Resurgence of the 50k sports car...

[white_goodman]

Despite a general market trend towards SUVs and crossovers, prompted by recent discussion over the new Supra, it has been encouraging to see a resurgence in the 50k sports car market. Up until fairly recently, if you had 50k to spend on a sports car, a Boxster/Cayman was pretty much your only option and if there were any other leftfield options, you needed a pretty good reason not to go with the Porsche.

However, with the Alpine A110 coming out last year and providing a compelling alternative to a Cayman if you don't mind 4 cylinders and the launch of the new BMW Z4 and Toyota Supra this year, if you want a nicer soundtrack and something a bit more well-rounded, there is more choice in this market than there has been for quite some time and perhaps the move to 4 cylinders by Porsche has created a gap (the normal word I would use here got censored as an ethnic slur lol) in the Boxter's/Cayman's armour for other manufacturers to exploit?

These three cars really appeal to me as Boxster/Cayman alternatives but I guess one might also consider an Alfa 4C, Mercedes-Benz SLC (for a bit longer at least) or a Jaguar F-Type in this market? The only thing that is perhaps a bit of a shame is that none of the other vehicles offer the option of a manual transmission but then most new Boxsters/Caymans being bought will be PDK too?

With once attainable "dream" cars like the Porsche 911, Audi R8 and AM Vantage getting ever more expensive, I for one am quite excited by the prospect of these 50k sports car becoming affordable for me in a few years time.

So if you were in the market for this kind of vehicle either new or a used purchase a few years down the line, would you go with the "safe" option i.e. a Boxster/Cayman or one of the "newer" alternatives?

Edited by white_goodman on Thursday 16th May 20:13

[white_goodman]

CABC said:

Looks like 50k is becoming the new price for GT Sports cars, and all new releases are welcome. However, these are what I would call "GT Sports", as they're heavy, comfortable daily drivers too. "sports cars" should be light, simple and probably 30k-ish. we need more MX5 competition, like an MR2, Barchetta et al. For the most part these would be 2nd or 3rd cars in a household, and i appreciate that for that cost with modern legislation they would definitely need to be stripped down.

I agree because I could afford one of those straight away but MX5/124/GT86/BRZ lack grunt and I'm guessing 30k sports cars aren't a very profitable market these days, especially without platform sharing? 370Z has the power but is a little dated and lardy. Not sure where they're coming in at these days... The Alpine has many of the attributes that you describe but it's 50k. 50k is the new 30k perhaps.

[white_goodman]

300bhp/ton said:

Are 911’s really any more expensive than they were a decade ago? Or is it largely inflation?

Also wasn’t there a Z4 prior to this new one.

Not a mention of Lotus

Nor the 370z which actually seems somewhat of a bargain vs the others.

And of course you have the pony cars such as the Mustang, Challenger and Camaro. Which all probably deserve a mention if you are including Mercs and the F-Type.

Plus more niche offerings such as Morgan.

Is the inclusion of the Supra really that radical? Seems there was plenty of choice really.

A decade ago maybe not but my point was that there was some pricing parity between the mk4 Supra TT when it was new and a base 911 Carrera. Supra is still 50k, 911 is getting on for double that...

370Z is a 10 year old design, looks dated and cheap inside and down on power. Come on, it's well below 300bhp/ton! Kind of sits in a class of its own in between the 50k sports cars and the GT86/MX5.

Mustang GT is a great shout. It's a big/heavy old bus but the option of a 5 litre V8 and manual box for 50k is pretty compelling. Camaro or Challenger is not available on the UK market and besides the Challenger is no sports car (nice car though).

Morgan is surely more than 50k and probably a waiting list of several years? If I was spending 50k on a car, it would need to be something that I could live with every day. I would love an Elise but could I live with one every day? The Exige/Evora would be a good deal more expensive.

I'm pretty sure that I could live with a Supra/Alpine/Z4/Cayman/Mustang/F-Type/SLC every day but an Elise/Morgan maybe not so much?

