£100K Garage: Jim Fontanelli
A V8 cruiser, a rally rep, a bike-engined track weapon plus an actual bike do it for Jim
Previously owned: Audi A4
Currently owned: Land Rover Discovery 4, Dacia Logan, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Mitsubishi Evo 8 MR, Audi RS6 Plus, Ultima GTR, Yamaha R1, Honda VFR (I have problems selling, well, anything).
On the shortlist: "This garage is MY £100K dream and as such offers little compromise to the needs of a wife or three kids. No doubt my wife's £100K will be spent on multiple diesel MPVs with five-star crash ratings and the kids £100K spent on cars that turn into spaceships or dinosaurs and are well equipped with lasers. Therefore a classic, a fast point-to-point, something with a high degree of 'waft', a track monster, a 'see ya I'm off round the world' fantasy and a tow-bar and rubbish-tip car. And yes, since it's a dream I also have my own petrol station and mechanic."
Cost: £33,500
Balance: £66,500
Why I chose it: "My original choice was an Alfa Montreal - but that sold before this got published - so the Jensen was my replacement. It's a pretty good stand-in; it's from the same year, it replaces an Italian V8 with classic American muscle, the Italian design theme is maintained and I get another English car in the garage. I've always thought the Jensen has stood the test of time extremely well, especially the glorious wraparound rear window. It would be an event to drive and some of the more dubious OEM parts (brakes) can be upgraded. I would need to grow a 'tache but it's a small price to pay for owning a bit of 70s motoring history. (N.B. This car is going to auction, we agreed on a 'cost' half way between the two estimates).
There's a gold one for sale if you don't fancy red... Interceptors on PH here.
Cost: £34,495
Balance: £32,005
Why I chose it: "How else could I drive Downton Abbey through Europe? It's a lot of car for the money and would offer a very different experience to everything else in the garage. There would be no urge to 'make progress' (although the T is not short of grunt) and it would fall firmly into the 'better to travel than to arrive' camp."
Need an Arnage for a trip to Arnage (and beyond)? Big Bentleys for sale here.
Mitsubishi Evo 6 Tommi Makinen
Cost: £8,000
Balance: £24,005
Why I chose it: "Sometimes you just need to get from A to B quickly (via C and D). I love Evos and the 6s offer the performance and looks missing from the earlier generations without the increasing weight of the later versions. It's a Makinen which makes it a bit special too."
Agree with Jim that 6 was the best Evo? Search cars for sale on PH here.
Cost: £14,450
Balance: £9,555
Why I chose it: "I want something properly track specced that I won't worry about from a total cost or consumables perspective. Light, fast and focused. It would certainly force me to up my driving skills and would open up some Sprint series when and if my skills develop."
The Radical comes under 'single seater' race cars on PH. A few interesting cars for sale!
Land Rover Defender
Cost: £4,500
Balance: £5,055
Why I chose it: "It's a quasi-shed. Good for rural roads in the snow and runs to the tip. It also has the added bonus (after spending my remaining cash on a tow hook) of being able to pull the trailer that the Radical requires. Admittedly I will have to leave the day (or possibly week) before to arrive at the track on time, but there is plenty of room in the back for sleeping bags and gummy bears."
Another £100K Garage, another Defender! Search all cars on PH here.
Cost: £4,990
Balance: £65
Why I chose it: "As I sit on the train on the morning commute it would be good to know that I could, in theory, be halfway across Mongolia working on my Scottish accent. Surprisingly good on road and I have wanted one since I did a weekend of off-roading in Wales and was amazed at how capable the bike was. Now I have one."
BMW R Series bikes for sale on PH here.
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With about 18 litres of engine capacity and 1.5 motorcycles, it sounds good.
The Bentley, well with reclining rear seats, Beluga paint, piano wood interior, pneumatic lumber support and 2 umbrellas that can all be launched to 60 in less than 6 secs who could argue.
No one in the family would ever argue again. Reminds us how much has been lost with the sale of Bentley. Regal in an unstated way.
The others, pretty good. Certainly ecclectic and fun choices.
Almost prefer the current garage. Great.
FF would be my choice.
And I do like the earlier V8.
IMO, the Jensen is both cooler and far more attractive!
Totally agree on the Interceptor choice .
1 year ago i bit the bullet and bought a 1969 MKII Interceptor , after long debate between this and an aston DBSV8 .
Never looked back since . It is really a long distance cruiser and bruiser :-)
325 BHP ( albeit American horses ) ; reliable punch whenever you want and über -comfortable .
It passes really everything from this age , except a petrol station ...
Also the reaction from everybody wherever I park the car is interesting to say the least .
They are really underrated by the general audience IMHO , but are catching up finally .
Cheers , Harald
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