Classic cars aren’t eco-villains – new data shows they’re cleaner than ever, making them one of the greenest ways to enjoy motoring today
Some people still think classic cars are dirty, polluting dinosaurs that should be shoved into museums, crushed for scrap, or worse – replaced by soulless cookie-cutter EVs. But here’s the bombshell: classic car emissions are lower than ever before. Yes, really. And that’s despite the fact that the number of classics on Britain’s roads has more than doubled in the last decade. From fewer than half a million in 2013, there are now over one million classic cars rolling proudly around the UK.
So how is it possible that emissions are falling when the number of cars has exploded? Here are the facts.
Classics on the Rise – But Cleaner Than Ever
According to fresh analysis by automotive comms agency Loop, total CO₂ emissions from the UK’s classic car sector have only increased by 34% since 2013 – even though the number of classics has more than doubled in that time.
Even more surprising, average CO₂ emissions per car have dropped by 16%. That means each individual classic is actually polluting less than it did a decade ago. Now that’s what I call an environmental motoring miracle.
Put simply: owning a classic isn’t destroying the planet. In fact, it might be one of the greenest ways to enjoy motoring.
Why Are Modern Classics Cleaner?
Every year a new wave of “modern classics” – cars crossing that 30- or 40-year threshold – joins the club. We’re talking Mk1 Focus ST170s, BMW E46s, Peugeot 306 GTis, Audi TTs, and so on. These cars were built with fuel injection, catalytic converters, tighter tolerances, and more efficient combustion tech.
Between 1978 and 1995 alone, average fuel economy improved by 21%. Those advances are now baked into the classic car pool, bringing emissions down overall.
And let’s not forget, classics are driven sparingly. On average, just 1,535 miles a year – compared to the 7,000–10,000 miles your typical modern motor racks up.
Emissions in Perspective
Let’s crunch the numbers:
- In 2013, the average classic emitted 899kg of CO₂e per year.
- By 2024, that dropped to 757kg per car – nearly 150kg less.
To put that in perspective, a year of driving a classic equals the emissions from a typical UK household in just 10 days. So, a weekend cruise in your 1980s BMW or your ’90s Supra is hardly what’s tipping the planet into climate catastrophe.
Why Scrapping Isn’t the Answer
Here’s the big truth most people don’t want to hear: the largest chunk of a car’s lifetime emissions comes from manufacturing it, not driving it.
So scrapping a perfectly good car – especially a classic – to buy a shiny new EV isn’t the eco-win it’s painted to be. It’s more like greenwashing on wheels.
Classics already exist. They’ve already been built. They use recycled and repairable parts. And they account for a microscopic 0.3% of total UK transport emissions. That’s not even a rounding error.
Classics Are Heritage AND Sustainability
Classic cars aren’t just metal and rubber – they’re our culture, our history, our engineering legacy. They spark conversations, inspire future generations of enthusiasts, and connect us to our past. They’re not the problem. They’re part of the solution: a slower, more conscious, more sustainable way of enjoying motoring.
So don’t feel guilty. Give your classic a proper service, polish it up, take it for a long drive this weekend, and enjoy every second. Because the most sustainable car isn’t a new EV shipped halfway around the world. It’s the car you already own, or the classic you’ve always promised yourself!
💬 What do you think? Should we be celebrating classics as part of the green motoring solution? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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