When Rhys Mirindo bought a battered 1974 Austin Mini during the Covid-19 pandemic for Sh150,000, he thought he was buying an old car and a project. Four years and roughly Sh1.4 million in restoration costs later, the Mini could fetch more than Sh2 million, and perhaps as much as Sh2.5 million to the right buyer.
Mirindo, however, isn’t rushing to sell. Like a growing number of wealthy Kenyans drawn to classic cars, watches, art, jewellery and other luxury collectibles, he sees the value of these assets in more than their potential resale price. They offer something harder to put on a balance sheet: ownership, identity, history and enjoyment.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important as investments of passion gain traction among Kenya’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).
Classic cars ranked third among their preferred collectible acquisitions in 2026, at 44 percent, behind watches and art.
Yet such assets still make up a relatively small share of most HNWI portfolios, suggesting that for many collectors, the emotional return remains as important as the financial one.
‘This is an investment,’ Mirindo says. ‘If somebody gave me Sh2.5 million for it, then I would probably consider it, but it is one of those cars that you become attached to.’
The Mini is one of four classics in his collection, alongside a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle, a 1977 Volkswagen Kombi fitted with a Subaru engine and a 1991 Volkswagen Syncro 4×4. His daily driver is a 2008 Mazda Demio.
Keeping the cars on the road also requires a regular budget.
Mirindo spends between Sh10,000 and Sh15,000 a month on maintenance and sources some spare parts from the UK through online suppliers. Insurance for the Mini costs about Sh8,000 a year, he says, noting that comprehensive cover for such an old vehicle is difficult to obtain locally.
Assigning value
The financial calculation, however, is not the same for every collector.
Major Leiyan Saningo, who displayed a 1979 Mitsubishi Galant at last Sunday’s Concours d’Elegance, says assigning a monetary value to some of his cars is difficult because their appeal lies in their rarity, history and personal significance.
‘They’re invaluable,’ he says. ‘We don’t really put a value to them. You can’t say this one is worth this amount because sometimes you get somebody who wants it and they are willing to pay whatever they can.’
The latest Knight Frank Wealth Report notes, ‘the strongest motivation for acquiring investments of passion remains the intrinsic satisfaction derived from ownership. For many HNWIs, these investments provide emotional, cultural, and personal value that extends beyond their monetary value. Examples include collecting classic cars that evoke nostalgia, commemorate personal achievements, or represent a lifelong passion.’
That has not stopped buyers from putting substantial figures on his cars.
Leiyan has received offers of Sh7 million and Sh8 million for one of his cars, while another has attracted interest at around Sh3 million.
‘There was a gentleman who wanted to buy one last year and he still keeps trying to convince me,’ he says.
For him, however, those offers do not change the reason he owns the cars. ‘It’s just a hobby,’ he said. ‘It’s an expensive hobby.’
His collection now numbers about five vehicles, including a 1992 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-75 that he uses regularly. He hopes to add another classic whenever he finds one worth acquiring.
The cost of keeping older cars running can also be difficult to separate from the collecting itself. Parts are often harder to find and owners rely on specialist networks, online suppliers and fellow collectors to locate components.
Ian Leiyan, another collector at Concours d’Elegance, has a 1978 Mitsubishi Galant, alongside a Land Cruiser 76 Series, Peugeot 405, Datsun 1200 and a Land Rover Defender project car.
Unlike someone buying an asset purely for resale, he says his Galant is something he actually uses and enjoys.
‘I drive it. I service it, I check the plugs and everything,’ he says. ‘For me, it’s about the enjoyment. It’s not really an investment.’
He has also spent money restoring and maintaining the vehicle, including having the paintwork done around the Concours, but says the car is difficult to price because of its age and rarity.
Enter younger collectors
The different motivations are reflected across Kenya’s classic car community, according to Peter Wanday, chairman of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club and an organiser of the Africa Concours d’Elegance.
Peter says the market has changed considerably, with younger Kenyans increasingly taking an interest in finding and restoring old vehicles.
‘The classic car market has evolved,’ he observes. ‘Initially, it was mainly the older people who were interested in these cars. But now you are seeing younger people coming into it, restoring cars and bringing different cars every year.’
The amount collectors spend, he points out, also varies widely.
‘It is very subjective,’ Peter says. ‘You can have somebody spending a couple of hundred thousand shillings and you can have somebody spending several millions. It depends on the car, where you got it from and how much it costs you to restore it.’
But he does not see the growing spending as evidence that collectors are increasingly treating the cars as conventional investments.
‘I don’t think most collectors actually want to sell,’ he surmises. ‘Most of them want to keep the cars for as long as possible. Some of these cars have been in families for generations.’
That sentiment is consistent with Knight Frank’s findings that passion assets are not held solely for financial returns. Among Kenyan HNWIs, the report found that joy of ownership was the leading reason for holding passion investments, ahead of investment itself.
For Peter the appeal among wealthy Kenyans is partly similar to the attraction of art, coins and other collectables.
‘For a discerning Kenyan, you want something that you can hold that has some historical significance,’ he says. ‘Classic cars are like art. They have a story, they have a history and they give you that sense of community.’
Scarcity, he adds, is another factor supporting the value of certain cars.
‘It’s demand and supply. There are very few of these cars and most of the people who have them don’t want to sell them. So when somebody really wants one, they are willing to pay a lot more.’
Judging a classic
For Renzo Benardi, who was a chief judge of the classic cars event on Sunday however, a high price alone does not make an old vehicle a valuable classic.
‘Condition is the main thing,’ he said.
Judges assess the mechanical condition, exterior, interior and general appearance of the vehicles, with originality also playing an important role.
‘The closer you are to the original car, the better,’ Renzo says. ‘You have to follow what the car was originally like.’
He adds that restoration can sometimes hurt a vehicle’s authenticity when owners make changes that were never available when the model was manufactured. Age also matters because fewer examples of older models tend to survive, but Renzo emphasises that the condition of the surviving vehicle remains crucial.
He sees classic cars as an investment in Kenya ‘in a small way’, although he says the asset class is recognised more broadly around the world.
The Concours is also creating opportunities to connect Kenya’s collectors with an international automotive culture.
Italian marques
Italian Ambassador to Kenya Vincenzo Del Monaco says he has seen renewed interest in the Kenyan automotive sector, including in Italian marques such as Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia.
‘There’s a renewed interest in the Kenyan sector,’ Vincenzo says, pointing to the presence of different makes and the growing interest in the event.
For him, the attraction of Italian cars goes beyond their mechanical specifications. ‘It is about technology, but it is also about beauty, creativity, tradition and fun,’ he says. ‘This is very much Kenya, but this is also very much Italy.’
Peter says that Kenya’s relatively favourable climate could also present an opportunity for the local classic-car market, particularly because cars used in European winters are more exposed to rust.
Some well-preserved Kenyan classics could therefore attract buyers abroad, creating potential opportunities beyond the local collector community.
For now, though, the people gathering at the Concours appear less interested in treating their cars like ordinary financial instruments than in owning, preserving and enjoying pieces of automotive history.
The money involved can be significant, from the Sh150,000 purchase of Mirindo’s Mini to the millions that collectors say they have spent restoring cars or been offered by potential buyers.
But for many owners, the value of a classic is not captured by the figure on a cheque. ‘It is the passion,’ Mirindo says. ‘You put money into it, but you also get the enjoyment out of it.’