Global trends have seen more and more classic car companies jump on the SUV bandwagon, and why not? Sales are booming, and they are not looking to slow down any time soon. The Geneva Motor Show is an example of current world trends where big reveals aren’t really featuring anymore. There might be a couple of refreshing moments but nothing that will take your breath away.
These shows are not there to showcase innovation or the next level in driving. They are there for the bling. If one takes the new Jaguar SUV, the F-Pace SVR, then it looks quite impressive. It has all the new upgrades that a flagship model should include. Such as the quilted bucket seats, the 550 hp engine and the 502 ft-lbs of torque. But that is just it. These changes aren’t revolutionary, they are merely blinged up versions of the originals.
If one looks at the lifespan of these flagship models, they are all short. There hasn’t really been a flashy SUV that has crossed over into the classic category. Regardless of how young this particular market is. The same thing happens to all of them. Super rich soccer moms drive their kids around in their supercharged V12 SUVs for a couple of months until the new model comes out. Before too much time has passed, those Cayenne Turbos and X5Ms depreciate and end up in someone’s backyard with their busted air-and-magnet suspensions.
Thanks to global trends, the Chinese manufacturers have also grown an appetite for exclamations in wealth. Even though companies like Hyundai produce a gem like the Hyundai Genesis Essentia, their name has never been associated with timelessness.
What does the future hold for these flashy SUV’s?
The question remains whether these flashy SUVs will still be so sought out after they have lost their shine. There have been some notable mentions like the GMC Typhoon, but that car was built for a completely different market and actually served a purpose other than just look fancy.
The Jeep Trackhawk is another notable mention. With a whopping 707 hp under the hood, this bad boy can rocket you from 0-60 in four seconds. Not bad when one considers the sheer size and weight of this Grand Cherokee. That much power is absolutely pointless, but that is exactly what makes a classic.
The main problem with SUVs is that there has not been a model that was produced long enough to enter the history books as a model for the time. Instead, it seems like new models get developed every month, making it hard for a particular SUV to grab the attention of the history books and get written up as a classic.
Maybe the era of the classic car has passed, or maybe the SUVs have to come up with something worthy of the title ‘classic.’ Whatever the case may be, it seems as though the SUV has a long way to go before it receives the honor of being called a classic.
