Dear everyone, Allow me to expand on my dilemma and seek your advice. I currently have three cars, down from a peak of eight around seven years ago. My current drives are a gated 575M (with Fiorano Handling Pack), a gated 430 Spider, and a Brabus 600 C63S convertible. I don’t need any cars. I live in central London, and walk to work. My kids have finished/are finishing school, and they get to the universities by train. All my clients are in central London or otherwise a plane ride away around the world. So, the three that I have are plenty. I’m pretty pleased with my Ferraris. I also have good relationships with most of the luxury/sports manufacturers and get given cars to drive for a few days by each of them each summer - Lambos, GT3s, Ferraris etc. That generally fills up most of the driving time I have meaning I hardly have time to drive my own cars. But logic does not really come into this. I have permission from my wife to buy another car, so long as it is not evidently going to tank in value. my budget is around £100k, or I could sell some or all of the other cars and pool it together for one very special car, although I don’t know what that would be. so far I am tempted by: 458 Spider, which would mean selling one of the existing cars also. Not sure if it’s worth it. 993 Cabrio - my wife doesn’t like these. Aston V12 Vantage Volante manual - nice car, but would I really take it out over the Ferraris? Maybe. Tempted. 812. Means selling a couple of the others. Tempting. But just too insanely fast for public roads here? And any thoughts welcome. I haven’t really considered any cars older than 1990s.
Sell the Brabus, get the 812 (an exceptional automobile, it’s a not a question of driving fast in London, it’s about getting one of the best of the best)
your current Ferraris are nice.. how about a 458 berlinetta or like others have said the Aston Martin...and sell Mercedes.
The 812 is definitely an all time great. But, it’s also depreciating. Not like some previous V12s, but it’s not depreciation proof like some hoped it would be a couple of years back. If the past is a guide, I would drive whatever extra car I get, two to four days a year. Over the last year an 812 would have cost me maybe £30k per drive and I can’t justify that to my wife, or to myself. That’s not through laziness by the way..I work full time, work involves lots of travel, and then planning a drive out of London you need the time and the weather, etc.
think diversity and if you aren't driving the current ones much, then think out of the box. a vintage you can go show weekend events and sip wine on the lawn or a Challenge to go get your heart rate up at Silverstone or Brands Hatch.
It’s a fair point, but there are so many Astons here and they all look much the same. That shouldn’t matter but it does, some people think Astons say wannabe upmarket real estate agent. Or the post 97 ones anyway. Even though a Vantage V12 manual is a killer of a car.
Mclaren 570 and 650 are well depreciated, and may be a blast to own for a short stint. I actually like the looks of the mp4 better. But you have to be a gambling man. Boxster spyder would also be a great choice, looks special, feels special, and dynamically better than both the f-cars. Reliable and inexpensive to own too.
sell whatever and buy a true Enzo V12 -- DAYTONA OR 275 If you sell enough of your other irrelevant cars
If I were you I would look at a late model 308GT4. Drive a few first and buy the best you can find but you will have change from your £100k. It’s a completely analog experience and in my opinion, far better than having ‘toys’ on hand to assist the driving experience. These cars are widely misunderstood but mainly by folk who haven’t driven one. If you get one then bring it to North Yorkshire and we can go for a blat. I have a 79 in blue and I absolutely love it.
The London Concourse isn’t a bad place to start. Hon Artillery Company 8th9th June. Or longer wait but even better, The Concourse of Elegance at Hampton Court on the first weekend of Sept (other car shows exist but this one is off the clock and you don’t need to go to Oxfordshire the same weekend)
Keep the manuals, the 812 would be a good choice, an Aventador would be fun to own, 720S maybe. If you cashed out everything, what would your target budget be (possibles in order of cost)? Pista Carrera GT F40 250 GTO
Along the lines of mixing it up with an older car, my suggestion unquestionably would be a 328 or a Mondial 3.2 (the former being sportier and the latter being more comfortable with occasional use rear seats). The 328/3.2 is modern enough to be turnkey reliable with reasonably effective A/C, but old enough to be far more raw than any of the cars you have or are considering. To me, the 328/3.2 is the "sweet spot" between new and old.
What’s more important to you: collecting and keeping or driving the newest or “best?” I go back and forth between wanting to collect a warehouse of cars and wanting to have one as The Best Ferrari that I can afford. If you go 812 I would sell the MB and probably the 575 and keep a rear engined manual and a front V12 for diversity of experiences.
08/09 Aston Martin DBS..bonus points if you can find and land a manual car. Not sure of the pricing over there, but they are about 200k CND right now. But one hell of a car.
Here's something to consider if you can stretch another 10k: a works-converted Vanquish S (completed at the original newport pagell factory, where it was originally built). The 05 is arguably the best year for a conversion bc you get the S features and hp bump w/ out them having to customize the center console for the gear lever (bc of the interior redesign for 06). My friend has an 04 and it's fantastic. Nothing much like an old Vanquish and it's beginning to enter classics territory. I have a personal theory that the manual conversion cars are going to dry up bc of the Callum 25. Also, my understanding is that it's almost double the $ and 3x the time to have the conversion completed now vs. just a few years ago. https://astonmartinworks.com/pre-owned/aston-martin-vanquish-v12-s-silver-scfac143x5b501626/
You're in no rush -- drive all the cars that are interest to you and find out which one floats your boat. The thrill of the hunt can be as much fun as the ultimate conquest in my experience.