Posts Tagged ‘thecarspy.net’

Porsche Cayman S Sport Limited Edition

Posted: February 13, 2009 by The Car Spy in Porsche
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Here’s another car that looks good in white. Standing next to this Cayman S Sport the car looks bigger than the standard Cayman. White seems to give the car a bit more road presence and the black detailing adds a nice touch of contrast. Did you know that Cayman’s are assembled in Finland? Seems like our Nordic cousins are building nice motors as well as mobile phones for the world! They probably have the best drivers in the world too. Anyway back to the white Cayman. This is a limited edition example of 700 ‘specials’ that Porsche produced before the most recent facelift took place. So what’s different about the Sport S? Well, they came in some pretty wild colours for starters – Bright Orange, Signal Green, Speed Yellow and Guards Red. Black and Arctic Silver were available to the more conservative purchaser. They were slightly quicker than the standard 3.4’s because a tuned exhaust was fitted which upped the number of horses to 303. It also sounds a bit more rorty. What else? Well there’s a gorgeous alcantara steering wheel and the instrumentation pod loses its cowling. 19″ Alloys came as standard with ‘Cayman S’ stickering down both flanks. The car was also lowered a tad by 0.4 inches. So there you have it. This is a Cayman which still offers the crackerjack ride of the ‘standard’ car but offers a touch of individuality that makes it stand out in the pub car park. The Carrera White one referred to here is up for sale as a brand new, unregistered car with big savings on the original list price. It also has the rare Tiptronic gearbox option fitted. Give us a call on 0845 643 2047 for more details or click here to view this Cayman S Sport in all its glory.

2005 Porsche 911 GT3

Posted: February 1, 2009 by The Car Spy in Porsche
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Sitting snugly in the bucket seats of a GT3 you get the feeling that this is a 911 that leans more towards the Lotus Elise/TVR school of thought that less is more. ‘Lightweight’ is the key word here which is why a 0-60 time of 4.0 seconds is easily achieved in a car that has few of the creature comforts associated with most showroom-ready 911’s. What is the point you may well ask? Well Porsche had already made quite a name for itself on the track up to the late 90’s and the factory had a strong presence at Le Mans up until 1999 when it decided to hand the baton to Audi. The GT class was the new focus for Porsche and hence the series of homologation specials that started the run of GT cars for the road. These are not warmed-over versions of your bog-standard 911. Oh no, the GT3 comes with a completely different engine. The displacement might be similar (3600cc) but interestingly the engine and gearbox design is based on the older air-cooled version. Incredibly this gives the GT3 a racing heritage that dates back to the 1960’s with the 904/906 from that period. Just shows you how good the boys at Pawsha are at combustion engineering! Titanium engine components help reduce weight even further and with 380bhp on tap this is a car that feels seriously quick. 80% of the engine’s torque is present at only 2000 rpm. Yummy! For the record Walter Rohl managed to chuck the car around the ‘Ring in 7 minutes 56 seconds so it ain’t no slouch. Apart from the GT3 badges and the big double-decker rear spoiler there is not a great deal to set this rare 911 apart from it’s lower-powered stablemates. Which is cool if you don’t want any unwelcome attention otherwise go for the RS version with its loud stickering emblazoned down its flanks. If you are looking for a nice Seal Grey example with the optional CD and climate control then get in touch because we have just placed one on our books on behalf of the current owner. Click here for full details

