'Practical sports car' choice, i am no nearer a decision!

[Grindle]

Due to down-sizing of our house shortly, there will be limited space for the 'toys' so i have sold 3 motorcycles and a car this week and now have room for 1 sports car.
Bearing in mind the real (rubbish) roads we have to drive on nowadays and taking into account it has to be pretty easy to live with and maybe even go abroad in once a year, what big bhp sports car with a budget of £40-45,000 would you suggest? I've just seen what is a big possibility, a black Audi R8 5.2 V10, with the lowest bhp from that engine design of 518bhp. The 542 and 602 bhp cars are way too much money for me. It's £42,500 with FSH and very clean and just valeted.
Friends are saying whatever you do get a turbo as supercharged cars never feel as powerful as the claims according to many and naturally aspirated cars lack the necessary goolies unless you rev them into the middle of next week. But 5.2 litres of V10 would surely have sufficient mid-range power?
What else would be a daily driver, seat 2 in comfort, be exciting when needed and not break down regularly like a very old Italian supercar probably would? Not that too many Ferraris or Lambos will be out there for my budget and have the power i am seeking and be great for a holiday.
I can only think of a 997 turbo but for my budget it will have far more miles and be older by a distance.

[Jamescrs]

Mercedes SL63 AMG was my first thought, you can get an excellent example for a good chunk less than your budget

[gashead1105]

Evora not powerful enough? Your budget would get you a lovely S1 Supercharged Sports Racer.

[p4cks]

As above. You don’t necessarily need power when the Evora is as light as it is

[Grindle]

gashead1105 said:

Evora not powerful enough? Your budget would get you a lovely S1 Supercharged Sports Racer.

Evora too one-dimensional. A bit too, erm, Lotus i guess. Nice cars though.

[Grindle]

p4cks said:

As above. You don’t necessarily need power when the Evora is as light as it is

Ultra-light isn't really what i want, i want a daily driver and even holiday car now and then. Plus i'd like a bigger engine these days. I had an Exige 3.5 for a while and yes it was fast and light but i want something with more power and more effortless power with it.

[Grindle]

The more i think the more i am tempted by the 5.2 V10.
A sports exhaust to make it sound like it actually has over 500 bhp, added to an engine (modified of course) considered good enough by Lamborghini to put in arguably their best production street car and i imagine some fun times ahead in a car still easy to drive anywhere. 911-owning friends have already said ''997 turbo, look no further'' and i really do get that argument, let's face it they are great cars, but i fancy a screamer with 10 pots!

[otolith]

Grindle said:

Evora too one-dimensional. A bit too, erm, Lotus i guess. Nice cars though.

What are your priorities? In terms of brand, looks/image, interior design/materials/solidity, interior equipment/tech, luggage/interior space, motorway cruising ability, straight line performance, noise, grip/stability, handling/agility, feel?

[ninjag]

Jaguar XKR-S 5.0 V8 575bhp

[ZX10R NIN]

Corvette Z06 you won't see many & they're a proper drivers car to boot.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Corvette-C6-Z06-Velocit...

Mustang with enough left over to make it your own.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2017-Mustang-5-0-V8-GT-...

Alfa 4C

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Tuscan 2

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Maserati GranTurismo

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

R8

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

F Type

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

XKR-S

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Litchfield GT-R

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1M

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Evora

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Grindle]

otolith said:

Grindle said:

Evora too one-dimensional. A bit too, erm, Lotus i guess. Nice cars though.

What are your priorities? In terms of brand, looks/image, interior design/materials/solidity, interior equipment/tech, luggage/interior space, motorway cruising ability, straight line performance, noise, grip/stability, handling/agility, feel?

Well, i am flexible, but I don't want a racetrack refugee, i've had a few of those and they are ok for a short time on public roads then get tedious. I've already got a 275 bhp Caterham with an amazing ptw ratio but that really isn't the main thing, it's about like i already said getting a car with an impressive engine that i can drive to my daughter's home in Barcelona and back if i choose and also get me through towns with little hassle or backache. A fairly good engine and somewhere to sit isn't really what i want, the Caterham covers the balls out track days and the odd country lane blast nicely.
So, 450-550 bhp, good quality, not too noisy inside, good ride quality, reliable car not too crazy expensive to run. 997 turbo and V10 R8 are the type of car i want. Maybe a big V8 Merc of some type might do. I do like the price of the Audi though, that's great value for money in my book.

[Grindle]

ninjag said:

Jaguar XKR-S 5.0 V8 575bhp

Yes now there's a thought. They must go well.

[Grindle]

ZX10R NIN thankjs for the suggestions.
I don't want LHD really and the Alfa has a terrible engine. I drove one of those and it would have been a great car with those looks HAD it had a 255 bhp Alfa V6 3.2, or a 2.2 turbo I4 with 300 bhp. Old TVRs are as reliable as the weather and the Maserati is beautiful but sluggish. The Jaguar, Audi V10 R8 or a 997 are the favourites for me now. It's a nice problem to have in many ways but i need to choose soon.