The Supercar Sweet Spot

Given the position that Collecting Cars occupies in the market, overseeing the sale of hundreds of performance cars every month, it’s perhaps no surprise that our team is often asked for advice about the best supercar for ‘investment’ purposes.

While we never use that term ourselves, as we believe cars are first and foremost meant to be driven and enjoyed, recently we’ve been contemplating whether there is a ‘sweet spot’ of value in the supercar market, where true icons are available for (in relative terms) an affordable price.

Looking back on some memorable sales over the last couple of months, there are some very special cars currently in the £100k - 150k bracket, so we decided to produce a round-up of some of the best machines available for this budget.

One of the definitive all-rounders is the Porsche 993 Turbo, and for around £100k you should be able to buy an example with around 60,000 miles. You’ll pay a premium for one with the sought-after X50 power kit, like the Turquoise Metallic car sold on Collecting Cars in June for £124,500. For those who want turbocharged power with a driving experience that will keep you on your toes, a 997 GT2 brings a hugely powerful Mezger engine, rear-wheel drive and a manual gearbox. A 24,000-mile RHD car found a new home with us recently for £120,500, while a similar car with the rare Clubsport package sold for £136,000 in June.

Those who prefer a naturally aspirated engine may find themselves drawn to the likesof the Porsche 964 Carrera RS instead. Earlier in the year we sold an unmodified Maritime Blue car with very good history for £136,000, while a track-ready car with a Neil Bainbridge engine upgrade sold for £120,000 in June. Another purist favourite is the 996 GT3 RS — The sixth rarest ‘Rennsport’ model ever built, with just 682 worldwide and 113 UK-market cars. An excellent 18,000-mile GT3 RS sold in May on Collecting Cars for £139,000.

A low-mileage 812 Superfast will cost in the region of £250k currently, while a RHD 458 Speciale is north of £300k, but there are plenty of Ferrari thrills available for half that budget. In April we sold a 19,000-mile F12 Berlinetta in the stunning combination of Blu Tour de France over Crema for £153,500, while this month a 488 GTB with full main dealer history found a new home with a winning bid of £139,000.

You can buy even rarer Ferraris for a similar price, with two examples of the 360 Challenge Stradale selling in the last two months for £130,000 and £138,500 respectively, the latter being painted in the incredibly rare Giallo Modena from the factory. Those who like to take full control of the gear changing process might consider a three- pedal 612 Scaglietti, with one such car (from just 23 known UK examples) selling in July for just shy of £95,000. Two F430 coupes with the rare open-gate manual transmission have also sold in recent months, for £102,000 and £129,000 respectively.

Anyone seeking a more esoteric machine could look towards the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This arguably underrated machine was developed with input from David Coulthard, while its ‘gullwing’ doors hark back to the legendary 300 SL. A low-mileage car in rare AMG Le Mans Red sold for £157,500 in June, and these cars have always proved to be popular consignments on the platform.

Offerings from McLaren might tempt those with a pure track focus, and the sublime 600LT — Evo magazine’s 2018 Car of the Year — is within budget.

Last month, we sold a rare ‘Apex Great Britain’ car, one of just two such cars prepared by MSO and with just 1,600 miles on the clock, for £150,500.

While there is plenty of choice if you’ve got upwards of £100,000 to spend, we hope our thoughts on great cars for your budget might provide some valuable inspiration. And of course, if you’re looking to buy, then don’t forget to visit Collecting Cars and sign up to our email alerts to ensure you never miss an auction.