Skip to main content

Magazine

5 collector cars to put in your garage this week

Whether you’re a track-day regular who’s looking to truly understand the black-magic of downforce or someone who wants the satisfaction of being able to say you own the world’s fastest saloon car, we’ve got you covered with this week’s market selection…

Join the club

If the opinions of the experts we consulted at the beginning of the year are anything to go by, Ferrari Challenge and GT cars from the 1990s to the present will be hot property in 2019, thanks predominantly to the factory’s new Club Competizione GT, Challenge & GT Days at the Red Bull Ring, and both the Master and Global Endurance Legends series. This remarkably original Ferrari racing car was among the very first 360s converted to GT specification in 2001 by Michelotto in Padua and boasts extensive FIA GT race history. Suffice to say, it’s also eligible for all of the aforementioned events. Have you ever heard one of these cars at full chat? We have, and we’ll never ever forget it. 

The world’s fastest saloon

A four-door Jaguar saloon with performance levels (and a price tag) akin to a Porsche 911 GT3? You bet! The XE SV Project 8 shares only 20 percent of its parts with the humble four-door from which it derives, which goes to show how seriously Jaguar approached the task of building the world’s most extreme saloon car. Its five-litre supercharged V8 develops a staggering 592bhp, which, coupled with a clever four-wheel-drive system, enables the Project 8 to accelerate from 0–62mph in 3.7sec and onwards to 200mph. Jaguar’s Special Vehicles Operations will build just 300 Project 8s, though you can forego the wait and buy this unregistered example, fitted with the optional Track Pack, from the Classic Driver Market. 

The poster car of a generation

Twenty years after this black Lamborghini Diablo first left the factory gates in Sant’Agata and the V12 scissor-doored supercar still looks every bit as poster-worthy as it ever did. These early Diablos manage to miraculously blur the lines between elegance and all-out drama. And we recently spoke to an enthusiastic owner who told us that, contrary to popular opinion, they’re cars you can properly use and enjoy. This well-maintained 1992 Diablo shows just 17k miles on the clock. 

Tremendously torquey

Back in the mid-2000s, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG was the most powerful production convertible in the world. Equipped with a twin-turbo V12 that developed 612HP and a scarcely believable 737 lbs-ft of torque, uprooting trees felt more like the sort of task this luxury convertible was designed for than crushing continental motorway miles. This Tanzanite Blue example from 2004 is the best on the market according to its vendor, and at just 75,000 euros, is over 100,000 euros cheaper than it was new. Who are we to argue? 

Formula 1 for the masses?

Lotus’ T125 was a great example of then-CEO Danny Bahar’s ill-thought ambition. The goal was clear: to create a single-seater offering near-F1 levels of performance and a programme for elite gentlemen drivers to make the most of the car. Alas, the timing of the car’s arrival at the height of a global recession meant only a handful of the Cosworth-powered T125s were built, of which this JPS-liveried car is one. It’s allegedly ‘on the button’ and offered with a vast spares package. Are you brave enough to tame what Jeremy Clarkson referred to as ‘an absolute animal’? 

Photos: RM Sotheby’s, LBI Limited, Harri Asunta, Car-Iconics Ltd, Jan B. Lühn