The Six-Figure Cars Drawing Enthusiastic Women Buyers

Classic cars or SUVs painstakingly retrofitted with modern drivetrains and interiors, otherwise known as “restomods,” are selling out despite prices of US$200,000 to US$400,000 and up. And the buyers are not all men.

The world of classic cars is overwhelmingly male-dominated, but it turns out these modernized versions have a broader appeal, tapping into girlhood nostalgia, too. The specialty shops that make these cars, based on everything from the Mercedes 280SL and Chevrolet Chevelle to off-roaders like the Land Rover Defender and the Ford Bronco, are reporting that their lists of female clients are growing, and some are buying more than one.

Jacqueline Comolli, who has homes in California and Maui, has a mid-US$300,000s Icon4X4 Ford Bronco, in orange and light blue, at each location.

“I’m happy with both of them,” she says. “I’ve only ever been drawn to old cars. They speak to me. But I can’t have a car that wouldn’t be safe or reliable. I don’t want to think that it’s about to break down.”

The light blue Bronco is one of two from Icon4X4 owned by Jacqueline Comolli.
Icon4X4

Comolli reports that she’s using the orange Bronco, fitted with a modern Ford five-liter “Coyote” V8 producing 420 horsepower, in Maui as her daily driver.

“It really connects with people who see it, in the way a regular expensive luxury car would not,” she says. “The older cars that people remember just evoke a feeling.”

Restomods are bespoke commissions, encouraging their owners to get involved in choosing colours and materials. Comolli says she sent in a “ratty old bikini top and a high-heeled shoe” for the colours she wanted.

Inside Jacqueline Comolli’s blue Bronco.
Icon4X4

Though the colour inspiration might be a bit different, the priorities of male and female clients are “pretty much the same,” says Jonathan Ward, CEO and lead designer at Icon4X4.

“They want enhanced performance, safety, and ease of service, while maintaining the vintage style and vibe.” He added that only 5% of his customers are women now, but “we are seeing more female interest.”

Emme Hall is a California-based auto writer who is very hands-on with her 2001 Mazda Miata off-road racer.

“There are fewer women who are car people today, and traditionally we haven’t had the same opportunities to work on cars,” she says. “When I wrench on my car I have to watch YouTube videos to avoid making mistakes. But when you buy one of these restomods, you get a dream car that is already done for you. The reliability and the workmanship are guaranteed.”

Katy Schuman in her Gateway Bronco.
Katy Schuman

Katy Schuman, who drives a car from Illinois-based Gateway Bronco built to her individual style, is an interior designer who has also worked with Gateway on the details of another pair of Bronco builds. She has a second restomod on order, a Defender being built by the Landrovers, a company in Holland. Schuman’s husband drives a blacked-out LS3-powered 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle restomod with an eight-speed push-button automatic that was originally special-ordered by comedian David Spade from Florida-based Velocity.

Schuman says that her Bronco was built from a second-hand 1969 car that she and her husband had on the road for 12 years.

“They completely rebuilt our old Bronco,” she said. “It’s a lot smoother now with a new chassis, stronger brakes and motor.” When the Bronco was just a well-worn used car it broke down frequently, often while Schuman was ferrying the kids to school. “It was usually the battery,” she says.

Wales-based Hemmels completely rebuilds Mercedes SLs to exacting specifications, and CEO Thomas Butterfield says that 10% of his clients are women—more than most of the competition.

“Our women buyers are exceptionally focused on detail, and they thrive on the car being custom and bespoke,” Butterfield says. “There’s a reason one-off handbags from Hermès sell for millions, because they’re statements.”

He added that the company has matched exterior and interior colors from handbags, flecks of house paint, and shades of nail varnish.

Tessa Hartmann , a Scottish branding strategist in the fashion and entertainment space who appeared on ITV’s Real Housewives of Jersey for two seasons, first fell in love with Mercedes sports cars as a child when she saw movie star Grace Kelly in a 190 SL. Hartmann first owned “Grace,” a 1969 Mercedes 280SL “Pagoda” that she’d traded for her Maserati Ghibli. But the car needed a lot of expensive loving care and attention, and a restoration through a local shop stalled—in part because, Hartmann felt, the owners took advantage of a woman client. Hartmann decided to swap Grace for a restored SL.

“It was at that point that I discovered Hemmels,” Hartmann says. “I felt bad for Grace, but I named the new car ‘Doris’ after Doris Day, who also has an effortless charm and a wholesome femininity about her.”

Hartmann notes that her four kids thought she was making an eccentric move, which prompted the thought that “it’s O.K. for a man to idolise engines, exhaust, and torque, but if a woman expresses an interest in cars, especially classic cars, she’s eccentric? Frankly I couldn’t have cared less what people thought. I was in charge. I had earned the right to do what I wanted. I am a workaholic and if this was my vice, so be it.”

