Cyptolambo 2 is dead.... kindai goes car shawping

[kindai]

Hey all!

So as some of you may have read last week the cryptolambo 2 went off to a new loving home.

Alas, I am no @Housey so picking up a Polo was absolutely out of the question, so in the meantime, picked up this absolute monster.

Spoiler

120000 miles, 105 rampaging horsepowers, and less to tax, insure and fill it up for a year than 1 month lambo ownership. Ha.

Anyway, now on the hunt for a new car.

Initially, was looking at a 720s, the prices of them have come down a lot, and they are next level mental. The problem is, much like now, where do you go "after" that?

Accordingly, after some discussions with @Gibbo on the drive up to drop the lambo off, it seems sensible to "drop down" a couple of levels, so can have that enjoyment again of buying bigger and better.

So, will document test drives, thoughts, impressions, etc on this thread.

For those with suggestions. I am budgetting under £100k, and ideally aiming for the £50k-£75k area. Am willing to go higher towards that 100k mark for a really special car.

Color wise, must be interesting. Aka no blacks, greys or whites.

Spyder/Roadster preferred though again for something really special, may consider a coupe.

 

[kindai]

So first up was an AMG GT-R. There was one local and a quick test drive didnt really do anything for me. There just wasnt that connection with the car itself. This was a matte black car so still kept my eye out for a green one.

Shortly after Scott Hardy had one come in, so went along with Gibbo for a few test drives.



As before, there was just no connection with the car, I got into it and it just didnt do anything for me. No rhyme or reason, it just doesnt click.

 

[kindai]

Next up was this McLaren 570GT.

In the flesh it is an absolutely stunning car. Moreso than the pictures do it justice.

Yea, it needed a bit of TLC here and there, but the spec was absolutely spot on.



The guys chucked us the keys and off we went. The brakes were a bit offputting at first, as they didnt have that absolutely brutal stopping feeling that the Aventador did, but after getting used to it and some egging on from Gibbo started to play with it a little.

It was a wet and cold day, but after getting some warmth in the tyres, it would tyre hop slightly flooring it in second but then hook up. Feeling was it is like a giant go-cart, you are right over the front end and can feel what the car is doing.

If I was going to go for the GT though I would want one with CCX brakes, it may have just been this car or it may be all 570GT cars but the steelies were not confidence inspiring.

 

[kindai]

Getting back from the GT drive they had this 570S spyder waiting for us.

A quick hop over and off we went with the roof down down the same route.



The brakes in this were a lot more immediate and confidence inspiring. And after getting some tyre temps, was having a play again more at home in the car.

The open top though is what did it for me. It was the one thing I really missed in the Aventador, so it kind of sealed the deal whatever I end up buying will 99% be a convertible of some sort.

Got back and while the exterior of the car was lovely, the interior was just too far out there.

They had an amazing higher milage 570S Spyder there also, but as I will be piling miles on, taking a 40k car and adding another 20-30k is going to put it into unsellable territory.

Id just like to thank Scott Hardy for the trust they gave us with the cars, quite literally chucking us the keys and sending us off with trade plates, as well as the amazing hospitality.

 

[kindai]

After some further thoughts and remembering how amazing Gibbos F-Type SVR is, spotted this amazing example online.



Right colors, right options, right spec.

Ding ding ding. And then a couple of days before I was off to see it, Gibbo was at Auto100 and said the car looked clean.

Rang up, and booked a drive as well as a holding deposit, I genuinely expected to go test drive it and do a deal.

However, after running some checks, the last 2 years service history is missing. Rang up Jag and they have no record of official servicing, which is weird as they are cheap even for main dealer.

Did some more followups with the dealer and they likewise cant find the last 2 years history. Ok, not a problem, proposed that they have a catch up service done, have the car inspected by Jag and then warranty the car. Seems reasonable no? Well, according to the dealer, no, they wouldnt agree to that.

So, asked for my deposit back which they did the same day and moved on.

Absolute shame.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Next up was this McLaren 570GT.

In the flesh it is an absolutely stunning car. Moreso than the pictures do it justice.

Yea, it needed a bit of TLC here and there, but the spec was absolutely spot on.



The guys chucked us the keys and off we went. The brakes were a bit offputting at first, as they didnt have that absolutely brutal stopping feeling that the Aventador did, but after getting used to it and some egging on from Gibbo started to play with it a little.

It was a wet and cold day, but after getting some warmth in the tyres, it would tyre hop slightly flooring it in second but then hook up. Feeling was it is like a giant go-cart, you are right over the front end and can feel what the car is doing.

If I was going to go for the GT though I would want one with CCX brakes, it may have just been this car or it may be all 570GT cars but the steelies were not confidence inspiring.

I quite like the 570. I’ve heard from lots of sources that the tyres and brakes take a lot to warm up and that the brakes are tricky when cold. I’m getting too old for all that, just give me AWD and something that sticks. Out of the lot it’d be the S for me without the top.

Not fancying anything electric?

 

[kindai]

Next up was this Audi R8 spyder.



This was on collecting cars, and the equivalent on AT is around £75k.

