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Autocar and Beaulieu announce their top five Future Classics

Autocar and the National Motor Museum (NMM) at Beaulieu have jointly named their top five Future Classics after thousands of votes from readers and museum goers.

The Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio, Alpine A110, BMW i3, Land Rover Defender and Toyota GR Yaris have been crowned as the winners and will be recognised at this year’s Autocar Awards on 10 May at Silverstone, as well as being part of a display this year at Beaulieu.

These contemporary icons will be the Jaguar E-Types and Ford Escorts of 50 years’ time – with all that means in terms of kudos for the owners, importance to motoring history and (possibly) stratospheric value hikes.

In order to decide the five Autocar-Beaulieu Future Classics, the Autocar team developed a long list of more than 100 eligible cars (cars that will be on sale in 2022). Autocar readers and Beaulieu visitors then voted to cut this list down to just 10 entries, which were then whittled down to the top five by a panel of Autocar and Beaulieu experts.

Autocar road test editor Matt Saunders commented: “All the cars we celebrate today deserve their place in our Future Classics line-up. They demonstrate the richness and variety of the car market in an era that many will look back on with great fondness. But they also show the passion and knowledge that our readers and Beaulieu visitors have for modern-day cars.

Some great performance cars were always sure to make the cut; and the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and Toyota GR Yaris have both been rightly recognised. They were hugely critically acclaimed cars when introduced and very much remain so, garnering powerful followings and rejuvenating the standing of their parent brands among true petrolheads.

The Land Rover Defender and Alpine A110 could hardly be more different as vehicle concepts, but both cars use retro design cues really cleverly to create a modern persona that people have responded to.

That the Alpine kept the likes of the Mazda MX-5 and Porsche 911 out of the winners’ circle says much about how highly it is regarded as a driver’s car; and about how potent forces rarity and exclusivity can be in defining particular appeal. The Defender will be a much more common sight on UK roads for a few years yet, but people’s affection for it will likely endure just as long, I think.

The BMW i3, meanwhile, is just a brilliantly and boldly conceived modern supermini that proves that car enthusiasts can still be depended upon to recognise world-class innovative design when they see it.”

Andrea Bishop, director of collections and engagement at the National Motor Museum, said: “It’s great to partner with Autocar on the Future Classics project, and we’re delighted to be hosting a display of the five winning cars at Beaulieu. The Museum is keen to represent contemporary motoring and to explore what the future of mobility may bring. Choosing these Future Classics with Autocar will help us open up this conversation with our visitors and reflect in the development of our learning programmes.”

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