Your Top 3 Dream Cars? - on a budget!

[Djetset]

As a little light relief and distraction from the many Puzzles here during these challenging pandemic times, I thought it could be fun to spend some theoretical money (that we probably don't have!) and discover the following to get a good sense of the motoring tastes of us AP contributors.

So, just for fun, if you were given an imaginary currency sum of 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 ($ US, Euros or £ Sterling) which three 'dream cars' (or trucks, motorcycles, etc.) would each of us AP contributors choose to buy?

To help start the process, below is my personal trio of motoring choices for the three 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 monetary amounts, and I very much look forward to seeing your choices here too. Enjoy;

Djetset 10,000 dream car:

For 10,000 (£ Sterling in my case), I would squander the cash on one of three possible late-1970s small sporting four-seater machines (as I can't fit into the Autozam AZ-1 I 'd like with the gullwing door closed!). So, my tricky toss-up would be between a SEAT 1430 Sport Coupe 'Boca Negra' (exotic to me as great looking, and never sold in the UK), a nice rust-free '70s Alfasud Ti 1.5 (amazing to drive), or an Innocenti De Tomaso (fun, fun, fun, and one of Gandini's proudest moments).

As it stands today, the SEAT 1430 Sport would be my choice from this trio, but this may well have changed by the time you read this.

Djeset 50,000 dream car:

I could be a little cheeky here and either split the generous (but sadly fictitious) £50,000 'dream car' fund across three desirable (to me at least) cars, all of which I've previously owned, or spend it all on just one car.

If I were to spread the £50k across three cars, my selection would look like this. For driving pleasure, I'd choose an Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato (a sweeter 'short tail' 1300cc example like the one I used to own and regret selling), which will cost around £25,000. The remaining £25k would be split between a Citroen Mehari (a four-seater at c.£12,000) and either a Panhard 24CT (elegant engineered chic), or a Fiat 130 Coupe (not great to drive, but just beautiful to stare at for hours, rather than watching TV or researching AP puzzles!).

To keep the 'rules' simple though, if I have to spend the £50,000 all on one car only, I'll opt for an immaculate Citroen SM in top condition as I've admired these quirky, over-engineered V6 GT coupes since I was a kid, and having later driven quite a few, I can attest to the SM being the most astonishing and modern car to drive, with seductive looks and a (frightening) cocktail of French chic and Italian mechanical brio. An immaculate SM for around £45,000 will leave me a spare £5,000 or so for a (basic) engine service/rebuild, which it will inevitably need at some stage, plus a few litres of fuel for some enjoyable high-speed journeys.

Djetset 100,000 dream car:

At £100,000 my dream car choice becomes much more difficult as there are so many cars I'd love to have around this budgetary amount. I would really love a pre-war French cyclecar, for example, such as as a BNC, Derby or Amilcar CGSS, or a Citroen 2CV Sahara 4x4, Alfa Romeo 2600SZ, Maserati Sebring (now probably more than 100,000) or Bristol 404 (now definitely worth more than 100,000!).

So, my mythical £100,000 will be spent on what I consider to be almost the ultimate car, a machine that combines virtually all of the key attributes I admire in a vehicle; aerodynamic design, clever engineering and an efficient small-capacity engine. The car is a long-tail CD-Peugeot LM 67, not the most practical of machines, but an underrated work of genius IMHO.

Well, it costs nothing to dream! It will be fascinating to see your three dream vehicle choices here too please .

[Oguerrerob]

This is a real nice idea!!

I will do the exercise. It's so difficult to choose, so I will add later when I'll manage to do a list.

10.000 Euros: VW New Beetle 2004
50.000 Euros: Toyota FJ-Cruiser Premium 2009
100.000 Euros: Cadillac XLR 2004 (not sure, but could it be my choice)

[Djetset]

Thanks for your contribution and dream car thoughts Oguerrerob. I particularly like those Toyota FJ-Cruisers  . I look forward to seeing what cars some of our other AP friends and colleagues come up with...

[nicanary]

This has caused me problems. I'm unfortunately a very pragmatic man, and always buy cars that are "suitable" rather than heart-pumping. I've never owned a desiracble car and always purchase with practicality and running costs in mind. My choices are very prosaic and based on the notion of usability. What you might call "rightfield" picks rather than your "right out there" CD - cars that are pleasing to drive but would be straightforward in case of breakdown .

Up to £10k - a Morris Minor 1000 Traveller if I could find one at that price. Great fun to drive. More likely to find an MG Midget 1275 RWA - I have owned two and loved them. Click-clack gearchange, barchetta styling and so low to the ground you think you're driving at high speed.

