This is a tough one. i apologize in advanced if I state things obvious to some. The title says the past and future so ill start with the past
Lets focus on just the 96-98 cars performance for a second and what time they came from. They came from a time period when a 12 second car required a roll cage to run at the strip and 10 second cars were stupid fast. We have come along way since then. Now in 2016, 10 second cars require the roll cage and 8 second cars are stupid fast. Thats a HUGE difference.
Stock time for the The 98 Cobra is 13.8 - Stock 98 GT 15.1 - Stock 98 V6 17.0 Those are respectable times back then. Not Now. The f*cking Toyota Camry v6 2016 has a 0-60 of 5.8 seconds (Cobra stock is 5.4 seconds) The Camrys quartermile time is 14.3 @93! - Id say the current mustang lineup right now is the pace to follow The 4 cyl and 6 cyl is running high 13's and the GT is running 12.6-12.8. The Higher Performance models are minimum somewhere in the 11's.
Thats straight line, now as for turning were COMPLETELY behind the curve. Factory suspension is just awful. My 1997 is still factory stock, (as you know) my 1998 has full UPR suspension setup, their is a particular part of road i have in mind down at my local track. It is approx a mile straight away to a right curve. I wouldnt dare take that curve above 50 mph in the 1997 factory stock suspension. The Cobra I have taken it at approx 95-100 and that was playing it safe, it could have taken more but i wasnt about to push it any further just yet. Car drives like its on rails now that its modded and i wouldnt want it any-other way. Bringing me to my next point, I feel restomodded SN95's/Clean Factory Stock SN95s will be desired one day, ten years? EHHHH IDK im guessing a littleee bit longer. One of the reasons the desirable factor is low is because People are afraid to mod them to full potential because of book values. (something i do not care about because i wont be selling) Hell we all know a new supercharger setup alone can easily go 4500-6K in parts. 4500-6k... you can find an entire GT AND/or COBRA with mid mileage around that neighborhood of price right now, makes alot of folks hesitant. Another reason is simply lack of time to modify.
Some will want to buy em built, some will want as close to stock so they can modify it themselves. Then of-course you have those numbers matching, low miles, factorystock all-original car guys, (factory lover.) They will want to get them and preserve it if thats what your into. PEOPLE ARE SAVING THEM!
I know currently their are certain areas in the US which these cars can be found easily such as Louisiana or Texas but over here I RARELY see a 94-98 period, let alone a nice one, if i do its beat up to hell. I think eventually, (who knows how long) a nice example wont be so easy to find. Thats when desire will climb
I think I am confused by your post About 98% of it is why these cars won't at all be desirable in the future, and then you say at the end that desire will climb. Why? Just because they are old? They aren't around anymore? There are literally thousands of makes/models that are not around anymore. Why aren't those all collectors items? What makes the SN95 so special? So sure, maybe there is like *two* people in the world that will have the money and, for whatever reason, want a clean and well cared-for SN95. That doesn't mean they are collectible nor desirable.
Think of it this way: would you buy an early 80's Camaro? Do you think, that some guy with Lambo's, vintage Ferrari's, a couple Bugatti's, maybe even an early model Skyline is going to say "You know what, my collection just isn't complete. It's missing a 1984 Camaro." Not even an IROC-Z, mind you. Just a plain-jane Camaro. Of course that won't happen. So why would anyone think that's going to happen with the SN95's? (I'd even argue that Mr. Collector won't give a shit about the IROC-Z Camaro either).
So, are you saying the SN95's will be desirable/collectible? Or that they won't be?
I take back my previous statement after reading this. So this wealthy guy is a car collector who has a pretty big selection of cars and has a sweet spot for Corvettes. This statement right here pretty much applies to our Mustangs. Let's face it. They will never be worth all that much. Read this and see for yourselves.
"Tomorrow's Corvette will be WAY better than the best one right now. That you can count on. It will be faster, it will handle better, it will have more body integrity and it will be better even if its powered by hybrid/batteries. That is what technology does. This is true for any car that its entire merit is largely based on the numbers it turns on a dyno, the numbers it does 0-60, the numbers it does around a track, etc. If you buy the latest and greatest car, tomorrow will make a fool of you an reduce your investment drastically. It always does! Why play that game??? That is not collecting or investing in cars, its wasting money if you consider yourself in the car hobby. If you just want a new car and don't care, hey no problem at all, but do not ever think that car will be an investment in your lifetime. The cards are so stacked against you its not funny.
Then it goes the other way. I run into guys all the time that want to talk about how fast their 67 435 corvette is and how much its worth. These cars have seemed to have capped out for many reasons. The three I give them are performance, or lack there of, substance, or lack there of, and tolerance level. They are really hard to tolerate! Obviously guys talking about how fast these old cars are have not driven competitively enough to realize that a 90s Cadillac with a Northstar would make a fool of it, let alone a ZR1 of any year, ZO6 or whatever. People base the price and value on these cars not necessarily for their rareness, but for their performance, or in this case, historic performance. The awakening has put lots of reality into those that have tried to relive their youths through old performance cars. You just forgot what they were like, and when you get them, you don't like them! You will not have the fastest thing on the road with these old cars, in fact your current daily driver may even be faster and you just don't know it."
Exactly the reason the SN95's will not be classics. To be a classic, the car has to have that X-factor. Something about it that makes people just say "wow that is a beautiful car" or "wow, that is something special." It's not about how fast it goes. It's about what it is, what it stands for. Most daily drivers today will wipe the floor with old Muscle cars. But those Muscle cars defined an era. That is special. And one should notice that not ALL Muscle cars are desirable. Only a select few are really the collector's items. Do we really think that, of the SN95's generation, the SN95 stood out as "the car to have?" I sure don't. Furthermore, there was nothing special about the SN95's generation.
You guys get a chance, click over to youtube and watch a few clips of "petrolicious". This is a channel about owners of popular, but odd cars. Some ive never seen...ever. The channel mostly displays undesirable cars of the past and their owners personality. I feel like the sn95 rides along with owners of this show.
I'll check it out. I'm sure in the future there will be some college kid that comes across a SN95 and thinks hey, haven't seen one of those in a long while, Imma get me one and be different." But then for him to turn around and pay over $10,000 for it (because supposedly these cars will be desirable/collectible)? Yah. I just don't see it.
But hey, it won't be the first time I've been wrong.