The world of exotic car collecting is experiencing a philosophical shift that would make traditionalists wince. A younger generation of buyers is purchasing multimillion-dollar hypercars with no intention of keeping them pristine and untouched. Instead, they're actually driving them.

When Passion Trumps Portfolio Management

Christopher Pagani, Head of Marketing at Pagani Automobili America, has noticed something interesting about his newer customers. "We see more customers from a younger generation approaching the hypercar market," he explained. "You sit all of them at the same table, and they'll never talk about money. They'll always talk about their passion."

That's a marked departure from the investment-focused mindset that dominated luxury car collecting for decades. Take Jack Morris, who owns a 2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640. He's refreshingly honest about its shortcomings: "It's huge, it's heavy, it's clunky, you can't see out of it." But Morris doesn't care about any of that. He loves the car "because it delivers something memorable."

Miles Are the New Status Symbol

Jeremy Malcolm, a public relations manager at Hagerty—a company that specializes in insurance for collector vehicles—represents this new breed perfectly. He drives a 2003 Porsche Boxster and embraces what might be called the drive-it-don't-store-it philosophy. "It's affordable to maintain and it's reliable," Malcolm told Monterey County Now. "I'm the type of enthusiast that drives as much as possible. I love to just be going places."

In November, hundreds of these enthusiasts descended on the Wynn Las Vegas with their Bugattis, Ferraris, Koenigseggs, and Paganis for a 600-car gathering. Among them were buyers who view their vehicles as experiences rather than appreciating assets. Dallas entrepreneur Ron Sturgeon captured the sentiment well: "It's not about how people react to the supercar—it's about how you feel driving the supercar. We need to be attracting these younger people."

Craigslist Meets Koenigsegg

The purchasing habits of younger collectors look dramatically different from their predecessors. Gordon McCall, director of motorsports for The Quail—a high-end automotive event during California's Monterey Car Week—notes that younger buyers rarely show up at live auctions. Instead, they hunt for vehicles on platforms like Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and specialized automotive websites.

Auction houses have adapted accordingly, maintaining dedicated teams to handle internet bids. McCall sees social media as "a huge benefit to the diversity of the hobby." His perspective on value aligns with the new guard's thinking: "If you're buying something because you think it's going to go up in value, it's the wrong way. That's secondary. If it happens to go up in value, you've won the lottery. But the use of it is a value."

Bucking Industry Headwinds

This enthusiast-driven approach appears to be providing some market stability during a turbulent period for luxury automotive. The sector faces challenges including trade policy uncertainty, tariffs, and disappointing electric vehicle sales across the broader market.

Yet the exotic segment shows signs of resilience. According to CarBuzz, only two exotic car manufacturers managed to grow their US sales during the first five months of 2025: McLaren and Lamborghini. These brands stood alone among high-end marques in posting positive registration numbers through May, even as trade policy concerns shook the luxury automotive sector.

The message from this new generation of collectors is clear: a car sitting in a garage might be a decent investment, but a car being driven is something far more valuable—it's actually being enjoyed. And for buyers willing to risk depreciation for the sake of experience, that trade-off makes perfect sense.