Up to £50k - I like the Honda S2000 as long as some owner hasn't modified it, and I've always like the idea of wafting around in luxury - an early-2000s Bentley Arnage need only cost £30k or what about an Armstrong-Siddeley Star Sapphire? Now we're taliking money-pits. Vote goes to a nice Lancia Fulvia HF.

Up to £100k - An original Lotos Elite (one in a mag for $95k) but for quality and reliability a Mercedes Pagoda.

[nicanary]

PS how much do these fetch?

[Carnut]

Interesting concept.
Of course some of us spend half our lives fantasising about what we could and would buy given the resources but of course dreaming is as far as it gets...

For me it will be only classic cars from 5 or 6 decades ago as I simply can't get excited about anything newer.  I know today's cars are so much faster and better built, but so few of them seem to have any character or 'soul'.

So here goes;

For £10,000 I would go for a 1966 Fiat 850 Coupé.  When I first saw them whilst on holiday in Switzerland in 1966 I couldn't believe how exotic they had made this little car look.  So simple yet just so elegant.  And they are still available for almost £10,000 though the desirable Abarth versions are two or three times that.

For £50,000 it would be to be a car I've really wanted to own ever since I was a boy in the mid 1960s: A Mini Cooper S Mk 1 (in Island Blue and White!).  A perfect bog-standard one as it would have left the factory - very hard to find in fact as they have all been restored now and most people just don't get the details quite right.
I had a 1965 Mini Cooper 998 cc and I must say in terms of miles per £ I had more fun in that car then I've ever had in any other car!
But I just never managed to graduate to a Cooper S, as I really wanted a sports car so I bought my first TVR when I was 22..

£100,000 is just not quite enough money to buy what I would really really like, a Maserati Sebring, just like Djetset!  If you found one for that price it would need at least another £150,000 spent on it so would be completely out of reach.  Good examples now sell for between £150,000 and £250,000 so I'll have to move on..
Then it was a bit of a toss-up between a Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 or the only proper 1960s Italian supercar which is still available for £100,000: a Maserati Mexico, which is my choice by some margin.  One sold at auction just a week or two ago for a smidgen under £100,000.
I loved it when I first saw the Michelotti prototype pictured at the Turin Show in 1965 and although the production version lost quite a bit of the lovely detailing of the prototype it's still a very attractive car and it would be fabulous to get one whilst it's still 'affordable' - which it won't always be.

So here are my final choices:

[Allan L]

My approach to cars is led by what they can be used for and whether I want to do that. The result is a boring selection somewhat driven by the stupid prices people expect to get for their out-of-date cars.
There seems to be nothing in the £10,000 bracket these days.
I already own the Lea-Francis I would class as being in the £10-50,000 category and it's my VSCC rally car of choice.

Most of the cars I would have nominated in the next price category which could be used for sprints/hillclimbs seem to be over the price limit so I'll nominate a slightly cheaper car as a potential Classic Rally car. This Talbot Baby is over £50k but not by much:

[Djetset]

Thank you to the trio of British gentlemen for your interesting and varied inputs.

Nicanary's more pragmatic approach is quite different to mine, with the only practical/sensible vehicles I've ever owned being some Citroen 2CVs, Mehari and HY van, plus countless Saab 99 and 900 Turbo Combi Coupes. As for that Jeep, I'm really not sure what they are worth these days (I'd personally opt for an early Land Rover), but I would imagine one could be found for under 10,000, just (unlike a Landie now!).

Carnut's tastes seem to tally closer to mine, despite our opposing general love or dislike of German cars. That said, if I couldn't find a Maserati Sebring for £100,000, I could be very tempted by a German Glas V8 (the original 2.8, as I don't think I could bring myself to drive a later 3.0 with BMW badges on it!).

Allan L's Talbot Baby was a very pleasant surprise and one that holds strong appeal to me too. For under £10,000 though, although there is now a limited choice of worthy pre-war cars within that budget, I thought a tatty Austin Seven to create a fun special out of might have a certain appeal?

I look forward to seeing further inputs here from other AutoPuzzle contributors over the coming days and weeks. 

[Allan L]

Allan L's Talbot Baby was a very pleasant surprise and one that holds strong appeal to me too. For under £10,000 though, although there is now a limited choice of worthy pre-war cars within that budget, I thought a tatty Austin Seven to create a fun special out of might have a certain appeal?

