V8 which doesn t mind seldom use

[Tam_Mullen]

Hi all,

Looking to get rid of my M140i in favour of scratching the ever existent V8 itch.

I have a van which I drive daily and the M140 has been rarely used this year, it’s only done about 2000 miles since April. The Beemer has been faultless and is always ready to go even if it’s been sitting for a month, and whatever replaces it needs to be the same. It can’t stay in the garage, but it will sit on my drive in front of the garage. There’s no power in the garage so it can’t sit on a battery tender or anything like that.

As ever when I’ve been looking at cars the budget always creeps up but I really have to be realistic at around £20k.

Things which have caught my eye in no particular order are;
•Monaro VXR
•VXR8
•C63 6.2 (but my uncle has one and I was very underwhelmed when I had a shot)
•C63 bi-turbo
•Mustang (significant budget creep here!)
•F-Type (see comment as above)
•RS5 (really not an Audi fan though)

Am I missing anything? And if anyone has had any of the above, experiences of reliability etc that would be great. Not interested in having something which I come back to after a fortnight and the batteries flat.

Cheers!

[p1stonhead]

M3 for me.

[andy43]

Lexus ISF.
Whether it d be any more reliable starting depends on the battery I suppose, but the rest of the car is pretty much bulletproof.
Plugging a little 12v solar panel into the fag lighter and leaving it balanced on the dashboard may help - it works on my lawnmower!
Add on Granturismo/cabrio, Jag XKR…

[trevalvole]

OP, what didn't you like about the C63 6.2, as that might help us recommend something you might like?

[p1stonhead]

trevalvole said:

OP, what didn't you like about the C63 6.2, as that might help us recommend something you might like?

Indeed. I was absolutely smitten when I drove one.

[Tam_Mullen]

trevalvole said:

OP, what didn't you like about the C63 6.2, as that might help us recommend something you might like?

It was a prefacelift, the noise was fantastic but I didnt find it felt fast. It could one of those things where a combination of torque and long gears mean you are accelerating at a fair old lick, but it doesnt feel like it. The interior felt very dated too.

As far as the M3 goes, I don't like the look of the E92, the E90 is a fair shout though.

E: Just checked out a facelift 6.2, the interior is a lot nicer. Could be back on the list to consider!

Edited by Tam_Mullen on Monday 17th November 10:41

[trevalvole]

Tam_Mullen said:

It was a prefacelift, the noise was fantastic but I didnt find it felt fast. It could one of those things where a combination of torque and long gears mean you are accelerating at a fair old lick, but it doesnt feel like it. The interior felt very dated too.

I do recall posts on the Mercedes sub-forum saying that the 6.2 is very linear, so perhaps that is why it doesn't feel that fast. Perhaps what you are looking for is a lump of low-end torque from forced-induction? With this in mind, what about a Jaguar XFR?

Edited by trevalvole on Monday 17th November 11:54

[Panthro]

My S205 C63 goes for a couple of weeks without use quite often. Sits on a trickle charger and hasn't missed a beat.

[Tam_Mullen]

trevalvole said:

I do recall posts on the Mercedes sub-forum saying that the 6.2 is very linear, so perhaps that is why it doesn't feel that fast. Perhaps what you are looking for is a lump of low-end torque from forced-induction? With this in mind, what about a Jaguar XFR?

Edited by trevalvole on Monday 17th November 11:54

An XFR is a great shout, will take a look.

I think youre right, the 140 has the torque shove of the turbocharged 6cyl engine which an NA engine wont have and will likely have caused the feeling of flatness

[Belle427]

I would be in the Jag F type if budget allowed.

[7 5 7]

Volvo S80 V8, ultimate sleeper?

[Buzz84]

I cant add anything to add to the car selection, but I can add that solar battery conditioners exist:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RSP1000-M...

[Decky_Q]

I would pick the f type from that list, but with seldom use they could all benefit from a trickle/solar charger regularly depleted batteries are the root cause of alot of electrical gremlins in sunny sunday cars.

[andy43]

Tam_Mullen said:

trevalvole said:

I do recall posts on the Mercedes sub-forum saying that the 6.2 is very linear, so perhaps that is why it doesn't feel that fast. Perhaps what you are looking for is a lump of low-end torque from forced-induction? With this in mind, what about a Jaguar XFR?

Edited by trevalvole on Monday 17th November 11:54

An XFR is a great shout, will take a look.

I think youre right, the 140 has the torque shove of the turbocharged 6cyl engine which an NA engine wont have and will likely have caused the feeling of flatness

Also look at the Merc 5.4 supercharged M113K in E/CLS55 and the later 5.5 twin turbo that replaced the 6.2 in some newer AMGs before the 4 litre came out.
Both are absolute torque monsters

[ZX10R NIN]

The C63 is fast but the gearing doesn't help it.

This may be worth a watch to get an idea about the real world performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68FaN_szbaU&pp...

AMG Edition 125:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510207...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511117...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507274...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506253...

Performance Pack:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511177...

RC-F these cars creep under your skin & are very impressive, they don't have turbo (or 63 torque) torque so you have to work them a bit:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504271...

F Type:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509306...

Manual Mustang:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510277...

[Tam_Mullen]

Definitely some food for thought there ZX10! Thanks! Had completely forgotten about the RCF.

[Blackpuddin]

That list has got me thinking too!

[Stu-nph26]

Left field - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507254...

[Phil.]

Buzz84 said:

I cant add anything to add to the car selection, but I can add that solar battery conditioners exist:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RSP1000-M...

From experience cheap solar chargers are a waste of time. I have used Optimate on various cars your years including V8’s:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/OptiMate-Automatic-Batter...

[andy43]

Tam_Mullen said:

Definitely some food for thought there ZX10! Thanks! Had completely forgotten about the RCF.

If the 6.2 C63 felt slow the RCF will feel slower. Magnificent engine and noise but it's not torquey low down like a turbo.