S4S vs 1996/98 V8

[97BlackC5]

OK gents, I like the looks of the S4S, OZ wheels, big wing, Brembo's etc, but I notice the early V8's have the same styling before they updated the wing & wheels...... Which one do you think would be the better buy & also how come the S4S prices seem to be around the £20k level & the early V8's seem to be around the £16k level. Is that telling me something about reliability? Also would I be right in saying the V8 is Lotus' own 'built' engine, where as the 2.2ltr of the S4S is an 'off the shelf unit'.

Just to give you an idea I currently own a C5 Corvete (V8 obviously)!