Porsche 928 GT, 1989, 125k, £39,995
Precious little rivals the dream team that is a V8 engine and a manual gearbox. Whether muscle car, sports car, roadster or supercar, nothing quite captures hearts and minds like thunder under the bonnet and an H-pattern between the seats. It’s a timeless combo that continues to charm to this day. Even with the very latest in automatic technology, a new Ford Mustang remains a more compelling package with the six-speed. And you only need five minutes in the classifieds to see how much more desirable (and valuable) classic manuals are than their two-pedal equivalents. This Porsche 928 GT is a perfect example of the breed: a cool old classic GT with the auto, but a proper hunk of V8 menace with a manual. 5.0 litres, five speeds and almost 350hp still do the business 35 years later. This one comes with plenty of history and looks in good order. Just a shame it doesn’t cost the same as the auto, really, but then a manual will surely have your back come resale time…
Audi R8 V8, 2007, 38k, £39,950
Told you the layout was versatile. From 928 to R8 the V8 is in the middle rather than the front, the manual has another gear, the engine is lots more powerful but no more torquey, the redline is about 2,000rpm higher… and both look like brilliant ways to spend £40k. That’s the power of the manual V8 right there. Enough has been written about the R8 over the past near 20 years - this one was registered in 2007! - that we don’t need to repeat anything about Audi’s spectacular supercar. Suffice it to say that even as the oldest, least powerful, most affordable R8 variant around, a 4.2 will be enthralling company. Instead just drink in the condition of this one, complete with matching Pirellis, a Milltek exhaust for even more V8 snort, sheafs of Audi-headed paperwork, the made-to-measure luggage set and fewer than 40,000 miles on the clock. Dreamy.
Ford Mustang GT500 SVT, 2011, 6k, £34,950
Time to get serious. Shelby serious. A Mustang is a shoo-in for this type of list, especially with a decade now of UK V8 GTs with the wheel on the right. But we don’t want to make do with any old eight-cylinder, six-speed ‘Stang, however appealing. Enter, then, the GT500, complete with a supercharged 5.4-litre V8 for at least 100hp more than anything else here - 558hp in total - a cue ball atop the Tremec six-speed, and looks to kill. There are mean-looking cars, then there are Sterling Grey GT500s. If there’s a car that can get away with putting badges of actual cobras where Blue Ovals used to be, it’s the GT500. Sure, it won’t be much kop to drive round corners, of course, but hooking up a V8 of such potency to a manual gearbox is sure to be memorable. And loud. Oh and just £35k, too…
BMW M5 (E39), 2000, 85k, £22,995
A tough choice to be made when it comes to BMW, because both the E39 M5 and E90 M3 offered up exceptional V8s in handsome saloon bodystyles with perfectly honed hooligan handling. Ultimately we’ve plumped for the old timer here, mainly because the only thing cooler than a manual option is offering nothing but a manual, as was the case with the E39. (Plus the later M3 is probably better suited to the DCT, although that’s a discussion for another day.) Another icon that doesn’t require any further embellishing yet can’t help but attract it, the 400hp M5 is relatively simple by modern standards and all the more appealing for it. Right size, right look, right power, right gearbox. This one has had just three owners across a quarter of a century, the last a collector who had it a decade. Manual V8 super-saloons just don’t get any more appealing.
TVR Chimaera, 1996, 35k, £18,950
This hairy half-dozen was made for a TVR (or pretty much any low-volume UK carmaker). Many a memorable roadster has been made with the combination of Rover V8 and manual gearbox over the years, and don’t forget the Esprit V8 either. Or the BMW-engined Morgans, of course. It’s a heady cocktail for sure, lots of power and not much weight in something pretty, and it served TVR well for a long time. This car could have been a Griffith, or an AJP8-engined Cerbera, but this time we’ve plumped for a Chimaera. For a while now they’ve looked exceptional value, with less than £20k buying really good ones. That gets enough rumbly horsepower for 60mph in less than six seconds, plus that unmistakable soundtrack. This one has covered barely more than 1,000 miles a year since the mid-'90s and will be sold with fresh fluids and tyres. Some summer sports car it promises to be.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage 4.7, 2013, 65k, PH Auction
Or if the summer sports car needs a bit more oomph, there’s always an Aston Martin on hand. The V8 Vantage showed real potential when launched 20 years ago, but that was never really fulfilled until the 4.3-litre engine was replaced with the 4.7 and some real fire duly injected into its belly. What was previously 385hp and 302lb ft became 426hp and 346lb ft, putting some meat on the V8’s bones. An assortment of special editions were spun from the 4.7, but you’ll not go far wrong with a regular six-speed Vantage. This 2013 example will be auctioned later in the month on PH, boasts an MOT until the end of the year, and has plenty of bills in the history for some serious outlay. Indeed it’s only being sold due to the imminent arrival of a baby. The seller’s loss ought to be someone else's considerable gain.
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