£100k Garage: Chris Smith
How many bases can you cover with two cars and a bike? Quite a few, as Chris will prove...
Name: Chris Smith
Previously owned: Mini Cooper S
Currently owned: Ford Fiesta (company car)
On the shortlist: "I tried to be somewhat realistic, not going for '10 cars for 10 occasions'. I think two cars and a bike would be the ideal setup, covering all bases of what I'd actually need them for, and being somewhat practical in terms of storing them, running them, and not losing loads of money on them!"
Porsche Cayman GT4
Cost: £73,950
Balance: £26,050
Why I chose it: "A 911 was my initial choice, so I looked at a broad range of variants, but given the criteria I think the GT4 just fits the bill. By all accounts a fantastic all round sports car, would be perfect for summer and weekend drives, occasional track days, and even the odd run over to Europe. This is a really nice subtle spec with the essential folding buckets, and one of the cheapest for sale."
Mini Cooper S JCW
Cost: £17,650
Balance: £8,400
Why I chose it: "A hot hatch was the obvious practical daily choice, as I don't want or need an estate car or SUV. Having previously owned a very similar Cooper S, I wouldn't hesitate to get another, this time in full JCW flavour. I went for this specific one as the grey with red combo looks great, like the previous GP editions. And an auto 'box to make it that bit nicer in traffic and cities."
Triumph Street Triple R
Cost: £6,495
Balance: £1,905 (to buy an aftermarket exhaust for the bike and a track day or three)
Why I chose it: "I have a Daytona 675R currently, which I absolutely love. There aren't too many bikes in the classifieds to choose from but I think if I were given this budget I'd stick with Triumph, but go for the naked version - something a bit more comfortable and road-focused. The Street Triple is a superb bike."
BUT
I prefer these £100K choices far more than when people talk about winning £120M on the Euromillions. In those people have fleets of 20 cars. It just becomes a "list every car you've ever liked" list.
If I ever become PM I will make it law that all "cars Id buy if I won the Lottery" threads are limited to 5 cars/bikes.
The Triple is such an iconic bike now and Mini’s are great fun.
But yeah, I loved the Cooper S I had. I know they can be marmite, and they're not the quickest hot hatch per £ but there's just something about them I really enjoy, they're quirky enough to never really get boring and the BMW side of things (engines, iDrive etc) make them really liveable.
I could've gone many ways for the sports car - I know PH loves Porsche but there's probably a reason for that. I've lusted after them for as long as I can remember. With the same budget but ignoring all other sensible factors I'd have a 964, as that's my 'attainable' dream car... But £60k+ for a manual C2 coupe in decent 'nick would be a tough pill to swallow when comparing to something as usable and competent as the GT4.
In the end though this is all just a bit of fun, with a few different parameters there could be a dozen different garage combos to come up with..
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