Doris has had a makeover, and Hartmann took delivery of the 1970 car last year, paying around £220,000 (about US$280,000 and minus the £70,000 she got for trading in Grace). “Doris has a silver body, red leather interior, a red roof, and a hardtop—she’s quite magnificent, and the craftsmanship from Hemmels is impeccable,” Hartmann says. “Doris only gets to come out on sunny days. I feel an immense pride in being able to have one of these cars—it was an achievement many years in the making.” She’d buy another restomod, and thinks they hold their value well.

The E.C.D. Defender bought by Diane Johnson-Marchand and Tania Marchand.
E.C.D. photo

The ride owned by Diane Johnson-Marchand and Tania Marchand, is a restored bright-white 1990 Land Rover Defender 110 known as “Island Girl” in right-hand drive, upgraded to 455 horsepower via a GM LT1 V8. The builder, at a cost of around US$300,000, was Florida-based E.C.D. Automotive Design, which also restores Jaguar E-Types and Mustangs and has a little more than 6%female clients.

E.C.D. CEO Scott Wallace says the women he’s worked with bring a unique “perspective and flair” to their custom builds, “resulting in one-of-one vehicles that truly stand out. Their attention to detail and passion for design continually inspire us.”

Johnson-Marchand, a veterinarian in the Daytona Beach area of Florida, learned to drive in a Defender in Hawaii. That one was right-hand drive, so the new one had to be, too. She wanted an alloy-bodied car, located one in South Africa, and imported it to the U.S. before handing it over to E.C.D. for a nine-month build.

“We spent a month just on the design and personalised many aspects of the car,” Johnson-Marchand says. “And there were several on-site visits. E.C.D. kept us posted each step of the way, so we were able to see the car through the assembly process. Vintage looks combined with a modern drivetrain, that combination allows us to have the best of both worlds.”

There is actually a club for women supercar owners, the Arabian Gazelles, based in Dubai. Seeing the growing trend, similar organisations could take root around the world.

Reporting season has once again reminded investors that a strong profit does not guarantee a rising share price, and a large loss does not always trigger a sell-off. What matters most is how each result compares with expectations and, increasingly, what management says about the year ahead. During the August 2026 season, companies offering credible turnarounds or unexpectedly strong guidance were rewarded handsomely, while those flagging weaker margins, slowing demand or greater uncertainty were punished.

The following ranking draws on Morningstar’s review of 164 ASX-listed companies and measures each company’s share-price movement on the day it reported. This captures the market’s immediate response to the earnings announcement, before subsequent economic developments, dividends and company-specific news cloud the picture. Here are the five biggest winners, and the five hardest-hit losers, of the season so far.

The five winners

1. Bapcor (ASX:BAP): +41.0%

Bapcor delivered reporting season’s largest relief rally after presenting early evidence that its troubled automotive-parts business was stabilising. Although underlying revenue fell 1.8% to $1.92 billion and underlying NPAT collapsed 85% to $10.8 million, underlying EBITDA of $152.5 million exceeded guidance.

More importantly, working-capital initiatives released $68.5 million in the second half, lifting cash conversion to 109.4% and reducing net debt by 63% to $135 million. The statutory loss was $431.6 million, largely because of non-cash impairments. Investors focused on improving operational momentum, stronger liquidity and management’s expectation of modest FY27 revenue growth.

2. Zip Co (ASX:ZIP): +18.2%

Zip comfortably surpassed its FY26 targets, sending the buy-now-pay-later provider’s shares sharply higher. Transaction volume rose 23% to $16.7 billion, while cash earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 58% to a record $268.9 million. Statutory profit climbed 46% to $116.4 million, and the cash operating margin expanded by 4.2 percentage points to 20%.

The strongest signal was guidance for FY27 cash earnings of $340 million—around 26% growth and above analysts’ forecasts. US transaction volume increased 42.5% and now represents three-quarters of group volume, offsetting weaker customer activity in Australia.

3. CSL (ASX:CSL): +17.3%

CSL’s result was hardly spectacular in isolation, but it cleared a market bar that had fallen dramatically following earlier downgrades and restructuring announcements. Underlying NPATA was US$3.1 billion, down 2% in constant-currency terms, while operating cash flow reached US$3.51 billion.

CSL maintained its full-year dividend at US$2.92 per share and completed a A$1 billion buyback. The real catalyst was FY27 guidance for approximately 5% underlying profit growth, compared with market expectations closer to 2%. After an extended period of earnings disappointments, investors interpreted the outlook as evidence that CSL’s core plasma business was approaching a sustainable recovery.

