Nissan 370Z, 2019, 10k, PH Auction
As cars inevitably become safer, easier and less taxing in every respect, so it’s hard not to yearn for something that requires you to roll your sleeves up to get the best from. Hefty, burly, sometimes slightly intimidating sports cars - you know the kind we’re thinking of. Exactly the kind of vehicle not sold anymore, basically. Indeed the Nissan 370Z felt something of a throwback even a few years ago, with its gruff V6, brawny manual gearbox and unapologetic rear-wheel driveness. Ultimately quite a benign beast, though still not one for the faint of heart - it needed proper driving, not merely prodding at the controls. Which, just half a decade since the last ones were here, actually sounds immensely appealing in a world of lane assist, LIDAR and speed limit warnings. This one, coming to PH Auctions at the end of the month, is almost factory-fresh, with just 10,000 miles from 2019. As an unmodified, manual example with a full main dealer service record, it looks a good 'un - who fancies doing it old school?
Westfield SEIGHT, 1997, 44k, £19,995
If it’s macho you’re after, look no further than a Rover V8. Doesn’t matter if it’s powering an SUV or sports saloon, it’s an engine that gets the job done in unmistakable fashion. There was the torque and the sound, of course, a great slugger of a V8 in the traditional fashion, though the aluminium construction meant it was lighter than conventional iron-blocked lumps as well. Accordingly, it was the perfect powerplant for a rousing roadster, and plenty took advantage of its affordability and compactness. TVR most famously, plus Triumph, Morgan and Marcos, but for maximum mayhem from the engine it has to be the Westfield SEIGHT. Crowbarring a V8 into something Caterham-sized looked barmy in the '90s; like many creations of that time, mad in the late 20th century looks out of this world today. Although here in absolutely the best way possible. There’s the best part of 4.0-litres and 200hp powering this Westfield, though the engine looks right at home because of how small it is. Freshly restored and resplendent in Chrome Yellow, there won’t be many more memorable ways to spend £20k.
TVR Cerbera 4.5, 2003, £38,000
There’s nothing that’ll prove your mettle quite like a TVR. The USP of back-to-basics driving thrills - always without assists, always with a lot of power - is what enamoured so many to the brand at the end of the last century. It’s why PH is here, after all. As with everything on this list, the appeal of a sports car that you’re entirely in control massively increases when the stuff rolling out of a showroom new won’t let you fart without admonishment. Once the Cerbera was at 4.5-litre spec, power had reached 420hp - plenty to hurl along 1,150kg or so. Especially with the additional torque against the smaller V8 and Cerbera Speed Six. Everyone will have their own view, of course, though this feels about as serious as production specification TVRs ever got. The TVR Car Club reckons a healthy 4.5 is a 195mph car, passing 100mph in 8.3 seconds and 150mph in 17.9 on the way. This one certainly looks superb, for sale with Str8Six and boasting a great spec. Some way to spend Golf GTI money.
Caterham Seven 420 Cup, 2024, 150 miles, £62,000
Compared to a Westfield with a Rover V8 in it, the prospect of a 420 Cup might seem positively lily-livered - but don’t be fooled by the admittedly substantial reduction in cylinder count. For a start, you get 210hp from the familiar 2.0-litre Duratec (which is plenty enough in a Caterham), but for seconds you get the motorsport-derived six-speed sequential transmission. This transforms the experience from hair-tousling to teeth-gritting, making the Seven both astonishingly fast and very definitely not for the faint of heart. Add in standard-fit adjustable Bilsteins and you get what its maker calls the ‘best track car we’ve ever made’. Which is some statement. You’ll pay through the nose for that level of acclaim, of course - but you won’t find better than this box-fresh Motorsport Green example with delivery miles. Yours for £62k.
Aston Martin Vantage V600, 2018, 1k, £600,000
No European carmaker can touch Aston Martin when it comes to the sheer volume of cars that could objectively be called hairy. While it may have started with incredibly sleek, debonair sports cars, the brand has become equally famous for repeatedly turning out the British equivalent of front-engined, rear-drive muscle cars. It has taken this to extremes recently with special edition models like the Valour - but you’ll pay a lot less for this carbon-bodied and barely used Vantage V600. Granted, at £600k it isn’t what you’d call a steal (certainly when you can pay less than £70k for a standard one) although with just seven coupes sold worldwide, it has extreme rarity on its side. Also a 600hp V12 mated to a seven-speed manual. So it’s every bit as old school as it looks.
Ferrari F12tdf, TBC, 2k, £815,000
If you require a certain amount of genuine terror to think any car truly stimulating, then you really must try the F12tdf that Ferrari launched to a mixture of acclaim and aghast sideways looks in 2015. The standard F12, endowed with a 740hp 6.3-litre V12, let’s not forget, didn’t really need a lighter, more powerful, more track-focused version - but Maranello built it anyway. The result, especially if conditions weren’t ideal, was considered the proverbial handful by virtually everyone who drove it, and (on the basis that Ferrari has walked the current 12Cililndri back to safer, friendly ground) probably it represents the high watermark of combustion-based Ferrari silliness. Accordingly, there’s nothing to fear on the depreciation front: the TDF started life as a £339k prospect - now you’ll need as much as £815k to land this Rosso Corsa example.
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