2021 Future Collectible Vehicle of the Year Award

Certainly, it’s not an easy task to predict what we might see at a car show 25 years into the future. That would be 2046 if our math is correct. By then we expect to be driving mostly electric cars, so, does that mean a ‘future collectible’ might be a Tesla or Rivian? Or, will that just make our appreciation of piston-powered muscle that much more acute. Will any of our current designs be distinctive enough to be collectible? Who knows? Who would have guessed in 1957, for example, that a common Chevy would be collectible?

The iconic name Shelby will probably always have a dedicated following whether it grace a race car or a sports car. Carroll Shelby spread his talents and image broadly around the racing and the auto industries. This race car/muscle car from Ford boasts the Shelby name and spirit with the most powerful package under the hood the company has ever provided for public consumption. They call it “The Preditor” – a supercharged, 5.2-liter V-8 making 760 horsepower doing zero-to-sixty in about 3 1/2 seconds depending on your tire choice. What could have made it even more collectible in the future would have been the provision of a manual transmission. But alas, the quick-shifting, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic will do the job better than the best racing driver – but may not provide as much entertainment value for the driver. This car is both a sophisticated road car with all the electronic gadgetry we’re now expecting in high-end cars; and it is a profoundly competent race car for drag strip or road course.

“The Shelby GT500 is a magnificent muscle car and possibly a more impressive sports car.” CAR&DRIVER

The Shelby Cobra GT500 get’s our nod for Future Collectible Vehicle of the Year.

This year’s Chief Judge is Brian C. Baker, Founder of AutoArcheology

Judging Team

• Bob Boniface, veteran designer for Chrysler and GM, Retired
• Wayne Cherry, GM Vice President of Design, Retired
• John Manoogian II, adjunct faculty at College for Creative Studies
• Paul Snyder, former designer at Ford and Honda, faculty member at the College for Creative Studies
• Keith Nagara, designer at Chrysler and Ford, founder and director of the Transportation Design and Industrial Design Programs at Lawrence Technological University