4. Judo Capital (ASX:JDO): +16.9%

Judo Capital demonstrated strong operating leverage as its specialist business-lending franchise expanded. Full-year profit before tax rose 34% to $168.1 million, while pre-provision profit increased 42%. Gross loans and advances grew 18% to $14.7 billion, reaching the top of the bank’s guidance range and comfortably exceeding broader system growth.

Deposits increased 24% to $12.2 billion, return on equity improved by 1.1 percentage points to 6.4%, and earnings per share rose 29% to 9.9 cents. Reaffirmation of the FY27 outlook gave investors confidence that loan growth could continue without sacrificing margins or credit quality.

5. Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL): +15.8%

The owner of Supercheap Auto, rebel, BCF and Macpac reported record sales of $4.2 billion, up 3.2%, despite cautious discretionary spending. Profitability went backwards: normalised profit before tax fell 7% to $306 million and normalised NPAT declined 2.8% to $226 million as transformation spending weighed on margins. Nevertheless, the result exceeded subdued expectations, online sales grew 5.3% and membership across the group’s loyalty programs reached 13.1 million. Investors were also encouraged by positive early FY27 trading, stable gross margins and continued market-share gains. A fully franked 33-cent final dividend added to the appeal.

The five losers

1. Hansen Technologies (ASX:HSN): –21.2%

Hansen’s historic result met expectations, but investors recoiled from its outlook. The utility and communications software provider achieved an underlying EBITDA margin of 31%, exceeding its 30% target, while generating strong cash flow. However, management designated FY27 an “investment and transition year”, signalling a roughly five-percentage-point margin contraction as spending on products, sales capabilities and organisational changes increased.

Revenue had already been broadly flat, leaving investors concerned that the investment program would depress earnings before new growth appeared. Leadership changes, including the chief executive’s departure, added uncertainty. Management expects revenue growth and margins above 30% to return in FY28, but the market was unwilling to wait.

2. Life360 (ASX:360): –19.4%

Life360’s headline growth was impressive: quarterly revenue rose 38% to US$159 million, subscription revenue increased 31%, and adjusted EBITDA climbed 53% to US$31.1 million. Monthly active users reached 102.4 million and paying circles grew 27% to 3.2 million. The sell-off reflected expectations rather than a collapsing business.

Net income fell 18%, the net margin contracted from 6% to 3%, hardware shipments dropped 18%, and full-year EBITDA guidance was merely maintained. After a strong valuation run, investors wanted a larger upgrade and clearer evidence that heavy investment in advertising, international expansion and artificial intelligence would generate additional earnings.

3. PEXA Group (ASX:PXA): –17.0%

PEXA reported a 7% increase in continuing-operations revenue and 12% EBITDA growth to $152 million, accompanied by a two-percentage-point margin expansion. Free cash flow increased 39%, suggesting the core Australian electronic-conveyancing platform remained highly profitable. Investors instead concentrated on management’s warning that property-transfer volumes could decline, alongside regulatory uncertainty surrounding the fees PEXA can charge.

The company is also continuing to invest heavily in its loss-making international expansion. Morningstar considered the market reaction excessive, arguing that structural transfer-volume assumptions had not materially changed, but the combination of softer near-term activity and regulatory risk overwhelmed the respectable headline numbers.

4. SEEK (ASX:SEK): –14.3%

SEEK produced solid FY26 figures, including 10% revenue growth to $1.20 billion, a 15% rise in EBITDA and 28% growth in adjusted earnings per share. It also lifted its fully franked annual dividend by 13% to a record 52 cents. Those achievements were overshadowed by falling paid job-ad volumes and cautious FY27 assumptions.

The statutory accounts included a $201 million loss from the SEEK Growth Fund and $377 million of significant items, making the headline result considerably less attractive. Investors were particularly concerned that economic weakness could limit volumes while the company continued investing in platform integration and artificial-intelligence products.

5. JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH): –12.3%

JB Hi-Fi’s full-year result was broadly respectable, with group sales rising 5% to $11.1 billion and underlying earnings per share increasing 6% to $4.48. The damage came from its current-trading update. Australian sales were almost flat during the June quarter and deteriorated further in July, while earnings in the core Australian electronics business fell 3.6%.

Housing-related categories were particularly weak as higher living costs and interest rates constrained household budgets. With JB Hi-Fi entering the season on a demanding valuation, an in-line historic result was not sufficient: the loss of sales momentum prompted investors to rapidly reduce their expectations for FY27.

Overall, the season showed that share prices react less to whether profits rose or fell than to the gap between results and expectations. Bapcor was rewarded for being less troubled than feared, while several fundamentally profitable companies were punished because their outlooks failed to justify elevated valuations.