UK supercar availability 1 year after lockdown

[R8Reece]

As we've recently passed the 1 year anniversary of lockdown, thought I'd post a market update comparing availability back then vs now on various supercars I've been watching on Autotrader.

I appreciate these figures don't represent the complete market (I see the odd car I see on PH but not AT) but AT still seems the most commonly used platform to advertise supercars. First figure is from March 2020, the second from March 2021.

Anyway, hope it's of interest to some.

AUDI v8 GEN 1 COUPE
- All = 75 vs 42 (-44%)
- Auto = 41 vs 23 (-44%)
- Manuals - 34 vs 17 (-50%)

AUDI V10 GEN 1 COUPE
- All = 38 vs 29 (-23%)
- Auto = 32 vs 28 (-12%)
- Manuals - 6 vs 1 (-83%)

FERRARI 458 COUPE
- All = 80 vs 60 (-25%)

FERRARI 488 COUPE
- All = 71 vs 59 (-17%)

LAMBOURGHINI HURACAN COUPE
- All = 98 vs 71 (-28%)

LAMBOURGHINI HURACAN PERFORMANTE COUPE
- All = 20 vs 19 (-5%)

MCLAREN 540C - COUPE
- All = 16 vs 10 (-38%)

MCLAREN 570S - COUPE
- All = 45 vs 18 (-60%)

MCLAREN 570C - SPYDER
- All = 26 vs 15 (-42%)

MCLAREN 720S - COUPE
- All = 58 vs 28 (-48%)

Edited by R8Reece on Monday 5th April 10:04

[davek_964]

McLaren 650?

[CallThatMusic]

Interesting, thanks.
Are people holding on to them as they (ICE) are phased out in favour of Hybrids and Electrics...?

[Trev450]

Interesting stats. Thanks for posting Reece. You wonder how much of that is down to Covid and people not wanting to meet with others more than necessary, and the desire to hang on to them as mentioned above.

Edited by Trev450 on Tuesday 30th March 12:55

[R8Reece]

davek_964 said:

McLaren 650?

Sorry Dave, I've only been keeping an eye on the marques above.

[jtremlett]

I only track Ferraris but I have noticed a massive reduction in sales listing (not just in the UK). It seems counter-intuitive because many businesses have been unable to operate so you might have expected more sellers. I'm still wondering if that is yet to come but for now I guess people, having been restricted in so many things, are thinking that they want to enjoy themselves again when they can and for car enthusiasts that means having a nice car to do it with.

[MDL111]

jtremlett said:

I only track Ferraris but I have noticed a massive reduction in sales listing (not just in the UK). It seems counter-intuitive because many businesses have been unable to operate so you might have expected more sellers. I'm still wondering if that is yet to come but for now I guess people, having been restricted in so many things, are thinking that they want to enjoy themselves again when they can and for car enthusiasts that means having a nice car to do it with.

Speaking from my own experience only - I am holding on to my cars as long as I can because I know I will pretty much get a distressed price at the moment. I would most likely sell if I were able to at a reasonable price, at some point I will have to sell at any price though - just hoping it doesn't come to that.

[R8Reece]

CallThatMusic said:

Interesting, thanks.
Are people holding on to them as they (ICE) are phased out in favour of Hybrids and Electrics...?

Personally I think the hybrid/electric idea is a little premature. Personally I think the decline is more related to people having spare cash (from not travelling, Government loans etc.) to spend and a hint of boredom/coming out off lockdown/spring approaching/weather improving.

The decline hasn't really been in the last month, it happened gradually over the Summer 2020.

[OldAndTired]

Premature but it does make you think.

Kia (yes Kia) have just released an SUV E6 GT - at roughly 58k that will do 0-60 in 3.5secs!

I do think in 5 years time us supercar drivers are going to look quite foolish in our 150k plus penis extenders when every family saloon/hatchback/SUV can match us or mostly beat us off the line. I understand that a proper supercar will beat them on a track but the reality is most owners never track their cars.


It’s going to be a very interesting psychological test of human beings. When I bought my first Lambo it was genuinely faster than almost everything on the road. It had a reason to exist. Now I’m not so sure.

I hate myself. But that Kia SUV looks better than the URUS and is at least 1/3 of the price, and outperforms it!

My son has absolutely no interest in supercars. He only wants an EV, but one that will outperform a Ferrari/Lambo.

Are we all going to be looking like the dicks we have been accused of? Maybe they will be right.

[R8Reece]

OldAndTired said:

Premature but it does make you think.

Kia (yes Kia) have just released an SUV E6 GT - at roughly 58k that will do 0-60 in 3.5secs!

I do think in 5 years time us supercar drivers are going to look quite foolish in our 150k plus penis extenders when every family saloon/hatchback/SUV can match us or mostly beat us off the line. I understand that a proper supercar will beat them on a track but the reality is most owners never track their cars.


