Supercars At Not So Super Prices

The supercar is the ultimate dream car for so many car enthusiasts. Exotic styling blended with seemingly limitless power and a symphony of engine and exhaust noise is the perfect combination available in a vehicle. Famous names such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche have long been the dream supercar choice for generations and still find themselves at the top of many motorists wish lists. Especially at this time of year when the weather begins to look a bit more favourable and the idea of purchasing a car for the summer months becomes very tempting.

But whilst a brand-new supercar may be out of reach for many people, there are plenty available on the used car market for a fraction of their original list price. With the price of new cars constantly on the rise these days, especially if you look at electric car prices, there are some supercars from the past decade or so that look like a comparative bargain. Whilst a small electric SUV or even a hot hatchback or small performance coupe can easily cost in the region of £60,000 these days, how much supercar could that buy you for the same amount of money.

Here is our list of 8 supercars at not so super prices, with a bonus option at the end for those looking for something a bit more unusual or rare:

Porsche 911 Turbo S (997)

The 997 iteration of Porsche 911 was the saving grace for 911 fans everywhere. After the ‘fried egg’ headlights of the 996 generation, Porsche needed to win their fans back again and despite minor revisions to both the interior and exterior, the updated look did the trick. A return to the single round headlights was just the start, the 997 was lighter, more powerful and offered more technology than ever before.

The now legendary PDK dual clutch transmission was introduced, a new engine with direct injection and torque vectoring was also available. At the top of the standard production line up was the Turbo S. With 30bhp more than the Turbo, 523bhp in total, the Turbo S sported carbon ceramic brakes and Sport Chrono packages as standard. With a 0-62mph time of just 3.3 seconds, 0-124mph of just 10.8 seconds and a top speed of 196mph, the 911 Turbo S was the brand’s fastest production car to date.

Despite a list price of over £123,000 base price, and Porsche’s legendary reputation for retaining their residual value incredibly well, a 997 Porsche 911 Turbo S is within the price limit. Whilst a quick search on popular car marketplace Autotrader will find just the one 997 Turbo S for sale, there are a further 2 available on similar website Car & Classic. £60,000 will find you a reasonable mileage example with a full service history and a great specification, and a lot of car for the money.

Audi R8

The Audi R8 seemingly came out of nowhere and instantly established itself as one of the finest supercars money can buy. Audi utilised their ownership of Lamborghini perfectly by using the Gallardo as a base and creating a desirable supercar from a luxury yet mainstream brand that can be used every day. Launched in 2006, the first generation of R8 was available with the 4.2-litre V8 from the RS4 or the 5.2-litre V10 engine from the Gallardo.

With exceptional handling abilities, stunning design and the usual refined interior that you can expect from an Audi, the R8 was the perfect combination of all 3. It was also hand built to precision rarely seen on a production car. Audi’s redeveloped facility used 95 lasers to inspect over 220 measurements in 5 seconds to ensure the car is built to within 0.1mm of where it should be. So you can definitely rest assured that your R8 was going to be built properly.

Though your £60,000 budget might not quite stretch to the second or the mid-life refreshed most current version of R8, it will give you plenty of choice when it comes to the first-generation car. On Auto Trader at time of writing there were around 100 Audi R8’s listed for sale, and from around £30,000 upwards depending on your budget. At the top of the price range you can expect to pick up a low mileage late model Coupe or Spyder equipped with the more rare V10 engine, or the even more rare V10 Plus.

Ferrari 360

The Ferrari 360 replaced the much heralded 355 in 1999 and looked to improve on the success of its predecessor in all areas. With a 40% stiffer chassis that was 28% lighter to improve handling, a more powerful all-new V8 engine to improve performance and a more curvaceous and aerodynamic body, the 360 was 60kg lighter and 0.2 seconds quicker to 62mph than the 355.

