Supercar owners, when did you make the transition?

[Conor D]

This is just something i was wondering about.. Any of you sports/super/hypercar owners.. At what stage did you think, "it's about time to go for a supercar.."

I mean, was it a gradual progression through cars.. Hot Hatch, high powered saloon etc.. Where it got to the point where you could afford/justify a £80k+ car..

Or are there people out there who would drive something subtle, and again get to the stage where that sort of car is in reach.. And they just go for it?

Just curious about car history, and where you made the jump to Ferrari, Lambo, Maser.. Etc

[andrew.]

i blame my next door neighbour, who innocently asked if my 911 was the car i'd always promised myself
a real jfdi moment

[Original Poster]

andrew. said:

i blame my next door neighbour, who innocently asked if my 911 was the car i'd always promised myself
a real jfdi moment

[steelej]

Conor D said:

I mean, was it a gradual progression through cars.. Hot Hatch, high powered saloon etc.. Where it got to the point where you could afford/justify a £80k+ car..

For me it was gradual, I suppose most people are the same, I'm sure there are only a few who can afford a Ferrari or Lambo at 18.

I went, Peugot 205 950cc > Peugot 106XSi > Escort Cosworth(for 14 years) > Jag XKR then 3 years later added a Ferrari F430.

Always wanted a Ferrari since a very young age, took almost 30 years to get it

John.

[siscar]

Mini, Escort, Opel Manta, SRi, nasty Rover company car thing, MX-5, Elise, SLK, 911, Vantage

Purely a case of reaching the point of being able to afford it

[Alexandra]

Buying a supercar wasn't a conscious decision for me, it just happened to be something that I found very attractive visually with the bonus of an exclusive badge and engine.

Most people have a gradual progression I would think. I've had, since I was about 23, semi powerful cars anyway but I certainly started off small with a lovely little Fiesta Flight

[DrYazz]

I went from a 75 bhp 1.2 Zetec Fiesta to a 380 bhp Ferrari F355 - nothing in between.

That is a x5 jump in power.

So naturally, my next vehicle has to have 1900 bhp, minimum......

Edited by DrYazz on Friday 4th June 21:12

[andy74b]

Guess it was always the dream.

Car history to the first supercar

1275GT-MG Midget-Fiesta 1.4s(xr2 insurance was too much!)-Astra GTE 8v-MGF VVC-355 GTB then a few others......

Always wanted a Ferrari at 25 but never had any idea how I would manage it. Just was lucky along the way.

[Mario149]

It sort of happened gradually for me, well, as gradually as it can over 10ish years of driving (cars over the years are in my profile). There were 2 major thresholds for me: one insurance costs and the the other a job/overall life situation change.

Aged 24 I found out that for some reason I was able to insure a group 16 car (the 172 Cup) for about £450 fully comp with sensible excess - basically, my insurance premiums plummeted one year before the 25 threshold. I think it was because of NCB and some random other factors meaning i fell into a blip on their risk analysis, and have basically stayed there - I'm 28 and still only pay £700ish fully comp for my 355. Then I had a bit of a combined life/job change which meant mean I had a much larger disposable income than I had ever anticipated. So, after all my financial necessities were paid for, I just took the excess and put it into a car fund. Having seen my friends start to get engaged/hitched/pregnant, I decided that I was only young once, so bks to it, enjoy it while you can. Over the last 2 years or so I've effectively saved my excess "fun money", and when I've had the itch, upgraded cars.

I'm am under no illusions that I am monumentally fortunate compared to almost all of my friends and peers (although several of my friends could actually afford to own similar cars, they just insist on buying new and spanking vast amounts on depreciation Think new BMW Z4 for the price of a decent 355....), the only tragic downside is that it's easy to get blase about it and not realise and appreciate how lucky you are. Case in point being the Fezza/Lambo london meet last weekend: it was only at the end of it that I was thinking "bugger me, I can't believe I got to do that in my own Fezza". Whereas 5 years ago I would have creamed myself at the mere thought of being able to tag along behind everyone else in my old yaris T Sport!

Edit to amend insurance price

Edited by Mario149 on Friday 4th June 21:34

Edited by Mario149 on Saturday 5th June 19:32

[jakwyn]

Gradual for me to, I had always liked cars and always pushed to what I could afford, XR3i, Opel Manata (5 of), BMW 5 Series, Z3, BMW 330i Convertible, Mercedes CLK, had a bit of a blip and went for the VW Beetle V5, BMW 328, Audi A4, Maserati Ghibli (Don't ask), Maserati 3200, Porsche Cayanne Turbo S and in the garage a very lovely F360

[andysv]

i worked and saved hard to move from an astra gte to a 911sc in my early 20's then to a 3.2 carrera then a 3.3 turbo, aged 30 i found a countach qv needing very light restoration so p/exed the porky for it, then i moved to a diablo 8 years later which i still have, no one ever gave me anything, only opportunity, but i always knew someday somehow i'd own a lamborghini, next on the list is an lp640 but i'm in no rush at all as i drive an integrale my current favourite much more than my lambo.

