RE: Seven cars in the PH Classifieds that need driving
Monday 24th April 2017
Browse the 140,000-plus cars for sale on PistonHeads and it's likely you'll consider mileage a key factor when comparing one potential purchase against another. Logical or not it has a huge influence on values, especially at the exotic end of the market where every thousand miles on the odometer can knock many more off the value. Here at PH we reckon cars are for driving though. And if the original owners of these ultra-low mileage heroes weren't willing to put the time in at the wheel we most certainly would be! If you spot any more in the classifieds let us know in the comments thread to follow...
Mazda MX-5 (NA/Mk1) - 3,000 miles
The Mazda MX-5 is a motoring icon, bringing reliable open-top driving pleasure to the masses, and it's especially beloved amongst the PH staff. With no fewer than three currently owned between us, there have been Fleet updates, Hero drives and even a Shed Of The Week. Hell, even Dan's mum owns one! All of which makes it even more tragic to us that this Stateside example has only seen a paltry 3,310 miles in its 27 years of life. Having apparently been put into storage almost immediately after its first owner took delivery, this Miata is no doubt destined for another climate-controlled collection. Which is a real shame, because there's a whole lot more value in the driving the thing than freezing the odometer in time.
Lotus Elise S1 - 8,000 miles
Another car to have featured as a PH Hero, although there's no chance of seeing one of these turning Shed's head any time soon! The Elise S1 is the model that saved Lotus in the mid-90s and is regularly cited as a benchmark of handling, the firm's obsession with weight saving and chassis set-up meaning it'll show many supposedly faster cars a clean set of heels even with just 118hp in standard form. Not enjoying that at every given opportunity seems a tragic waste. And if you don't believe us just listen to these PH owners!
Honda S2000 - 8,000 miles
With a big red start button, digital dash and styling that still looks sharp today, the Honda S2000 was about as cool as two-door roadsters got when it first launched. All well and good but the core appeal of this car is under the bonnet, the '9' at the end of the strip-style rev counter showing where the real magic of this car lies. A screamer of a naturally-aspirated engine matched with one of the sweetest manual transmissions ever fitted to a car makes the S2000 an absolute delight to pedal. Yet somehow this one has covered less than 600 miles a year since it rolled off the production line. Whoever buys it should likely find it hard to resist putting that much on it again in their first weekend! Should this particular example not appeal, there are plenty looking for a good home in the classifieds here.
Ford Escort RS Cosworth - 2,000 miles
A recent PH tour of Ford's heritage collection revealed not one or two but THREE Escort RS Cosworths sitting pretty in Dagenham, including model number #000. That leaves little excuse for keeping cars like this tucked away. And with our PH Heroes drive concluding that the Cossie is "a proper homologation special, honed with the same expertise and ruthless ambition that made its rear-drive forebears such winners." Traits which are likely hard to appreciate whilst parked in an air-conditioned garage.
Nissan GTR NISMO Z-Tune - 1,000 miles
Matt waxed lyrical on the qualities which set the NISMO Z-Tune apart in a recent Spotted article. Perhaps he wasn't persuasive enough though, or perhaps that POA hides a few more zeroes than we'd hoped, as this same car he wrote about nearly six months ago is still waiting for a buyer. Whoever ends up dipping a hand into their no doubt considerable pockets to purchase the car will hopefully be doing so for the right reasons, and pass it on to its next custodian with some more miles under its belt.
Aston Martin V12 Zagato - 1,000 miles
Each V12 Zagato chassis took its creators over 2,000 man-hours to complete, and that's a lot of someone's life to leave locked away as an investment. But the travesty of leaving a car like this undriven is twofold. Not only is the owner missing out on the car's 510hp, naturally-aspirated engine and excellent V12 Vantage underpinnings, but the rest of us are robbed of seeing these staggering cars in the wild. And that's even worse.
Ferrari F50 - 4,000 miles
A Ferrari with an F1-derived, naturally-aspirated V12, mated to a six-speed manual transmission and it's only been driven a little over 200 miles a year. If our Euro Millions numbers ever come in, this will be the first car in the classifieds to see its mileage quadrupled!
Seven cars in the PH Classifieds that need driving
Ultra-low miles cars for sale on PH we'd love to buy and blow the cobwebs out of
The Mazda MX-5 is a motoring icon, bringing reliable open-top driving pleasure to the masses, and it's especially beloved amongst the PH staff. With no fewer than three currently owned between us, there have been Fleet updates, Hero drives and even a Shed Of The Week. Hell, even Dan's mum owns one! All of which makes it even more tragic to us that this Stateside example has only seen a paltry 3,310 miles in its 27 years of life. Having apparently been put into storage almost immediately after its first owner took delivery, this Miata is no doubt destined for another climate-controlled collection. Which is a real shame, because there's a whole lot more value in the driving the thing than freezing the odometer in time.
Another car to have featured as a PH Hero, although there's no chance of seeing one of these turning Shed's head any time soon! The Elise S1 is the model that saved Lotus in the mid-90s and is regularly cited as a benchmark of handling, the firm's obsession with weight saving and chassis set-up meaning it'll show many supposedly faster cars a clean set of heels even with just 118hp in standard form. Not enjoying that at every given opportunity seems a tragic waste. And if you don't believe us just listen to these PH owners!
With a big red start button, digital dash and styling that still looks sharp today, the Honda S2000 was about as cool as two-door roadsters got when it first launched. All well and good but the core appeal of this car is under the bonnet, the '9' at the end of the strip-style rev counter showing where the real magic of this car lies. A screamer of a naturally-aspirated engine matched with one of the sweetest manual transmissions ever fitted to a car makes the S2000 an absolute delight to pedal. Yet somehow this one has covered less than 600 miles a year since it rolled off the production line. Whoever buys it should likely find it hard to resist putting that much on it again in their first weekend! Should this particular example not appeal, there are plenty looking for a good home in the classifieds here.
A recent PH tour of Ford's heritage collection revealed not one or two but THREE Escort RS Cosworths sitting pretty in Dagenham, including model number #000. That leaves little excuse for keeping cars like this tucked away. And with our PH Heroes drive concluding that the Cossie is "a proper homologation special, honed with the same expertise and ruthless ambition that made its rear-drive forebears such winners." Traits which are likely hard to appreciate whilst parked in an air-conditioned garage.
Matt waxed lyrical on the qualities which set the NISMO Z-Tune apart in a recent Spotted article. Perhaps he wasn't persuasive enough though, or perhaps that POA hides a few more zeroes than we'd hoped, as this same car he wrote about nearly six months ago is still waiting for a buyer. Whoever ends up dipping a hand into their no doubt considerable pockets to purchase the car will hopefully be doing so for the right reasons, and pass it on to its next custodian with some more miles under its belt.
Each V12 Zagato chassis took its creators over 2,000 man-hours to complete, and that's a lot of someone's life to leave locked away as an investment. But the travesty of leaving a car like this undriven is twofold. Not only is the owner missing out on the car's 510hp, naturally-aspirated engine and excellent V12 Vantage underpinnings, but the rest of us are robbed of seeing these staggering cars in the wild. And that's even worse.
A Ferrari with an F1-derived, naturally-aspirated V12, mated to a six-speed manual transmission and it's only been driven a little over 200 miles a year. If our Euro Millions numbers ever come in, this will be the first car in the classifieds to see its mileage quadrupled!
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