The looks were a departure from Ferrari’s more angular approach on previous models, even ditching the pop-up headlights that were popular at the time. As well as the modern overhaul to the styling, the technology on offer was much improved, from the advanced materials used in the new engine and chassis to the ‘F1’ automated manual transmission. The results spoke for themselves with over 17,600 360 models sold from the Modena and Spider to the iconic Challenge Stradale race derived iteration.

On automotive marketplace Auto Trader at time of writing there were 12 cars for sale, both coupes and convertibles, within the £60,000 budget. The majority of them were low mileage, well looked after examples too with plenty of history and the relevant documentation, which means a lot when it comes to purchasing a Ferrari. Strangely for a prancing horse, just 1 of them was finished in the iconic Rosso Corsa, but the 360 looks fantastic in whatever colour it comes in. A great way to get into a genuine Ferrari product for not a lot of money.

Lamborghini Gallardo

The Lamborghini Gallardo was the second model released under Audi ownership and became the brand’s biggest selling model in their history at the time, more than 14,000 were sold over its 10 year production run. With its relatively small footprint, comfortable and refined interior and exceptional usability for a supercar, the Gallardo offered futuristic exotic styling yet unlike Lamborghini models of old was easy to drive at any speed.

Thanks to multiple revisions to keep the styling and performance right up to date, and a long list of variants and special editions, the Gallardo never seemed dated or out of touch with other modern supercars of its time. Thanks to the legendary Audi build quality and the majority of models offering a version of their all-wheel drive system, the Gallardo also remains a fantastic and highly desirable used car purchase.

With the Lamborghini desirability and despite so many cars being sold, for your £60,000 budget there aren’t that many to choose from currently for sale. On Auto Trader there were just 4 cars listed within budget at the time of writing, yet all had covered very reasonable mileage and looked in fantastic condition. Maybe it just goes to show that those who own a Gallardo are that fond of them they just don’t want to part with them.

Mercedes Benz AMG GT

The Mercedes Benz AMG GT may be considered more of a grand tourer than a genuine supercar, but its performance and capability means that it should be considered in the same group. After the SLS, the AMG GT was the second car to be developed entirely in-house by AMG and borrowed many of its predecessors styling cues. With a long bonnet, wide wheel arches and fastback silhouette, yet with regular doors this time rather than gullwing operating, the AMG GT design still looks as fresh today as it was when it was launched in 2014.

At launch the car came in base form with 456bhp and in an ‘S’ variant with 503bhp, the latter able to accelerate from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds and offer a top speed of almost 200mph. The AMG GT brought the best of both worlds, being able to cruise around town or on long motorway journeys with ease yet offer genuine supercar handling when you need it to. The legendary twin turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 always on hand to provide the iconic AMG rumble too.

With £60,000 to spend there are more than 30 examples at time of writing listed on Auto Trader, both base models and more powerful ‘S’ variants, even a rare ‘Edition 1’. The AMG GT always had a number of available options to make it stand out from the crowd and some of the examples listed offer such options as the desirable Aero Kit or the much sought after Designo satin paint finishes. Whichever iteration your budget can stretch to however, the AMG GT remains one of the most satisfying ways you can spend it.

Aston Martin DBS

The Aston Martin DBS from the outside appears to be much like the AMG GT, more grand tourer than supercar, however the ‘S’ makes it just that bit more sports focused. Based on the DB9 yet with more power, lighter weight, more aggressive styling, more precise handling and sharper steering, the DBS was the most impressive performance variant of an Aston Martin yet. Available in Coupe and convertible ‘Volante’ form, the DBS sold over 3,300 units in its production run of a little over 5 years.

Extensive use of carbon fibre and aluminium for the bodywork, carbon ceramic brakes as standard and lighter wheels meant that 30kg of weight was saved compared to the DB9. This weight saving combined with its 5.9-litre V12 engine producing 510bhp resulted in a top speed of over 190mph and a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds. It even got its Bond moment appearing in Casino Royale as Daniel Craig’s first car as 007, as well as returning for Quantum of Solace two years later.

