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5 collector cars to put into your garage this week

Maybe he has been spoilt by driving to too many iconic sportscars during his 20 years at Classic Driver, but our Editor-in-Chief Jan Baedeker has a soft spot for unloved and overlooked marmite cars. So love it or hate it – here comes this week’s edition of Market Finds.

Stubble field racer

What’s Viper Green – but 700 kilos lighter than a GT3? While most modern sports cars are gaining weight with every new generation, the Ariel Nomad is one of the last flagbearers of the old wisdom that driving pleasure comes from an ideal power-to-weight ratio, not massive cubic capacities or four-figure horsepower gluttony. Painted in Porsche’s most flashy signature colour and with only 1.200 miles on the clock, this road-legal buggy might be the closest you will ever get to driving a life-sized RC car. 

Do it like the Romans

The Via Appia connected Rome with Brindisi and was one of the most important motorways of the Roman empire. Still today, driving the “queen of the long roads” – as the roman poet and early travel influencer Publius Papinius Statius used to call it – should be on every grand tourers bucket list. And as the Appian Way is not made of paving stones anymore, we cannot think of a more charismatic car to tackle the iconic drive than this aptly named, bright yellow 1962 Lancia Appia Sport Zagato. Unlike the Romans, the Ercole Spada-designed fastback coupe made it to Sweden in it’s early life and is now waiting for a new owner at the showroom of Mecanicus in Lutetia, err, Paris. 

 New hairdress, anyone?

Often referred to as the ‘Hairdresser’s Porsche’, the original Boxster was never truly accepted by the company’s traditional followers. Still, it was the Porsche 986 that saved the struggling brand at the turn of the millennium – so think it through, today’s GT3s and Taycan wouldn’t have been possible without the modest, mid-engined entry level sports cars with its fried eggs-style headlights. And beyond that, especially the 3.2 litre Boxster S – like this low mileage example currently for sale with LBI Limited – is delightful to drive. Saying that, we cannot wait to tackle the Swiss Alps in an early Porsche Boxster during the upcoming “Flitzerland II” tour of the Flitzer club.

Make mine a Capri 

Despite it’s uber-cool design and remarkable racing and rallying heritage, the Ford Capri has spent the last coupe of years in the shadow of Porsche’s and BMW’s iconic 1970s sportscars that dominated Instagram streams and magazine covers alike. So we thought it was time for a change – and included a Ford Capri RS in the three hero cars for our new Rennmeister project. If the orange livery and Rallye Monte Carlo pedigree is not enough for you, we recommend you take a look at this white, two-owner 1970 Ford Capri Mk1 1600 rolling on RS style wheels and offering lots of driving pleasure at a fraction of the cost of a contemporary Porsche 911 of BMW CSL.

Weird wonder 

If you are into independent sportscar brands and super low number production cars from the 1980s and 1990s, this might get you excited. This 1990 Venturi Transcup 260 Cabriolet is one of only 65 convertibles built by the French boutique manufacturer and is also a super-rare 260 hp version. With only two owners, just 15.000 kilometers on the clock, and a wild blue interior matching the exterior paint, this open-top Venturi would make even the most eclectic car collection more interesting and unusual.