Honda NS-X and Mazda MX-5 are now OFFICIALLY Classic Cars

The original Honda NS-X and Mazda MX-5 are amongst a number of cars FIVA – the classic car authority – now consider to be ‘Classic Cars’.

The term ‘Classic Cars‘ is bandied around as a coverall term for any car which is desirable but not exactly brand new, covering anything from a 1920s Bentley Blower to a 1970s Ford Escort, and even more modern stuff like the 1990s McLaren F1.

But Classic Car Authority FIVA (that’s the international federation of historic vehicles) has quite clear rules about what constitutes a classic car (as well as declaring classic cars converted to EVs are no longer classic cars, regardless of age) and one of those rules is that a car needs to be at least 30 years old to qualify (which disqualifies the McLaren F1).

So with a new decade upon us, it means that a new raft of cars now fall in to the ‘Classic’ category.

Tiddo Bresters, FIVA President, said:

There’s no magic rule to say when a vehicle becomes a ‘classic’, but reaching 30 years of age is one of FIVA’s clear criteria. 

So in 2020 we’re delighted to welcome a whole new raft of 1990 classics to the fold, as they celebrate their 30^th birthday, thanks to their caring owners. Historic vehicles don’t have to be hugely rare or valuable; the ‘new classics’ range from supercars to city cars to motorcycles – but all are important milestones in the story of our motoring heritage.

The new ‘Classic Cars’ include stuff like the original Honda NS-X, Mazda MX-5 and Lamborghini Diablo, as well as more prosaic stuff like the Renault Clio and Lotus Carlton (which isn’t exactly all that prosaic – apart from its roots).

For readers in their twenties or thirties, this may seem fine and dandy. For those of us with a few more miles on the clock, the idea that cars we coveted as proper grown-ups are now classic cars is slightly discombobulating.