2007 BMW 635d Sport

Posted: January 20, 2009 by The Car Spy in BMW
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It seems like 2003 was only yesterday which means the BMW E63/64 6-series has now been around for a grand total of six years.  It certainly created heated debate amongst those who either loved or hated Chris Bangle’s interpretation of the original 6-series from the 70’s. Bangle’s radical designs no longer seem to jar now though and if anything have improved like a good wine over the years. He used to say that his cars didn’t photograph well and that you should judge them in the flesh. Standing next to a 6-series coupe you can see his point although this particular example of his work seems  photogenic enough to us. Nice swoopy lines with a touch of muscle in the wide arches give this car tons of road presence and with big alloys it certainly looks the business. If you buy one with the 3 litre twin turbo diesel you get fantastic economy to go with the film-star looks. BMW quote a combined fuel consumption figure of 40.9 mpg while keeping the CO2 emissions down to a respectable 182 g/km! Couple that with 286bhp, 155 mph top speed and a 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds and you start to wonder why anybody would want the petrol-engined version. The other nice thing about 6-series ownership is that there are not too many to be found on this tiny, cold, damp little island of our’s. Tell people you own a 635 and they’ll be desperately trying to conjure up an image of what the car looks like. It’s a BMW though so it must be good but at least the pub car park won’t be full of them! If all that has whetted your appetite then take look at the 635d Sport we have been asked to sell on behalf of the owner. Finished in Space Grey with Black Dakota leather this 2007 example comes with all of the toys and still has the remainder of a BMW warranty. Click here for full details.

R8 v Gallardo

Posted: December 28, 2008 by The Car Spy in Audi, General, Lamborghini
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Choices, choices, choices. Life is full of them and some are harder to make than others, particularly when it comes to cars. The R8 and the Gallardo are related of course through their VW parentage and the two cars share a number of similar though not necessarily identical components. Sitting in the R8 reminds you of sitting in a Gallardo and vice versa. They even share that peculiar electronic whirring and chattering noise that occurs when the key is turned in the ignition or strangely a few seconds after the engine is switched off. Apparently it’s to do with the sequential gearbox jiggery-pokery. Did VW intend for the R8 to compete head-on with its Italian cousin? Probably not. After all the Lambo is at least another £30k more expensive fresh out of the factory. In the pre-owned market however it’s a bit more of a level playing field. Gallardo’s have become plentiful as opposed to R8’s which have been drip-fed into the market. The upshot is that second-hand values for each car are starting to reach parity and £70k will now buy you either one of these temptresses. So it’s one of those head or heart scenarios then. The Gallardo is vocal. Don’t plan on creeping about in one – you will always be noticed. The R8 will bark but only if you push it hard otherwise it is comfortably subdued. The Italian offers a raw driving experience and makes you concentrate hard. The German makes you feel supremely confident and that whatever happens the R8 will save you from disaster. In the looks department they will both draw crowds. The square-jawed egdy Gallardo appears as mad as a Lambo should. The R8 is an abundance of curves and curious detailing that makes you want to walk round the car all day long. So which would you buy? It’s a tough choice for sure. If it helps we have an example of each ready to be sold on behalf of their current owners. Both are in black (doh!) but at least the Gallardo is a cabriolet (and therefore a tad more expensive than the R8). Nice low miles, good specs and totally cared-for, they are in every respect very similar. Click here for the lowdown on the R8 and here for the Gallardo. Head or heart?

2007 VW Touareg 2.5 Tdi SE

Posted: December 27, 2008 by The Car Spy in General, Volkswagen
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Remember those Barclaycard adverts featuring Rowan Atkinson from a few years back? One of them featured his ‘Johnny English’ character droning on about the nomadic people of the Sahara desert called the ‘Touareg’ while carrying a roll of carpet he had unwittingly set fire to. “What a great name for a 4×4!” exclaimed the person charged with coming up with something original for the VW marketing suits to get their teeth into for their forthcoming 4×4. Much better than cousin Porsche’s ‘Cayenne’ which is a town in French Guiana. Or maybe it’s that particularly hot chili pepper. Either way it doesn’t ring bells the way Touareg does for the VW sand-crab.  It does beg the question though – is the Touareg the chariot of choice for the Touareg? No chance. It’s still the trusty 4×4 camel that needs no petrol or diesel or a visit to the local dealership for an oil change. The Bratislava-born VW Touareg belongs firmly in the arena of desirable go-anywhere suv’s that so many people still aspire too and there’s now’t wrong with that. They look fantastic value these days too – a nicely specified example could have cost upwards of £40k when purchased new, just like the one we have recently placed on the market for the current owner. Finished in Atacama Grey with Charcoal Leather interior this 2007 2.5 litre diesel model comes with SatNav, front heated seats, parking sensors, roof rails, alloys and whole lot more. Click here for further details if your budget is well under £20k!

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