I recently watched a video on YouTube suggesting that the average enthusiast will never own a modern Porsche 911 GT3, thanks to its becoming a cultural phenomenon and therefore a flashy — though extraordinarily potent — rolling bauble exclusively for the rich. A portion of the video centered on the first GT3, a car built during a period that a lot of enthusiasts consider the end of the analog automotive era. Yours truly has a strong connection to this era, as it marked the moment I first became seriously interested in collecting cars, thanks to my having entered income-earning adulthood. All this made me wonder: What are the benchmark cars from this era and how has this genre performed over time?

What makes a car “analog” is a point of contention with car enthusiasts. For the purpose of today’s market post, landing on a common definition is essential. Some will only consider a car with a carbureted engine or non-computerized mechanical fuel injection to be an analog car.

Others say “analog” simply refers to cars made before regulations and consumer demands led to vehicles festooned with flat screen displays, nanny systems, traction control, and paddle-shifting automatic transmissions. Effectively, a “last of the analog” enthusiast car is one with modern usability, but whose philosophy was still centered around the joy of driving — without distraction. This is the definition we will be using.

Generally speaking, cars from the late 1990s and early 2000s tend to embody most of these traits. Manufacturers were still making high-performance enthusiast cars with a cable-driven throttle, manual transmission, and ABS-only braking in this period. Cars built more recently are undeniably more capable on paper, but there’s something about a car that requires real effort from its driver that makes the driving experience more fun.

I’m definitely not the first to write about this era of automobiles. Many outlets have discussed the rising popularity of cars from the late 90s and early 2000s, including the collector car market experts at Hagerty. I’ve used my own perspectives, plus vehicles highlighted by others, to put together a cross-section of cars from the last of the analog era. Analyzing the performance of the cars on this list will hopefully provide some insight on the market for this genre of vehicles.

A 505 hp 7-liter V8, dry sump, lightweight aluminum chassis, analog displays, a 6-speed manual and oversteer for days. Need I say more?

The last 911 built with an actual throttle cable between the pedal and the engine. In Carrera 2 form, it’s still a lightweight 300 hp, row-your-own powerslider that can surprise you if you’re not careful.

The E39 M5 is arguably the best looking M5, having been built before the Bangle era. Its successor, the E60 M5, had an automated sequential manual trans. Ew.

While an attractive car that is better on paper than the NB, the NC-generation Miata added standard traction control and stability control, excluding it from consideration.

A glorious sound from the 238 hp VR6 engine is its hallmark, and while it has traction control, it can be turned off unlike the Mk5 successor.

One of the last analog American supercars. The third generation of the Viper after this one added electronic stability control, traction control, and more complexity.

Renowned for its raw driving experience, the Carrera GT had no stability control, no adaptive dampers, no paddle shift and can gravely injure a careless driver.

A naturally aspirated V12 engine putting out 618 hp through a 6-speed manual transmission for a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds. No nannies, just pure analog power.

Looking at a graph showing values for analog enthusiast cars over the last 8 years, we can see a pretty obvious upward trend over time for most cars. While the pure driving enjoyment of these last of the analog cars is likely a significant driver in their obvious popularity and growth in value, it could also be that enthusiasts who were young in this era are now approaching the age where they’re interested in acquiring the dream cars of their youth.

The one vehicle that seems to have the flattest trendline is the C6-generation Corvette Z06, whose prices have remained rather stable and even slightly declined over this period. The car with the largest percent change was the E39 BMW M5, which experienced an 83% positive change in value over the period. As with most cars over the last 5 years, large spikes in value occurred during the pandemic, and prices have softened somewhat in 2024-2025.

Looking at supercars of the era, we see a similar trend. The McLaren F1 has had a very steady rise in value, with no discernible spike in value from the Covid-induced buying spree. The Porsche Carrera GT and Dodge Viper, however, did see rises in value that have plateaued or softened slightly in the last year.

The future looks pretty promising for “last of the analog era” cars, based on the data. There are loads of other vehicles from this era to consider, such as the Acura NSX, Lotus Elise, Honda Civic Si, and many more. I simply chose a cross-section of cars to simplify my calculations and tracking efforts for the benchmark.

If you’re interested in one of these cars, I would be surprised to see any reduction in price in the next few years, even during the slight market correction we’re experiencing. In fact, we may see continued upward lift if political and economic turmoil subsides. Hagerty recently released their quarterly update asserting that the softening market has flattened out, but cautions us that some specific indexes (cars) could see further dips. I’d rate “last of the analog era cars” from the late 1990s and early 2000s as a “buy” at this time.

Have a great Memorial Day, everyone.

Wolf and Mare provides appraisal services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring a professional appraisal, give us a call or drop a line!
The opinions shared above do not represent financial or investment advice.