Struggling to think of replacement for 400

[DJW]

Fancy a change after 9 months ownership with the 400, with a view to get back into another 400 in 6 months time.  Just like to try different cars. 

However struggling to find something else without spending a lot more money 

Budget ideally £65k,  Weekend and evening blats, annual European jaunt plus occasional track day  

• McLaren 540C over double the money and not sure of residuals. 
• Ferrari 458's too much money for the age 
• Ferrari 430's prices are OTT imho 
• Porsche 911 - done the GT3 thing and nothing else excites me in that range 
• Porsche Boxster 981 GTS - actually really liked these cars but they've gone up £10k since 718 has come out, even though another year older now 
• Jag F Type - done that  and too bulky for me 
• Aston Vantage - assume would be similar to Jag re weight 
• Corvette C7 - love the look of car and not worried about LHD. But with previous model at 50% the price , depreciation does concern me. 

so for the mo it leaves me with an Audi R8 v10 Spyder , which could be cool for the summer.  That said I I did walk away from a test drive of one before the Exige, as it sounded crap at normal speeds.  But maybe an aftermarket exhaust would make it more acceptable  

Have I missed anything ??

Goes  to show how bloody good the Evora is and I know I'll end up back there.  If only they made a convertible version  

 

Edited May 31, 2017 by DJW

[JayEmm]

Go drive the R8. It'll make you appreciate the Evora even more.

[Neal H]

It's hard to see beyond Porsche and Lotus for something seriously good to drive at that price point.

I know you've done the Exige V6 before, but you have to consider an Exige 350 or even 380.

Others -

Nissan GTR

Maserati Gran Tourismo

[pickle]

Morgan aero 8 if you can stomach the looks? 

4.4l v8, manual gearbox, convertible and hand built in Britain. I doubt that you'd lose much money and you'd have change left over from £65k.

Or if not, how about a TVR Sagaris or some form or some flavour of Noble??

[Stuno1]

Have a similar chat with a good friend at exactly that budget often. You have missed nothing. You have to sped 80k+ to get something more special (each persons definition varies) in terms of performance and desirability and then most likely suffer the depreciation. Like the isf I had before, the Evora hits a sweet spot in terms of looks, performance, rarity,  desirability, comfort, handling etc that no other car can come close to for the price. Basically we have all screwed ourselves by buying an Evora!

[plenty]

Are you willing to consider something older...reckon a 355, 360 or 550 Maranello would be interesting to smoke around in for a bit

[mik]

I can't imagine wanting something else after only 9m, but for consideration- R8 V10 sounds epic with Miltek.

Clik

[pete]

something different a Farbio

[Trevsked]

Did you try a 4c?

 

Trevor.

[pickle]

Alpine?

[chylld]

I strongly recommend you test drive either a McLaren 540C or 570S. If you can nab a second-hand one, someone else has already taken the initial hit of depreciation and you're left with a car that is better than the Evora 400 in every way, apart from the lack of rear seats.

[K666ADM]

 

A BMW i8 is in budget on the used market - would be an interesting thing to have for a while,  cool doors and that taste of the future feeling.  Quite fancy one myself so I can pretend Im from the movie Tron and just escaped 'the grid'.  Used prices might take an upturn when the roadster version comes out later.  Make sure you find one with the 'servie pack' that ensures warranty is longer and nothing can go wrong. The batteries are warrantied for 8 years so should not be a concern even on the older cars.

Another option could be a Merc SL, if you like gran touring and mototing over europe then cant think of a better long distance GT, might need to boost the budget for a AMG GT and the used market for GTS is a bit pricey for now.

You could go totally leftfield and check out a Ginetta; you could buy your way into being a proper racing car driver - cool hobby to have.

[chylld]

Totally forgot about the i8! Great suggestion. Test drove one before buying the 400 and it had immense capability as both a daily runabout (quiet, comfortable, no ground clearance issues) as well as a sports car (more than enough power and handling for a bit of fun).

The 3 main reasons I didn't buy one:

1. Too expensive at the time (they have come down a lot though)
2. Not suited for the track due to skinny tyres and a battery that needs to be recharged every other lap
3. Extremely difficult to get in/out of gracefully. Elise/Exige is far easier.