Pros
Already has broken main dealer history, so can take it to Litchos
Amazing color
Well specced
Already modded
Spyder

Cons
No ability to inspect the car prior to bidding
Unknown quality of mods
Has been re-upholstered
No front lift


Regardless I set myself an upper limit of 60k. Annoyingly I had initially thought 65K which would have snagged this car, but nevermind.

The R8 market right now is in freefall. The last 5 days, 15 cars have come on the market.

R-tronics cant be given away, and everything else is dropping price quickly. I have put some lowball offers out there knowing full well they are lowball offers, but buying any R8 at asking or premium prices right now is just stupid.

I have a test drive in a Gen 2 pre facelift spyder next week. So that should be fun.

 

[dlockers]

Not fancying anything electric?

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Why are R8s falling?

 

[kindai]

’ve heard from lots of sources that the tyres and brakes take a lot to warm up and that the brakes are tricky when cold

I was a bit wary at first, but after Gibbo poked me a bit got into it quite well, personally felt once id adjusted to going from the Aventador to the steel brakes that it was a fantastic car and could be quite playful.

 

[kindai]

Why are R8s falling?

If I had to guess a lot of covid financed cars flooding the market now theyve come to the end of their term or close to it.

 

[kindai]

This 570GT popped up today,

Exterior, absolutely stunning. MSO paint, all the carbon, ceramic brakes. Specced really well as well.



However, the interior has a 2 tone cream which is just YUK in my opinion. If it was an easy replacement then id of sorted it out, the seats and the door cards are simple enough. Unfortunately they also have it on the dash so, bleh.

On top of that, not a spyder. So that + meh inside means its not a contender.

 

[Gibbo]

As we have discussed but for me you have four solid candidates:

R8 V10 Gen2 Spyder: Cheap Huracan basically, AWD grip all year round, epic noise, good looking, generally reliable but watch out for gearbox issues and cheap. A little too easy to drive fast and need to be driven fast to be enjoyed their downside for me.

McLaren 570GT: truly an overlooked car by many absolutely amazing ride so comfy and so damn capable as a b road car or doing road trips, economical, cheap to tax if 2017 or newer (same for all cars), a true supercar and a surreal driving experience. Not a Spyder though!

McLaren 570S Spider: For me this is your perfect car if you can find one I feel. The drop top does not compromise the cars looks or handling/ride in anyway, beauty of a carbon tub, also the best mix of true supercar that is very handy on track but also works great on road with decent comfort. Roof or window down sounds great and there is 600, 720 or 750 to upgrade too.

F-Type SVR: all year round traction, generally reliable and cheap to run. Quickest off the line by some margin in real world use due to no silly launch controls and epic power and sound. Handling is capable but also not that engaging but still a fun car and decent for racking up the miles.

Aston Martin DB11, absolute bargains now in the 65-75k range, of course get the V12 and even though it is blown it still sounds good and is a bit of a bargain. Maybe not you though and it is more GT than any of the above cars.

Other option an 8 speed Vanquisg as they have the godlike sounding NA V12 with 565HP and a love handling and steering feel but again very much a GT rather than sports or supercar but I’d say a safe place for your money and Aston Timeless warranty is decent.

Personally I’d try to buy any of the above from a main dealer as it’s worth paying a 3-5k premium over a private or car dealer to get the proper warranty and in theory a better example. However finding a perfect private example that is priced fairly with warranty intact is the real winner, if you can.

 

[kindai]

As Gibbo Said, DB11 was also on the list. Kind of still is potentially.

This one at Baytree caught my eye, but will try one locally first.

 

[Rroff]

We obviously have very different tastes but that AM is the only one which does anything for me.

 

[Simon]

Think you need to drive an F tyre SVR

 

[theone8181]

Surprised you didn't try a Ferrari, or has gibbo copyrighted use of them . What about something like a noble (I've not checked to see if they are still made, or a softtop). If you're feeling brave, TVR?

 

[Housey]

Sagaris is worth a try and 991 GT3

 

[Gibbo]

Think you need to drive an F tyre SVR

This as no other car will match the savage power delivery, for me it’s the highlight of the SVR the instant torque and power at any RPM really makes the car and nothing will ever beat you at a set of traffic lights or sound better and it’s so repeatable and in any conditions.

So deffo get behind the wheel of one and at around 50k they are just a bargain now and from your list of cars also probably the cheapest to own. 30+ mpg on trips, cheap to insure and servicing £300-600 a time.

Just don’t tune one mine was awesome and my mate tuned his and it just ruined the car, Jaguar did a great job on this but get a pre OPF one they sound way better so 2016-2018 I think that is.

 

[Gibbo]

Surprised you didn't try a Ferrari, or has gibbo copyrighted use of them . What about something like a noble (I've not checked to see if they are still made, or a softtop). If you're feeling brave, TVR?

As good as they are:

360 - quite a raw experience and the F1 is not good, so needs be manual and don’t think that is up Kindai street.
430 - potentially a good shout but like 360 they are old cars now and servicing can be very expensive.
458 - epic but decent ones are 120-130k