[Lambochick]

One day fancied a weekend toy and bought an Elise after going to the NEC car show and seeing the debut of the MkII. Just over a year later, sold the Elise and bought my first Lamborghini, a Countach. That was followed by the Diablo GT when a once in a lifetime opportunity came up to buy one. Now I am getting used to a Murcielago.

Have only ever had these cars as an addition to my everyday car, so not really a gradual work up to owning them, but a gradual progression through the ones I've owned.

[AyBee]

DrYazz said:

I went from a 75 bhp 1.2 Zetec Fiesta to a 380 bhp Ferrari F355 - nothing in between.

That is a x5 jump in power.

So naturally, my next vehicle has to have 1900 bhp, minimum......

Out of interest, why?
1.)Because you held onto the Fiesta until you could afford the Ferrari?
2.)You just went without a car for a while while you saved up/lived somewhere you didn't need a car?
3.)Happened to come across enough money to afford the Ferrari in one go?

Sorry if it seems nosey, I've just often wondered whether if it meant I could reach a Ferrari quicker, whether I'd stick with my current 1.9D polo for longer or whether I'd get sick of the polo and have to get there in steps via cars in between in value...

[UH-Matt]

Mazda MX3 > Lotus Elise > Porsche Boxster > Aston Martin V8 Vantage > Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

Perfect transitions IMHO

[ditomaso]

Had to wait a while, firstly marriage, then the kids....once you've sorta got over the initial costs your priorities, it's time to realise your dreams.

6 years ago, I'd had a Porsche Boxster as my company car, prior to that an XK8 so decided that the Porsche had to go for a sensible car & bought an E Class alongside a 348 as a weekend toy. From then on, I upgraded the 348 to a Modena, then a 360 Spider, then threw a wodge of cash at the Stradale.

So into my 40's, I'm happy with the Strad, and no doubt will add to stable once the garage is cleared from the kids toys and bunny rabbit/guinea pigs

[DrYazz]

AyBee said:

DrYazz said:

I went from a 75 bhp 1.2 Zetec Fiesta to a 380 bhp Ferrari F355 - nothing in between.

That is a x5 jump in power.

So naturally, my next vehicle has to have 1900 bhp, minimum......

Out of interest, why?
1.)Because you held onto the Fiesta until you could afford the Ferrari?
2.)You just went without a car for a while while you saved up/lived somewhere you didn't need a car?
3.)Happened to come across enough money to afford the Ferrari in one go?

Sorry if it seems nosey, I've just often wondered whether if it meant I could reach a Ferrari quicker, whether I'd stick with my current 1.9D polo for longer or whether I'd get sick of the polo and have to get there in steps via cars in between in value...

Ever since I saw a pic of a 512BBi aged 6 or 7 I have wanted a Ferrari. The Testarossa and F40 which followed in the mid-80s cemented that feeling.
After graduation and various post-graduate academic studies, work kept me busy, to the extent that throughout my 20s, all I owned was Ford Fiestas......lots of them. Just got into a comfort zone. Lots of cycling and taking the bus into work.
In its defence, the 1.25 2000(W) plate 5 door Fiesta Ghia that I had for 5 years prior to the Ferrari did everything I needed from a vehicle. It was quiet, refined, semi-luxurious, quite good fun on the twistys and it returned 45mpg on motorway runs up and down the M40 and M6.
Then I realised, I had a lot of cash at my disposal, which was doing nothing sat in the bank, so the Fiesta went on eBay for £1800 and I bought myself the F355. Not a bad decision, in hindsight. A transition via hot-hatches, saloon bruisers or slower sports cars just would not have made sense.

[Peter101]

Berlingo Van - BMW Z3 - BMW M3 - Merc CLK - Maserati 4200 - Gallardo

[F355spider]

Had a number of hot hatches through my youth, then company cars in 20-30's. Bought a 996 cab when i was 32 and have subsequently had 9 'supercars' including f430 spider, gallardo, 2xchallenge stradale, 2x360 spider,1xmodena,1x355 spider & 1 x AM Vantage v8.

Currently in a 360 spider again, which is giving me my fix.

[andy c]

Mate died on bike,wife best friends husband died,the car I always wanted looked like it was about to go out of my budget.
I decided life was too short and there were things I wanted to do.So I did.

[Mario149]

andy c said:

I decided life was too short and there were things I wanted to do.So I did.

Nail. Head.(To quote a PH cliche)