I survived studentship without having an Austin 7 and have never regretted continuing not having one! As an apprentice I made or modified some parts for my friends' A7s which showed me what I was missing (and glad to miss!).

[nicanary]

An alternative to the Baby Talbot Lago might be a Hotchkiss - I can't imagine they fetch exorbitant prices and you get a quality piece of engineering which I believe are surprisingly good to drive.

There was a time when £100k would get you a quality repro Jaguar C-type. Now that would even tempt parsimonious me, but it would have to be a Lynx/Proteus/Suffolk and not a nasty plastic misshapen kit car. I think a good 'un now fetches £200k.

[Djetset]

An alternative to the Baby Talbot Lago might be a Hotchkiss - I can't imagine they fetch exorbitant prices and you get a quality piece of engineering which I believe are surprisingly good to drive.

A post-war Hotchkiss can still be surprisingly affordable, and certainly less that a Talbot-Lago Baby. I seriously considered an early '50s Anjou some years ago, but bought my Bristol 401 instead, which with hindsight was probably the wise decision. An understated Hotchkiss has much to commend it though for the price.

[Carnut]

Actually Djetset, the early Glaserati coupé was a 2600 not a 2800!  2800 was the size of the big BMW straight six before it was enlarged to 3 litres, but neither of those appeared in the Glaserati, just the Glas V8 which was enlarged to 3.0 for the BMW versions. Sorry to be pedantic!
A very beautiful car anyway and one which might well have appeared on my list, but I can't have them all!

[Djetset]

Actually Djetset, the early Glaserati coupé was a 2600 not a 2800!  2800 was the size of the big BMW straight six before it was enlarged to 3 litres, but neither of those appeared in the Glaserati, just the Glas V8 which was enlarged to 3.0 for the BMW versions. Sorry to be pedantic!
A very beautiful car anyway and one which might well have appeared on my list, but I can't have them all!

Oophs, a typo on my part! A Glaserati is a beautiful looking car, although its wheelbase is a tad too short. It's still a very desirable motor car though.

[gilescooperuk]

Hmm I'm going to go rather off field compared to some of the replies so far.

£10000
This is the easy choice a Tiger Cat (which is my own car already!)

£50000
Suffolk c type replica probably have to put it together for this price but it is a stunning kit car

£100000
There is a huge choice here, and classics are so difficult to price so instead.
BMW M5

[Johno]

It's been quite a challenge to narrow down to three cars, but quite an education as well as I now find that some of my 'cars I'd like to own' have dropped of the list of affordable.  One I own, one I've always liked since seeing it in the flesh at the motor show in 70 or 71 and the last embodies all there is  to want in the era of pre-war English sports cars.

Car one. Owned, Midas Gold Coupe, 1275cc A series MG Metro engine with all GRP monocoque styled by Richard Oakes.

Car two. Trident Clipper designed by Trevor Fiore. Please se next post for corrected information.


Car Three.    A Riley Nine Brooklands Special   currently for sale in France (Jan 2021) just about includes every visual aspect of the English sports car of that era.

Pictures to follow.

[Carnut]

I like your choice no. 2 Johno, but I would point out that it was the TVR Trident which Trevor Fiore designed.
The Tridents themselves (incl the Clipper) ended up as poor copies of the original design, albeit after a promising start.
But then you couldn't get the TVR for £50K, but you could get a concours Bill Last Trident for that.
For the full story on the TVR Trident see here:

http://classicmotorhub.com/showroom/1965-tvr-trident-prototype-by-fissore/

It's my car, which I have owned for 35 years and am very reluctantly selling to finance a new project before I become too much of an old codger to appreciate it! Despite the similarity in appearance between the Trident Clippers and Venturers and the TVR Trident there are no parts in common at all; not the glass, trim or interior parts or mechanicals (except the Clipper's V8 engine) and the dimensions also differ by a surprising amount.

[Johno]

Thanks for that. Yes a great design like a lot of his cars. I'm looking forwards to seeing the TVR Tina which I believe is currently being restored.

[Carnut]

The Tina has been restored and when (almost completed) it was auctioned at the NEC Classic Car Show in 2018 or 2019, where it failed to sell. I believe it was sold after the show but I'm not sure if the restoration has been finished off; the bumpers are missing and they were having trouble making new ones..

There are pictures on the 'Net of the car in its (almost!) finished state but below are a couple I took, one with Tina Marshall herself in it, after whom the car was named of course (using a cut-down Cortina badge on the car!).

I've met a few times but sadly I think the cost of the restoration meant she and her brother, Gregor, had to part with the car.