How times have changed....

[boxsey]

Mario149 said:

Picked up a 2005 E60 M5 today - V10, 100+ bhp/litre, revs out to 8,250rpm, max power at 7,750 rpm, max torque at 6,100 rpm
....in a saloon car for less than £25K. Dear god I hope someone at BMW was given a medal for signing off that decision!

Do you mean it was £25K when new in 2005 or is that what you have just paid for it?

[Mario149]

boxsey said:

Mario149 said:

Picked up a 2005 E60 M5 today - V10, 100+ bhp/litre, revs out to 8,250rpm, max power at 7,750 rpm, max torque at 6,100 rpm
....in a saloon car for less than £25K. Dear god I hope someone at BMW was given a medal for signing off that decision!

Do you mean it was £25K when new in 2005 or is that what you have just paid for it?

What I just (give or take a bit) paid for it. Obviously in current money it was a ~£90K car when new with a few options. Was just trying to make the point that even with all the modern tech/advancements there is no new Porsche I can buy/order that remotely interests me at the moment. Or BMW for that matter.

My only hope that I can see is if the hybrid tech and vision from the LaFerrari makes it into other real world sportscars i.e. a highly tuned, high revving NA unit with electric motors to fill some (but not all like in a turbo) of the lower end torque giving a decent low end with a torque figure that just increases constantly until almost max rpm, meaning the more you rev it, the ever harder it pulls. For Porsche that might be Carrera with a highly tuned 2.5 litre F6 with 350bhp at 8K rpm, max torque at say 7K, with a 150bhp electric motor providing most of the grunt at low revs for emissions regulation purposes. Everyone wins

[hornetrider]

Interesting thread. I'm in a dilemma with a lease car incoming, what to do with my current E60 Touring 550i (NA V8)... with a manual gearbox. The sensible thing is to just sell it, but there's a little voice on my shoulder saying store it. My gut feel is it's too vanilla to properly appreciate but it's a very rare car and I'm not sure I'll ever have the chance to buy one or something similar again.

[Mario149]

hornetrider said:

Interesting thread. I'm in a dilemma with a lease car incoming, what to do with my current E60 Touring 550i (NA V8)... with a manual gearbox. The sensible thing is to just sell it, but there's a little voice on my shoulder saying store it. My gut feel is it's too vanilla to properly appreciate but it's a very rare car and I'm not sure I'll ever have the chance to buy one or something similar again.

I dunno, 550i has got to be rare, esp in manual form. A quick search suggests it's worth about £10K? I don't know your circumstances, but if you've got the space and don't need th emoney, I'd hold onto it, if only so that in a world of practical turbo 4 pots with autos/DSGs, you can go for the occasional hoon in something that by modern family car standards is totally practical but superbly preposterous!

ETA: we almost bought a 550i Touring instead of our 330d Touring last year for exactly that reason. Only issue was I knew I'd get precious about it, get annoyed at the dog for making a mess of the back and at my gf for kerbing wheels (as she does almost every she drives ) or worse!

Edited by Mario149 on Wednesday 18th May 16:04

[MrBarry123]

Mario149 said:

I reckon any NA M3, M5 or RS4 would be a good shout! Extar brownie points if it's an estate

Nothing like a bit of bias eh!?

[Mario149]

MrBarry123 said:

Mario149 said:

I reckon any NA M3, M5 or RS4 would be a good shout! Extar brownie points if it's an estate

Nothing like a bit of bias eh!?

Mine's a saloon!

[hondansx]

MrBarry123 said:

hondansx said:

Sadly it's widespread and it's not going to get better i fear!

For me these are 4 cars for the purists garage:

- S1 Lotus Elise - cars like that won't be made again
- Clio 182 - last of the proper hot hatches, whilst still well equipped, seat 5 and relatively safe
- E90 V8 manual - perfectly good family car but with fantastic drivetrain
- 997 GT3 - i don't need to explain to all you lot...

All of the above for less than what you will pay for a new 991 GT3 RS right now.

I like your choices but would probably swap the M3 for a mint B7 RS4 Avant.

Thank you very much! I discount the RS4 because - as as nice as it is - i've read they are hassle to look after and personally i believe the E90/E92 M3 V8 possesses an even more evocative engine. Oh, and you can slide it...