MAXIMUM LUXURY
A LITTLE LIGHT ON CASH BUT WANT A TASTE OF THE HIGH LIFE? STEP THIS WAY...
£15K AND UNDER Mercedes SL (R129)
PRICE THEN/NOW: £58,045 (500 SL)/FROM £10K PROS Beautifully made, world class waftability, peerless lateEighties design
CONS Electrics are very complex so check everything; watch for header-rail hydraulic leaks; check for corrosion
The brief was maximum waft With this in mind there was bound to be a Mercedes in the final reckoning Which one though? I like the CL but it currently sits in that tricky used car purgatory where the jinglejangle outpoints incipient classic cool
So let’s go with the R SL instead a bulletproof neoclassic from the era when Mercedes’ commitment to engineering and its technical firepower put it on a different level to its rivals Thendesign boss Bruno Sacco rated this as his “perfect car” and we’d agree The early cars had a twotone slatted body side and more than years later look fresher than the ’ or ’ facelifts
Various six and eightcylinder engines and a V appeared under that long bonnet but circa k gets you a decent early SL bhp or from an SL or SL bhp As ever a bigger budget yields a better car from k you’ll get something that’s been properly cared for garaged and has FSH
£30K AND UNDER
Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S
PRICE THEN/NOW: £89,860/£27–35k PROS Timelessly elegant design, sublime engine, sound and chassis CONS Corrosion can be an issue; instrument cluster can be problematic; annual service is recommended to avoid leaks on gearbox seals; discs and pads need to be checked and replaced every 30k miles
Don’t be seduced by the siren call of one of the many bargain QPs that stud the small ads Nope Level up to the Sport GT S and while you’re paying more than double the money the result is a car that comes vastly closer to delivering on the flamboyant promises the QP always made
Former F driver Ivan Capelli finessed the later ZF automatic that transformed the car while the Sport GT S also ditches Maserati’s troublesome/useless Skyhook adaptive dampers in favour of fixed rate Bilsteins
What else? Well there’s a concave black grille with a red burst on the Trident logo in wheels oval exhaust pipes and an Alcantara/leatherswathed interior Those in the know are very clear that this a car to savour and it will look after you spiritually and financially if you look after it And that includes driving it regularly for this car doesn’t like sitting about twiddling its thumbs
£70K AND UNDER Rolls-Royce Phantom
PRICE THEN/NOW: £214,500 (BEFORE OPTIONS)/FROM £70K PROS Still looks modern almost 20 years later, build quality, astonishing refinement
CONS Aluminium body panels are difficult and expensive to repair; cam covers can seep oil; pressure control valves need to be replaced
The first new RollsRoyce to appear under BMW ownership the seventhgen Phantom was designed by a select team in a former bank building in London Underpinned by a new aluminium chassis and powered by a £bhp ¤ ¥litre V the Phantom is all about the sense of occasion the occupants derive from being onboard a car the size of a small but intensely wellappointed building
Air springs aid a ride that eclipses any magic carpet yet there’s surprising grip and poise if you raise the tempo Everything you touch is expensively tactile and exquisitely well made© the dashboard is a leather and veneer cliff face and while the connectivity might seem old hat actually that sense of digital detox suits the car’s aim to repel the outside world and its relentless interruptions Still unique then
Should you take the plunge it obviously won’t be cheap to run Avoid a leggy car if you can and use a reputable specialist Main dealer servicing is much pricier