Z4 was on a 3 year hiatus and the last one seemed more SLK than Boxster rival. Like the original Z4, this new one seems like a more credible Boxster rival with the bonus of a 6-pot motor.

The introduction of the new Z4, Supra and Alpine certainly seem to have opened this market up and potentially stolen some sales from Porsche.

Edited by white_goodman on Friday 17th May 14:06

[white_goodman]

300bhp/ton said:

Are 911’s really any more expensive than they were a decade ago? Or is it largely inflation?

Also wasn’t there a Z4 prior to this new one.

Not a mention of Lotus

Nor the 370z which actually seems somewhat of a bargain vs the others.

And of course you have the pony cars such as the Mustang, Challenger and Camaro. Which all probably deserve a mention if you are including Mercs and the F-Type.

Plus more niche offerings such as Morgan.

Is the inclusion of the Supra really that radical? Seems there was plenty of choice really.

A decade ago maybe not but my point was that there was some pricing parity between the mk4 Supra TT when it was new and a base 911 Carrera. Supra is still 50k, 911 is getting on for double that...

370Z is a 10 year old design, looks dated and cheap inside and down on power. Come on, it's well below 300bhp/ton! Kind of sits in a class of its own in between the 50k sports cars and the GT86/MX5.

Mustang GT is a great shout. It's a big/heavy old bus but the option of a 5 litre V8 and manual box for 50k is pretty compelling. Camaro or Challenger is not available on the UK market and besides the Challenger is no sports car (nice car though).

Morgan is surely more than 50k and probably a waiting list of several years? If I was spending 50k on a car, it would need to be something that I could live with every day. I would love an Elise but could I live with one every day? The Exige/Evora would be a good deal more expensive.

I'm pretty sure that I could live with a Supra/Alpine/Z4/Cayman/Mustang/F-Type/SLC every day but an Elise/Morgan maybe not so much?

Z4 was on a 3 year hiatus and the last one seemed more SLK than Boxster rival. Like the original Z4, this new one seems like a more credible Boxster rival with the bonus of a 6-pot motor.

The introduction of the new Z4, Supra and Alpine certainly seem to have opened this market up and potentially stolen some sales from Porsche.

Edited by white_goodman on Friday 17th May 14:06

[white_goodman]

300bhp/ton said:

Why not? Apart from slightly more of a struggle to get in/out of, they are not really hugely different to an MX-5 in terms of comfort.

If you/a person could live with an MR2 MKIII or a Pug 106/Ford KA daily, then an Elise is unlikely to be anymore of a hardship IMO.

Edited by 300bhp/ton on Friday 17th May 15:01

I can't find list prices for the 993 Carrera, which would have been contemporary to the mk4 Supra but I seem to remember it started around 50k (about the same as the Supra TT). 996 Carrera started at 56k when it was launched. NA Supra was probably 968 money. Not getting the "rose-tinted" opinions on the mk4 Supra in the Supra thread, hailing it as some kind of supercar slayer. I seem to remember a group test in Top Gear magazine when it was new against the E36 M3 Evo and the TVR Cerbera. The Supra TT was no faster than the M3 and not as quick as the Cerbera if I can recall, which stock, was a genuine supercar slayer. I agree that some tuned Supras were very quick though.

Nissan seem to have above average model life cycles compared to their peers. 10 years is pretty old for a new model these days. Just think, in 2009, the 987 Cayman and 997 were the current Porsche models and there have been 2 new generations of Cayman/911 since then. Nothing wrong with the fundamentals of the 370Z but the infotainment is very dated (perhaps not the biggest issue in a sports car) but it has less power than the Supra/Cayman S/Z4 M40i. More than the GT86/MX5 for sure but they're sub-30k.

I realise that the current Mustang isn't that old, I've driven one in fact. "Big old bus" is just an expression and nearly 1800kg is certainly not light. I liked it but it felt more GT than compact sports car.