Maserati 4200GT (2001-2007)

For the cachet of owning a marque steeped in heritage with a Ferrari- developed V8 under the bonnet, look no further than the overlooked and commonly undervalued 4200GT which first broke cover at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2001.

It was available initially as a drop top Spyder, with the coupé arriving a year later; it was the more sophisticated replacement for the actually quite similar looking 3200. Drive was to the rear wheels, which made harnessing 390bhp quite a challenge, and the operation of that rear-mounted six-speed transmission could be done via a paddle-shift cambiocorsa (race change) system which added extra drama.

Of course it was quick as well as beautiful in a subtle kind of way; 0- 60mph came along in just 4.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 178mph, not that going this quick is likely to be top of your agenda we trust. The upshot of all this is that it’s a beautiful car to drive with bags of power, endless torque and true Italian charm when you’re sat behind the wheel.

The only caveat when buying is to go into it with your eyes wide open, and perhaps stick to the marque specialists as the feisty GT has real wallet-busting potential if it goes wrong or needs work. Costing the best part of £60,000 new, these cars weren’t exactly commonplace even then, so finding one now in the right condition at the right price near to you might take patience. When we looked, the cheapest one, a 2004 with 80k miles, was being advertised by a private vendor for a paltry £9500.

We’d pay a bit more, say £12,000, for one at a dealer for peace of mind. Can values of something this exotic remain this low for that much longer, we wonder?