It’s going to be a very interesting psychological test of human beings. When I bought my first Lambo it was genuinely faster than almost everything on the road. It had a reason to exist. Now I’m not so sure.

I hate myself. But that Kia SUV looks better than the URUS and is at least 1/3 of the price, and outperforms it!

My son has absolutely no interest in supercars. He only wants an EV, but one that will outperform a Ferrari/Lambo.

Are we all going to be looking like the dicks we have been accused of? Maybe they will be right.

I've thought about this and racing off traffic lights has never been of interest to me and nothing I get involved with. It takes two to tango and I've had bikes/cars come along side me giving it the come on and I just ignore them. It's all about how you arrive, not how fast you arrive.

It will surely make supercar manufacturers think though about how they differentiate their product as speed becomes freely available to anyone.

[OldAndTired]

It’s never been about racing off the line for me. I’ve never been interested in that. But it’s the understanding that your car, your supercar is special because it can outperform everything else. But that’s not the case now.

Won’t it become embarrassing?

This might extend to luxury models too. The truth is the electric powertrain across all models will eventually be very similar. It will simply be the code in the software that determines the performance. Will a Bentley without the special engine , not withstanding its interior luxury be somewhat silly if it costs 5 times the price for the exact same performance?


Anyway I’ve derailed this thread.

[sardis]

Ha, I see your point and a lot of it is true. However, no EV will ever sound like a V8/10/12 at any revs never mind flat out, nor will they have the same involvement of a gearbox, manual, single or dual clutch. Likewise they tend to look a bit crap too, so not everything is lost just yet. I think the best solution is to get out in your favourite gas guzzler and enjoy it whilst you can. That’s my plan for this evening

[RichardAP]

sardis said:

Ha, I see your point and a lot of it is true. However, no EV will ever sound like a V8/10/12 at any revs never mind flat out, nor will they have the same involvement of a gearbox, manual, single or dual clutch. Likewise they tend to look a bit crap too, so not everything is lost just yet. I think the best solution is to get out in your favourite gas guzzler and enjoy it whilst you can. That’s my plan for this evening

Agreed, we popped to the shops on Saturday in our EQC and then went out for some fun in my wife’s DB11.

Only one car put a smile on our faces, even going slowly, and only one car had people pointing, smiling and waving...(and it wasn’t the EQC )

[OldAndTired]

Wise words.

But when my son overtakes me in his prospective Kia EV purchase, I’ll try not to wince!

[sardis]

Just drive another 20 miles down the road and see how the battery banks are coping with flat out acceleration....

[RichardAP]

OldAndTired said:

Wise words.

But when my son overtakes me in his prospective Kia EV purchase, I’ll try not to wince!

Lol....we got overtaken by a little old lady in a VW UP who kept catching up in traffic and then went past doing 65 in a 50....there will always be someone who can go past you if they are desperate enough.

Maybe slightly off topic but Matt Farah (smoking tire) was discussing launching EVs and Bugatti’s with Andrew Frankel. Repeatedly doing it in an EV they both felt just made them feel sick, and the Bugatti driver said most customers do 1 launch and then don’t bother, it’s more about the whole experience, which you can’t takeaway from a supercar imo

[sparta6]

OldAndTired said:

Wise words.

But when my son overtakes me in his prospective Kia EV purchase, I’ll try not to wince!

But you'll be smiling when you reach the twisties

[sparta6]

sardis said:

Just drive another 20 miles down the road and see how the battery banks are coping with flat out acceleration....

+1

Anyone fancy spanking an EV through the Alps ?

[Cheib]

Some interesting numbers OP...in the case of McLaren there’s been a publicly stated policy of refusing inventory at dealers but overall there’s a clear trend. I suppose some of it is explained by less cars being made but without a doubt people are buying cars because they are something you can enjoy in these strange times we’re in. I also think there are hints of people buying cars as investments again....I know of one occasion recently where the same buyer bought two examples of the same model. One to use and one to keep...or maybe both to keep. Don’t think that’s the case with say a 488 Spider but older are I can see it...zero rates and people are worried about inflation

[Gullwings]

sardis said:

Ha, I see your point and a lot of it is true. However, no EV will ever sound like a V8/10/12 at any revs never mind flat out, nor will they have the same involvement of a gearbox, manual, single or dual clutch. Likewise they tend to look a bit crap too, so not everything is lost just yet. I think the best solution is to get out in your favourite gas guzzler and enjoy it whilst you can. That’s my plan for this evening

Very true. Though paying 200k for something that makes lots of noise and is slower than a 50k ev, will quickly get old.

As others have said, I think styling, driving experience and new tech innovations will be the desirable things soon. Supercar co's need to start diversifying!