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£1.3 Million Recovered — Global Telemetrics Roundup June 2025
Global Telemetrics recovered £1.3m of stolen vehicles in June. Here's the rundown of what and where.
August 8, 2025
Craving the clack of an open gate or the satisfaction of the perfect heel-and-toe? Here are seven cars that will tickle your fancy.
We bang on about modern classics: the way their engines sound, the way their steering feels, the way they involve you in the drive. But more than their lack of turbos and hydraulic power steering, is it really a good manual gearbox that immerses us in the driving experience more than anything else?
With that in mind, I’ve been trawling the stocklists of our dealer partners to find some of the most appealing three-pedalled sports and supercars on the market right now.
2018 | 9,750 Miles | £85,995
If you like pure driving thrills and haven’t driven a variation of the Series 3 Lotus Exige, you are missing out! It’s a more polished and powerful car than the Series 2, but still feels completely back to basics, no fakery. I never really took to the S2 unless it was a very short drive on a perfect twisty road, but I was genuinely sad when our S3 crew car was sold as it was a blast to lead drives in.
And that’s just the original 350 model; more hardcore variations were launched, and this 430 Cup is the most nutty of them all. Thanks to its lightweight, it’s ferociously fast, unbelievably nimble and the most fun you can have without driving a piece of scaffolding.
According to HowManyLeft, there are just 58 430 Cups in the UK, of which some are the Final Edition, and this is the only original 430 Cup finished in Essex Blue, so it’s a rare little hooligan too.
2013 | 1,781 Miles | £425,000 + VAT
This is here because I can’t keep going on about the V12 Vantage, so here’s a V12 Vantage in a very special suit. It has the same thunderous V12, manual gearbox and small dimensions I love about the normal V12 Vantage, but Zagato have worked their magic with lightweight, hand-formed aluminium and carbon fibre bodywork, which subjectively looks gorgeous to my eyes, but objectively significantly reduces weight to further enhance the punch of that legendary engine.
Just 61 were ever produced, of which 18 were right-hand drive, and only one of those was finished in black — this car. New, it cost three times as much as a regular Vantage, but now, that is more like eight times thanks to the Zagatos rarity.
2006 | 26,903 Miles | £74,995
The 911 Turbo is still going strong today in just about the same format as the 997 — turbochargers (obviously), big power, four-wheel drive, and frankly, the most usable car you can buy with supercar-smashing performance. One thing is different though, and that’s because the 997 was the last 911 Turbo you could get with a manual gearbox.
Most people went for the Tiptronic option to suit the Turbos daily nature, but it was a five-speed unit that felt pretty antiquated from day one, and now, manuals fetch around 20% more for similar examples. I reckon that gap will only increase as time goes on, and this seems a relatively attainable entry point into a potentially appreciating modern classic.
These things are still quick today, and that sort of performance with the challenge of keeping up and changing gear before the needle smashes redline sounds like fun to me.
2005 | 6,567 Miles | POA
They really don’t make ‘em like this anymore. The new Ford GT is a mega thing, but if the smell of fuel and tyre smoke outside a diner in Detroit is your thing, a puny V6 and automatic ‘tranny’ probably doesn’t do it for you.
If that’s the case, there’s very little like the 2005 Ford GT, a true contemporary interpratation of the original GT40, complete with a supercharged V8 putting out 550hp to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual.
This car also has some nice upgrades, including Penske suspension, big brake kit, HRE wheels, rear bumper delete kit, and Stainless Works sports headers fitted to ensure every day sounds like a NASCAR showdown.
2000 | 80 Miles | £199,995
These days, it’s hard to imagine a V12-powered Ferrari grand tourer with a manual gearbox, but back in the late ‘90s, that was how they came. The 550 is widely regarded as the ultimate V12 grand tourer thanks to its performance which still feels hefty today, and being such a usable all-rounder.
Showing the lure of the manual ‘box, values of the 550 are significantly stronger than its predecessor, the 575M, and even the later 599, the vast majority of which were specified with a single-clutch paddleshift ‘box. If you can find a manual 575 or 599, that’s a different story. This one is also a different story given it is a total time-capsule example that has never been registered and covered just 80 (yes, eighty) miles, but cars with miles on can be had for well under £100k.
The last Ferrari only sold with a manual gearbox, understated, timeless styling and performance that holds up today. Oh, and with a bit of tubular fettling, it can sound like an Enzo. What’s not to love?
2022 | 4,153 Miles | £172,950
The only car on this list you can still buy today (in mildly facelifted guise, admittedly). I thought of including a 997 GT3 RS or even a manual 991.2 GT3, but this is here as a celebration that Porsche will still sell you a GT3 with three pedals and a stick in this era of automated everything.
I can’t say I’ve driven a manual 992, but having sampled both PDK and manual variants of the 991 GT3, the manual offers a very different, more old-school experience in such a modern car with modern performance. It really is mega!
Who knows if the next generation will hold onto the manual or even the 9,000rpm naturally-aspirated flat six that defines the GT3, so best get hold of one now, just in case!
2003 | 9,869 Miles | £99,500
Pound for pound, I think I’ve saved the best until last here. I really don’t see how these can stay sub-£100k for much longer, because more and more people are gravitating away from the last mad-power machinery to things like this and the F430, especially with manual gearboxes.
A modest 400hp is all you get, and it’s all you need when you’re winding that little 3.6-litre V8 to over 8,000rpm and grabbing the next gear yourself, before you hit the brakes and heel-and-toe your way back down — even with 1,000hp and seats that give you a back rub, pulling a paddle simply doesn’t compare.
It’s also around half the price of a Challenge Stradale, which is an intoxicating thing, but you’re stuck with a very cumbersome old paddleshift box. I feel like this manual Modena, a Capristo exhaust, and £100k change in your back pocket would be the absolute dream.
Yes, this one is left-hand drive, but it’s been meticulously cared for, seen sparing use, and we always maintain that having a left-hand-drive car in your garage is perfect for trips through Europe. Don’t sleep on manual 360s, get one soon, or in a few years’ time, you’ll wish you had!
