallye) rose by 5.2 per cent.

Included in Hagerty’s deep-dive into the changing values of hot hatches from the 1970s and 1980s is the Renault 5 Turbo – another road car born out of a manufacturer’s desire to go Group B racing. Hot hatch Renault prices are up on average almost 30% in the last 5 years

Representing Audi for this generation of hot hatchback is the Quattro. Values of this era Audis are up 27.6% in the last 5 years, Hagerty says

Volkswagen Golf GTIs are surging in value of late, especially if you can get your hands on a prime example of the Mk1 version (pictured)

Peugeot 1970s and ’80s hot hatch (namely the 205 GTi pictured) values have increased the least in the last 5 years, but did start from a high point back in 2019

The in-house Hagerty analysts decided to ignore homologation versions such as the Sierra RS500, 205 T16, Renault 5 Turbo and Sport Quattro to avoid these ultra-valuable versions dominating the list.

But then we decided we wanted to know how these vehicles had performed over the last five years, so we’ve plotted these separately. 

In percentage terms, the Ford is still top, with the Sierra RS500 increasing nearly 67 per cent since 2019, with a big rise at the end of 2022.

This was pushed even higher at the start of 2023, when a low-mileage example went for close to £600,000. However, we deem this to be an outlier. 

The Fast Ford sold for an unfathomable figure! This 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 obliterated all previous world records early last year when it sold for a staggering £596,250

One of the limited run Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 homologation special road cars is due to go under the hammer over the weekend

It’s not stunning that the Fords have dominated the listing, given the recognition for efficiency fashions of the model within the UK. 

For those that grew up within the Eighties, these had been the final word aspirational street vehicles, and right this moment they’re extraordinarily collectable, particularly if they’ve survived in good authentic situation. 

The Audi Quattro is one other extremely popular automotive right here as a result of its rallying success, however the large rise in worth of this mannequin had already occurred by 2019. 

The French vehicles are attention-grabbing: each efficiency Renaults and Peugeots tends to achieve a lot increased values when offered of their house nation than they do right here. 

For instance, a Renault 5 GT Turbo was offered by French public sale home Aguttes in April 2022 for €41,660 (£35,500), greater than double the Hagerty Price Guide common on the time of £15,500.