jayc67

I researched the Lotus pretty heavily 6 or 7 years ago and the answer to those questions at the time seemed to me to be all "no".

The car is harder to source parts, requires more ongoing maintenance, and is harder to work on than the 928. I'm speaking of the pre-V8 cars (mid to late 80's and early 90's), I didn't look at any newer models.

Even with, at the time, a few years experience working on the 928 I decided the Lotus was going to require paying someone to do most of the work, raising the cost to levels I wasn't interested in.

BPG_Austin

I've always liked the jaguar xkr coupes. Supercharged and 400hp. I believe the earlier cars can be had for less than 20k. They are pretty.

pcar928fan

^^^^^^^
REALLY?! An R can be had for even IN the $20's?! That would be a REAL bargain, and I agree with you Ben I always thought they were quite beautiful too! The current version even more so, but the old ones have a smooth, soft, organic feel/look to them that the current version has lost. I like them!

john bono

Actually, 13k, give or take.

pcar928fan

^^^^^
For an R model?! WOW! That is AMAZING!

john bono

Yeah, that's one of the cars I've been looking at when I haven't been looking at 928s. I've seen a 6spd 850 going for under 15k not that far away from me. They're damn big cars, though.

Or, if you look farther away, 8K

EspritS4s

With regards to the question of Esprit ownership, I haven't found it any more challenging than 928 ownership. I've owned my S4s since 2000, and haven't had any major problems. The Yahoo Turbo Esprit group is active with a lot of knowledgeable contributors and has been around since the 90's. I don't agree that Esprit's are harder to work on either. The biggest difference between the two communities, in my opinion, is the size. There were far fewer Esprits manufactured than 928s. That means finding parts can be more of a challenge. However, if you're comfortable in a 928 engine bay, then you shouldn't worry about wrenching on an Esprit. Here's a picture of my S4s:

Daniel Dudley

I beleive a guy on Pelican has one ''listed'' in OT for 22 right now. Using it as a feeler.

James-man

Like!

Got any pictures of you wrenching?

MattCarp

Does anyone know if that Bugatti that went diving in Houston is on craigslist?

Speaking of those supercars, I don't think the Pagani, Koenigsegg, or Bugatti will ever qualify as inexpensive! Those things definitely make my 928 feel like a Camaro!

Roy928tt

Sadly when all is said and done there are no inexpensive "supercars" all of the cars mentioned never were "supercars" they were expensive cars, and they have lost alarming amounts of value. True supercars retained thier halo, the Miura,Daytona, Countach, 959,288GTO, F40, F50 etc.held the crown and still hold the crown. The rest were also rans,many are a great buy for the enthusiast now, a la 928,but were never top of the heap in thier day.

Personally I'd rather nothing more than the 928 in my garage, everything else for me is to modern, to complex and to heavy.

Cheers Roy

Nightfly

I think the term supercar is a bit incorrect; for the most part, exotic is a better description. Because, rarity as well as expense is what we're mostly talking about, here, at least when first sold. After all, you can build a Mustang or Evo (and of course, a Corvette) that will soundly thrash most cars mentioned for a fraction of the price using racing parts. But is that what you really want to drive? I think this was basically a thread about what you could buy for a reasonable price, and yet have something that you could look at, drive, and say to yourself, "that is truly one beautiful, fine piece of machinery", and not be kidding yourself. My 928 fits the bill; I've only seen ONE on the road other than my own in the last 30 years. While it was never the absolute fastest (the 12 cylinder Italians were always a bit quicker over the years), it's plenty quick for me. At my height and build, I probably would never fit into any of the older 'exotic' mid engine cars; so the only cars that I'd look forward to owning should the finances allow, would be a Ford GT, Shelby 350 gt, and a Boss 302 Mustang. Unless I win the lottery, a Ferrari of the type I would like will forever remain out of reach.

Cheryl Carter

Joe, do you have any other pics of your Pantera? Looks gorgeous. How quick were the stock versions? Are they expensive/troublesome to maintain aside from natural aging issues?

Here's an interesting example.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1972-...item2eaa6c4a7a

polecat702

Hi Cheryl, Here's a picture of the "Polecat" from the rear. I've only had a computer a little over a year, so I'am still a novice at posting pictures. A fellow rennlister came over and showed me how to put a picture in my avatar. I havn't paid off all the transaxel work switching from a five speed to the new 6 speed, still owe four grand on a 20 grand job. The car is still in Ca..
The Pantera was fast in it's day and still is in stock form, 150 MPH was no problem. Most Pantera's are modified. The biggest issue with them is rust. My car has been stripped to bear metal and every metal surface has been zink coated and the areas where water collects have been drilled for drainage. During it's 24 year production run only 7000 Panters were built. They are rare. My car is not a true GT 5, it'a a 74 "L" made to look like a GT 5. The sugar scoop, and wing were added first, and the metal wheel arches were added by Wilkinson Pantera about two years later when I had the car painted black. It was red originally, no Panteras were painted black at the factory. Also at that time the floor pans were changed out with 2" dropped pans for more room in the cabin. All GT 5's came with these pans from the factory. The stock fuse panels were troublesome and an after market upgrade is available, and can be changed out on a couple of hours. The Panters owners are very similar to 928 owners. Over the years we have worked to not only fix the bugs, but improve and keep the Pantera current with the other Italian exotics. Because the Pantera is powered by a Ford small block it's not that costly to make them perform as well as the $300,000.00 super cars and the Pantera just blows them away in the looks dept.
Living in Vegas we see a lot of the Lambos and Ferraris here. When ever we take the Pantera out it always draws a crowd. People always want to know what it is, is it new, how fast will it go, what did it cost? It's my favorite car, and I love owning, and driving it. Believe it or not it's as much fun to drive now as it was the first time I slid behind the wheel. And for WIW, no car eever gets the reaction from people like the Pantera when you hear it running. It has that unique "Pantera Sound" it sets off car alarms as it passes by. I'll post some more pictures, I'll have to dig some out. Thanks for asking, Joe

Cheryl Carter

It's a beautiful and very exotic car. Thanks for posting the picture; I'd love to see more when and if you get the chance. Thanks for taking the time.