CarSpot rarity explained: how card tiers work

Every car you snap in CarSpot becomes a collectible card, and every card has a rarity tier, from Common to Unicorn. The tier decides how much XP the card earns and how much it does for your collection. Here's how tiers work, how they're decided and how to find the rarer ones.

The six CarSpot tiers

Cars is the number of models in the CarSpot database in each tier today. XP is what each Verified spot earns before bonuses.

How a car's tier is decided

Every model in the CarSpot database gets a rarity score from 0 to 100. The score is built from the car's estimated value plus how powerful it is or how few were made, so a Bugatti scores near the top and a family hatchback near the bottom. The score then decides the tier.

A few safety nets keep things fair: very fast, very expensive or limited-production cars never land below Rare, and powerful cars are never Common, whatever their value.

Then players have their say. Once enough people have spotted a model, how often it turns up can move it up or down one tier. A car that appears on every street can drop a tier, while one that almost nobody finds can climb one.

Why two cars with the same price can be in different tiers

Price is only part of the score. A limited edition built in small numbers scores higher than a series-production car with the same value, and a model that's rarely spotted can climb above one that's everywhere. Special versions are rated separately too, so a Porsche 911 GT3 RS gets a different card from a standard 911 Carrera. Our 911 spotter's guide shows how to tell them apart.

Rarity is a collectible game mechanic, not an assessment of real-world scarcity or value.

How XP works

Every Verified spot earns XP based on the car's tier, and there are bonuses on top:

• First of a model: +15 XP the first time you collect each model.
• Holo card: +25 XP. A small share of cards come out holo, with a shimmering foil finish.
• Local rarity: bonus XP for cars that are rarely spotted near you.
• Badges: bonus XP for completing achievements as your collection grows.

Only Verified spots earn XP. A spot is Verified when CarSpot can check that the photo is recent and was taken near where you are. Spots that can't be Verified still go in your garage.

Levels and ranks

XP raises your level, from 1 to 100. Level 2 takes 100 XP, and each level after that takes 50 XP more than the one before, so reaching level 100 takes 252,450 XP in total. Your rank title changes as you climb, from Rookie Spotter at level 1 to Mythic Master at level 100.

A single Unicorn card is worth 320 XP, as much as 32 Common cards, so one lucky find makes a big difference early on.

How to find rarer cards

• Go where expensive cars gather. Upmarket shopping streets, luxury hotels and dealer showrooms are good bets. See our guide to supercar spotting in London.
• Visit car shows and events. Classic car shows, race meetings and cars-and-coffee mornings bring rare cars out in numbers.
• Learn what to look for. Browse the hypercars, supercars and classic cars in the database, or the rarest cars by production numbers.
• Keep an eye on older cars. A well-kept classic can be worth far more than a new car, and plenty of them are Rare or better.

New to it all? Start with our beginner's guide to car spotting.