The Spotted Week That Was | Evo, A1 Quattro, SL

It's been another busy week on planet PH. These are the cars we couldn't stop thinking about...

By PH Staff / Sunday, 30 August 2020 / Loading comments

Mitsubishi Evo VI TME, 2000, 68k, £42,500

Anyone transfixed as I was by Dan's video last weekend will have been thinking about only one thing: how many possessions do I need to sell to buy a mint-condition Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition? The answer, of course, is most of them. In fact there's a fair chance that unless you're also prepared to sell the house you keep your possessions in, you won't have enough. Not if you want one like this in that red with those decals.

Originally sold in Japan in 2000, and imported into this country 20 years later the car has covered the equivalent of 68,000 miles and has a full service history from new. A 4-B auction grade suggests it's as solid as it looks. Of course if you don't want advertise your affinity for Ralliart, you could have this one in white with less miles and absolutely no aftermarket parts whatsoever for £10k less. So long as you're prepared to go through the slightly tiresome business of having it shipped here from Hong Kong.

Truthfully, Evo ownership has always required a bit of effort. If it's not the 4,500-mile service schedule it's a thirst for super-unleaded and fast-tiring chassis components. But the ratio of input to output is still massively in the latter's favour. The combination of 4G63 and AYC is scarily good even by today's exalted standard - possibly more so because it all seems so analogue versus the modern equivalent. Also, as expensive as it is to buy, the TME's value is unlikely to take a significant hit anytime soon. I wonder how much this laptop is worth?
NC

Audi A1 quattro, 2012, 38k, £39,999

Like Nic, I was inspired by Dan's latest video on the Evo VI to find myself a rally hero, and I was equally excited by yesterday's requirement to source a track-worthy hot hatch for Six of the Best. The thought crossed my mind that a car to suit both would be fun - but barring Toyota's incoming GR Yaris, nothing really sprung to mind. Apart from one car, the Audi A1 Quattro - and they're remarkably few and far between.

Low and behold though, there's one up for sale on the classifieds, albeit for a quid short of forty grand. Of course the A1 quattro is a special run car dedicated to the legend that first bore the name and gets a 256hp 2.0-litre petrol motor with a six-speed manual. The all-wheel drive system provides immense traction so point to point pace defies its modest supermini footprint.

I love the honesty of having a only one drive mode (on) and the way this A1 wears a rear wing, turbine wheels and black panels so confidently. I think the quattro's mad but not overly so, managing to look racey but in an authentic OEM sort of way. And this 2012 car is one of only 19 that made it to Britain (and 333 ever made), so you're not going to see another like it on the road. It's a modern classic, for sure.

Mercedes-Benz 300SL, 1993, 78k, £9,995

This feels like an admission bordering on the confessional, but the appeal of a classic Mercedes SL is growing by the month - and confirmation of a new model has only increased that desire.

Why do I want one? It's hard to know, really, as I tend to prefer open-top cars with as little bodywork as possible and any Mercedes with as much engine as possible. Yet here I am advocating the six-cylinder entry point to the R129 SL range as strongly as I would any C63 or S600 - weird. Or perhaps not. See the AMG SLs, of which there will surely be another in due course, always felt a bit pointless to me. An SL should be about cruising, about looking good and presenting an air of insouciant confidence to the world. You shouldn't care about lap times and performance and G-forces - but an AMG product suggests you do. Hence the conscious decision to get a 300SL (presumably one of the last before the name change), however tempting a V8 would surely always prove. It shows you're very much not bothered about going quickly.

It's never going to be a fast car, the 300SL, but it's always going to be a handsome one, so that's exactly how I'd drive it: slowly, trying to look good. One will probably be easier than the other. But knowing I'd paid just £10k for something this stylish - and, at 78k, with so much life still left in it - would certainly make me feel good. However strange I might look driving it.