The index rose by 3.19 per cent from the end of 2012, compared with a 5.07 per cent gain for the S&P Global 1200 index and a rise of 7.51 per cent in the gold price.

The HAGI Top Index, produced by UK-based Historic Automobile Group International, covers a range of classic car types deemed to be “exceptional” in their class.

The pursuit of "real assets" by investors concerned about inflation, for example, has fuelled interest in items such as classic cars, as well as fine art, jewellery and prime residential buildings. An issue until recently, however, has been the relative opacity of the market and a lack of benchmarks on prices, although this is beginning to change due in part to organisations such as HAGI. 

The HAGI Top Index, measuring the performance of 50 key collectible classic cars, advanced by 13.89 per cent in 2011. However, another HAGI index calculation reveals a segment of the top market that rose by 21.65 per cent growth in 2011. This is the return offered by the HAGI Top with Ferrari and Porsche removed. (In 2011 the HAGI F Ferrari Index advanced 10.58 per cent, while the HAGI P Porsche Index returned a more modest 4.53 per cent, after strong growth in previous years.)