Midlife rewarding oneself sportscar
Discussion
Having come a long way from humble beginnings and a tumultuous past, one looks back on a very succesfull path and wants to finally break free from the "working and saving" paradigm. Cars have always been the stuff of dreams but the pragamatist never indulged.
SO, ideally it would have a manual transmission, 4 seats (decently usable), and be something that the future grandchildren can hear about in awe. It also needs to handle fairly well as there are some VERY nice mountain roads around. Budget is open!
The obvious recommendation would be a 911 of some sort....that engine hanging in the rear is still false.
A good handling V8 would be great, but manual ones are probably all american muscle cars and too heavy....maybe some special editions or tuned variants?
Lotus Evora?
A classic old- or youngtimer?
I guess opening the door for an automatic box would largely increase the choice, its just that the manual box is so satisfying.
Curious to see what the community recommends.
SO, ideally it would have a manual transmission, 4 seats (decently usable), and be something that the future grandchildren can hear about in awe. It also needs to handle fairly well as there are some VERY nice mountain roads around. Budget is open!
The obvious recommendation would be a 911 of some sort....that engine hanging in the rear is still false.
A good handling V8 would be great, but manual ones are probably all american muscle cars and too heavy....maybe some special editions or tuned variants?
Lotus Evora?
A classic old- or youngtimer?
I guess opening the door for an automatic box would largely increase the choice, its just that the manual box is so satisfying.
Curious to see what the community recommends.
Tricky criteria!
Looking at modern stuff:
911 is the obvious choice, but can’t say they do it for me.
BMW 1M or M2 would work, as do M3/M4s. Lack specialness but the 1M certainly has a coolness to it
There are some manual DB9s, V12 will certainly add to the sense of occasion.
Ferrari 456 and 612 both come with manual boxes
But if you are okay with 80-90s then a bmw m6 or Porsche 964 would be high on my list.
Looking at modern stuff:
911 is the obvious choice, but can’t say they do it for me.
BMW 1M or M2 would work, as do M3/M4s. Lack specialness but the 1M certainly has a coolness to it
There are some manual DB9s, V12 will certainly add to the sense of occasion.
Ferrari 456 and 612 both come with manual boxes
But if you are okay with 80-90s then a bmw m6 or Porsche 964 would be high on my list.
Edited by mikiec on Friday 15th December 08:08
People still talk about the Mustang GT that I bought in 2016. I thought it handled rather well and I loved the manual gearbox.
Competition Orange made it stand out
My son went to a posh private school and all sorts of expensive exotica and luxo barges would cruise up the extensive drive to the grand buildings.
When I turned up in the Mustang all the lads stopped their sports, looking at phones, playing with their mates to stop and stare and shout 'Look Mustang!'
Only £33k at the time, a lot more expensive now.
That was my midlife crises car.
Older and poorer now but I have a Dacia Duster and a Triumph Bonneville as my OAP crises
Competition Orange made it stand out
My son went to a posh private school and all sorts of expensive exotica and luxo barges would cruise up the extensive drive to the grand buildings.
When I turned up in the Mustang all the lads stopped their sports, looking at phones, playing with their mates to stop and stare and shout 'Look Mustang!'
Only £33k at the time, a lot more expensive now.
That was my midlife crises car.
Older and poorer now but I have a Dacia Duster and a Triumph Bonneville as my OAP crises
The comment about your future grandchildren being in awe is odd. Buy the car for your current enjoyment not stories for people who will likely think your car is responsible for the death of the planet, having been indoctrinated by their teachers etc.
You’ll struggle to get something special without an auto box now unless it’s from an earlier generation. So we are looking for something 10-15 years old.
Two seats opens up the world of interesting stuff. 4 seats puts you into a car that’s designed for family life and will be some kind of regular car that’s had special added by the manufacturer
If it must by 4 seats then your looking at BMW/Audi/Merc/Jag
RS6/RS4/M4/M3/AMG. But you could look at a VXR/Monero as a future classic? Depends how far back you are willing to go.
Me, I’d stick with the 911 but the rear seats are not goi g to be of much use.
You’ll struggle to get something special without an auto box now unless it’s from an earlier generation. So we are looking for something 10-15 years old.
Two seats opens up the world of interesting stuff. 4 seats puts you into a car that’s designed for family life and will be some kind of regular car that’s had special added by the manufacturer
If it must by 4 seats then your looking at BMW/Audi/Merc/Jag
RS6/RS4/M4/M3/AMG. But you could look at a VXR/Monero as a future classic? Depends how far back you are willing to go.
Me, I’d stick with the 911 but the rear seats are not goi g to be of much use.
If I was buying a manual car for fun and 'heritage' reasons, It would have to be a green (or orange) 997.1 GT3RS. You can get a back seat conversion done. Not particularly usable back seats though. If you can compromise on that i'd say that ticks the look back with 'awe' box, especially in green - but the most expensive colour. Unlikley to lose value and might gain but could be above your budget given what other cars you mention plus you'll have running costs and opportunity cost.
These ceertainly pass the 'Le Mans' test where you walk around seeing all sorts of exotica but only certain cars make you want to stop and chat to the owner. Many of which are more 'interesting' than expensive.
These ceertainly pass the 'Le Mans' test where you walk around seeing all sorts of exotica but only certain cars make you want to stop and chat to the owner. Many of which are more 'interesting' than expensive.
"The comment about your future grandchildren being in awe is odd".... oddly worded in deed, I guess what I meant to say is that it would be nice to have a sort of specialness to it.
The 4 seats criteria also give me headaches, I have 2 sons and for now they would both fit in the back. I would like to take them both on Sunday morning tours, stop over for some breakfast on top of a mountain pass.
The 11er has certainly watered down its specialness over the years, but they do tick a lot of boxes. I would have to drive a few to see how I jive with them.
The manual box is almost a must, I love shifting and I am good at it as well. Could be swayed to a good auto box if the rest of the car is special enough.
Thanks for all the replies so fast.
Frankychops said:
That, but the back seats are as useless as in most proper coupes. Granturismo is a full four seater but feels like a boat in comparison.Four-ish seater manual - Lotus is the only one I can think of apart from 911s or manual conversion Astons.
Budget?
andy43 said:
Frankychops said:
That, but the back seats are as useless as in most proper coupes. Granturismo is a full four seater but feels like a boat in comparison.Four-ish seater manual - Lotus is the only one I can think of apart from 911s or manual conversion Astons.
Budget?
a 911 is just so 'meh' and common.
flatso said:
The 11er has certainly watered down its specialness over the years, but they do tick a lot of boxes. I would have to drive a few to see how I jive with them.
Have a look at the 997 GTS from around 2010-11, which are bit more driver focussed.The Evora is the only other option that isn't heavy.
These would sound good in the mountains:
Maserati 4200
BMW 850 CSi
Or perhaps a classic restomod, e.g. Fastback Mustang with modern upgrades
Frankychops said:
andy43 said:
Frankychops said:
That, but the back seats are as useless as in most proper coupes. Granturismo is a full four seater but feels like a boat in comparison.Four-ish seater manual - Lotus is the only one I can think of apart from 911s or manual conversion Astons.
Budget?
a 911 is just so 'meh' and common.
Beyond souped up saloons which aren't sports cars, the 911 fits the criteria best.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff