‘Classic’ is one of the most indefinable terms in the motoring world. It is one of the most subjective, too. Everybody has a different idea of what constitutes a classic. From the Jaguar XK150 to the Pontiac GTO, the Auburn Speedster to the Triumph Herald; one man’s classic is another man’s old car. Many factors come into labelling a vehicle a classic: its historical significance, its nostalgic significance or, indeed, its originality. The list could go on and on.

This latter example of nostalgia is perhaps the most problematic of all. If a person has a pleasant childhood memory involving a particular car, then they could well go on to crave ownership of that car when they grow old, which might make it a classic for them but not, of course, for others.

Car insurance companies need to have a good idea of what qualifies as a classic car because they need to know exactly when to charge astronomical amounts for premiums and when to be more conservative, but on what exactly do they base their prices and are they always right?

Clearly, a lot of research goes into car insurance policies and one of them concentrates on repair costs and replacement parts. Parts for cars that are considered classics by many enthusiasts are often difficult to come by, precisely because they have long since been removed from production lines. This makes parts and insurance policies very expensive. However, the more popular classics, such as the Ford Mustang, have specialist websites dedicated to spare parts because so many people call themselves proud owners.

In addition, a car’s appearance definitely goes some way to mark it as a classic but, again, this comes down to personal taste. Not everybody (though it is hard to believe) will agree that the Aston Martin DB9 is a beautiful car. It is much the same as characterising a classic, or even just flavoursome, wine: everybody has different taste buds. Disagreements between car enthusiasts will always be rife on the topic of classics, but that is not to say that appearance cannot be a contributing factor to identifying a car as such.

The DB9 raises the question of age. It is a mere seven years old, but does this mean that it is not a classic? Many people would be inclined to say yes, but this then makes you wonder about what the cut-off age might be. How old must a car be before it is named under the vast umbrella of classics? Perhaps just as many people would be inclined to reject the previous question and insist that the DB9 is already a classic, but then it must go under the same bracket as, say, the original Land Rover Defender.

There are obviously many different types of classics that are defined by their looks, their launch price and their originality as well as people’s tastes, but perhaps there is one thing that is a deciding factor on all potential classics: how many actually came off the production line. A scarcity of drivable units often makes a vehicle relatively sought after, but it must surely have, along with its rarity, good looks, originality and a certain historical significance for it to be the complete classic package.

The Classic Car Club of America offers a rather rigid definition in stipulating that a car must have been manufactured within the 23-year-period between 1925 and 1948 with a high original price tag, but it seems to me that the definition of a classic car will always be open to interpretation and, therefore, open to discussion.