The DBS is just within budget at £60,000 showing the model’s appeal and desirability as it refuses to depreciate any further despite being over 15 years since it was released. At time of writing there were just 4 examples for sale on Auto Trader under the £60,000 price limit, and all came with fantastic specifications and plenty of Aston Martin specialist history in their files. As sharp in appearance as it always was and with that exceptional Aston Martin soundtrack, the DBS is sure to put a mile on your face every time you start it up.

BMW i8

With Audi receiving plenty of praise for their R8 supercar at the time, BMW decided to think outside the box and produce something completely different. The BMW i8 was a look to the future of hybrid motoring and despite being released 10 years ago this month, its cutting-edge design has not dated at all. It may not be due to be replaced, production actually stopped in 2020, however seeing an i8 on the roads certainly continues to turn heads and its exotic supercar looks means it stands out from the crowd.

Combining a small 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine and a 98kW electric motor, the i8 offered supercar styling, performance, and handling as well as hybrid frugality and economy statistics. Despite offering around 370bhp and a 0-62mph time of just over 4 seconds, the claimed economy figures of 135mpg and an electric only range of around 18 miles are impressive today never mind 10 years ago. Despite its initial high list price of around £100,000 the i8 sold more than 20,000 units making it the world’s top selling plug-in electric sports car, outselling the sales of all of its competitors in that segment combined.

With successful selling figures meaning there are plenty of pre-owned i8’s available you are spoilt for choice with a £60,000 price limit. At the time of writing, Auto Trader had 120 cars for sale with 20 of those being the Roadster convertible variant. With no differing models so to speak, performance and capability should be identical between all of the models available. This means you can afford to be selective, and you should be able to find just the specification and colour you were looking for amongst the plethora available.

Honda NSX

The original useable supercar that showed the world that you can have performance and desirability at the same time as offering reliability and ease of driving. Introduced at a time when supercars were synonymous with being difficult to drive and were prone to breaking down or suffering electrical issues, the NSX brought legendary Japanese reliability to the sector.

The first generation NSX famously had handling that was fettled and approved by the great Ayrton Senna. If it was good enough for him then surely it was a great handling supercar. The second generation NSX offered advanced hybrid technology previously only found on £1million hypercars at a much more affordable price bracket. Both cars had completely different offerings yet still aimed at providing a useable supercar experience with reliability and ease of driving.

Whilst your £60,000 budget might not stretch to the latest generation of Honda NSX, it could get you an appreciating classic with the original iteration. Finding an example within budget may be tricky, at time of writing there was a single example on Auto Trader and also one on Car & Classic for less than £60,000. This just shows how the values are rising on the original model, with many now costing more than the latest version.

Noble M12 GTO

Certainly a leftfield option, and one that you may not have even seen on the roads but that definitely wouldn’t disappoint in the performance and handling department, is the Noble M12 GTO. Designed in Leicester, with a steel roll cage and frame assembled in South Africa, a body moulded from GRP composites and powered by a Ford engine, it sounds like a mishmash of parts built on a budget but the M12 is one of the finest handling cars of its era.

The headline figures show a better picture. The mid-mounted 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine produces 310bhp in the base GTO and up to 425bhp in the M400, the whole car weighs just over 1,000kg, and 0-62mph takes just 3.7 seconds. The bodywork splitters, diffusers and large fixed rear spoiler produce real downforce which when combined with the light weight of the car and the sophisticated suspension set up create impressive results. The Noble utilised real racing knowledge and engineering to produce something that is seriously impressive either on the road or around a racetrack.

Whilst the list price of the Noble M12 GTO started at around mid-£40,000 way back in the early 2000’s, rarity and desirability ensure that the majority of examples for sale are still at this price or above. A low mileage example would cost around the top end of your £60,000 budget but if performance and handling abilities are what you are looking for in your supercar then this would probably be the most impressive prospect. With just 4 examples currently for sale on Auto Trader and a further 5 on Car & Classic, you may need to act fast or wait around for the perfect Noble to become available.

Oracle Supercar Finance