[French Frie]

second hand 540/570 would be my choice (if not Evora), but depreciation can be still high, and running costs are far more expensive, although a drive test of a merc' GTS has left me speechless  ... A kind of modern Cobra ! but very long bonnet, and once you've experienced mid engined cars ...

a Huracan Spyder would be a very good alternative, with all the boxes ticked (convertible, mid engined, one of the last NA engines, best sound, grin factor, etc), even though I'm not a big fan of the show-off associated with lambos... it seems to keep its value well, but I assume the price tag is a bit over your target. R8 spyder can be the answer to this point, but I wouldn't spend this money on a mainstream brand ...

i8 is NOT a sportcar, even though it is a very good GT, and as said, ingress and egress are a pity, which is not acceptable for a GT !

Edited June 1, 2017 by French Frie

[French Frie]

... to help you in your choice, a rather unusual review of the 570, from Doug DeMuro  : 

 

[Stuno1]

We would all love a macca but his budget is 65k. 

[French Frie]

Yep ... but he said "ideally"  !

[JayEmm]

A 355/360 Is a nice car but good examples at that price range are now hard to find. The manuals command a premium and the F1 box of that generation is not good.

They are also very slow compared to a 400, quite dated on the inside, and ruinously expensive to run.

[Cypriot]

dare I say this? a GT4. they have come down in price a bit, and they are a fantastic bit of kit.

[JayEmm]

The GT4 is very nice, but you need to get one in the right spec (typical German car) and if you want to drive it, then it will cost you a lot of money.

I might be tempted to get something totally wacky like a TVR, but prices on those have risen too and they're a bit, ehm, lairy.

[French Frie]

7 minutes ago, Cypriot said:

dare I say this? a GT4. they have come down in price a bit, and they are a fantastic bit of kit.

I didn't dare, but it was one of my short list ...with a  Clubsport pack and carbon buckets, they can be found around €105,000/110,000 here, almost brand new. Depreciation should be minimal... But I 'd wait for the new one, with the 4.0L in it, to see if olders price fall before buying one !

[Stratton Motor Company]

Good morning Dave,

How does a Gun Metal Grey 22k 2006 530BHP GMR Design Supercharged 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Sound? Its not advertised for general sale as its the Managing Directors personal car but i'm sure he wouldn't mind me selling it... And then after you have satisfied your inner demons for something other than a Lotus I can then supply you with a new Evora 400 6 months down the line?  

[French Frie]

gorgeous  ! and for some infos : https://www.pistonheads.com/road-tests/astonmartin/aston-martin-v8-vantage-gmr-supercharged/34257

 

and this Aston has more than 100,000 miles on the odometer ! and a water injection system, similar to the one we were talking on the Exige side  ...

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by French Frie

[plenty]

1 hour ago, JayEmm said:

A 355/360 Is a nice car but good examples at that price range are now hard to find. The manuals command a premium and the F1 box of that generation is not good.

They are also very slow compared to a 400, quite dated on the inside, and ruinously expensive to run.

I think one's perspective depends on how you feel about older cars, and your attitude to risk.  I'm no expert on Fezzas but a quick scan on PH shows 8x 355s in manual and 7x 360s in manual advertised under £70k.  Certainly the top of the market for the very lowest-mileage examples go for more than that, but there's enough choice there I would have thought to potentially yield a good buy.  Agreed that the auto is best avoided.

Buy wisely and flip after 9-12 months and you may be able to avoid ruinous bills, but of course the risk is there.  Performance wise the 355 will certainly be slower than a 400, but the 360 wouldn't be too far behind I would imagine.

In return for the increased risk you get the wow factor and sense of occasion that IMO very few cars at this price point can touch.  Whether that appeals is a very personal decision, as are the interiors - for me personally the a 360 and particularly a 355 cabin are about as nice a place to be as I can think of (but then most modern interiors leave me cold).

[JayEmm]

I have driven both 355s and 360s... The wow factor is probably the same as an Evora - both get lots of attention.

I agree the 355 is a nicer place to be. It feels more classic than dated, the 360 has some very awkward elements. Even the 360 isn't fast.

Both do sound absolutely glorious though. At the moment I would be very wary of classics, the prices are very high in general and I don't think the market will continue to grow. A wisely purchased Ferrari should hold money, but the possibility for "bugger" moments is high.

Don't get me wrong, I'd still have a 355 if I thought it was affordable