Feature
From Milan to London: KALMAR 9X9’s 3000km Real-World Test Across Europe
Join us on KALMAR 9X9's 3,000km real-world test from Milan to London.
December 20, 2024
From one of the most wild, track-focused racers you can buy to a one-of-one special edition, here are our picks of the cars to hit the market this week.
2018 | 200km | €618,800
Let’s kick off with something totally wild and, admittedly, unrealistic for the vast majority of us. But, for those rich in both time and funds who dream of owning a proper Porsche racing car that could leave a Cup car in its dust, look no further than the GT2 RS Clubsport.
Limited to just 200 cars worldwide, this thing is every bit as crazy as it looks. It’s an uncompromising machine built purely for the track, and whilst Carrera Cup competitors make do with a paltry 510hp, thanks to twin turbochargers, the GT2 RS Clubsport puts out 700hp, just like the roadgoing version.
Quite predictably, it don’t come cheap, but there’s nothing quite like it from a driver’s point of view, and collectors should be equally keen, so if you can, good on you!
2019 | 1,650 Miles | £99,950
Coming much more down to earth in price, the Jaguar Project 8 actually isn’t much less rare than the GT2 RS Clubsport, with just 300 cars produced worldwide, all of which are left-hand drive. With styling that would look right at home on the grid at a round of DTM, the Project 8 is much more than an XE with a body kit.
Carbon fibre was used extensively to reduce weight and clever aero claims to add 122kg of downforce at 186mph. The thunderous supercharged V8 produces 592hp, and thanks to all-wheel drive, can hit 60mph in just 3.3 seconds, making it the fastest-accelerating Jaguar ever.
This particular car was originally supplied as a racing version, of which there were just 20, for a private race series for the Project 8, and the original owner did race the car once, but the series never really took off and the car has been converted by Jaguar back to road-going Track Pack spec. Of the 300, it looks like less than 50 currently reside in the UK, so it’s an exceptionally rare bit of kit to say you’ll get a few notes change out of a hundred grand.
2010 (60) | 7,125 Miles | £137,995
In many ways, a V12 Ferrari is king. Incredible pieces of engineering with almost unrivalled emotion, and for many, the ultimate symbol of achievement in life. Ferrari knows this, and the V12 is still going strong free of forced induction or electricity in the 12Cilindri, but at over £300k, it takes a lot of life achievements to own one!
The 599 GTB hit the scene in 2006 and its 612hp V12 was savagely powerful in its day, and still is now, even if its contemporary boasts another 200 on top of that! The HGTE handling package later came and made the 599 a truly rounded and desirable package, and despite just 7,000 miles on the clock, this example looks like cracking value for Ferrari’s legendary front V12, rear-drive layout.
2011 | 17,850 Miles | £179,995
After we recently featured an SLS Black Series up for £825k, members in our WhatsApp community overwhelmingly had their say in a poll that they didn’t see it as worth it. The regular SLS is quite a different car with more of a muscly cruiser reputation, but as I recently found out behind the wheel of a Roadster, the regular SLS can still dance at a decent pace.
This one looks incredible in red in my opinion, and whilst prices are way above what they once were, given that there’s nothing else like an SLS and never will be, we can easily see them continuing to rise. However much more this is than it would have been five years ago, £180k is a whole lot less than £825k for its hardcore brother!
2013 (63) | 17,632 Miles | £114,950
This may be a controversial one, but officially, this is a one-of-one special edition built by Porsche to celebrate five million fans on Facebook, where they gave said fans a selection of polls to choose the specification, resulting in this Aqua Blue car over white graphics and wheels.
More than just a styling exercise, the car is loaded with basically every concievable option including the official Powerkit which takes power up to 430hp, the Aero Kit Cup, switchable sports exhaust, Burmester High-End Surround Sound system and enough others to make this a very lengthy article.
When all is said and done, this is a 991.1 Carrera 4S, and you’ll pay over a double the going rate of a sandard C4S, but for a collector, this car is totally unique with a great story, and it even comes with a mini commemorative model!
2019 (69) | 11,500 Miles | £74,950
Since we started with something silly, let’s finish with a bargain. Some traditional Aston fans still aren’t sold on the company’s new era with the Mercedes-AMG engines, and I too am a particular fan of the old Vantage (particularly with a V12 wedged under the bonnet), but the Vantage is an absolutely mega car to drive.
The AMG V8 sounds incredible and it retains the special, mini muscle car feeling of the old Vantage, whilst taking performance and all-round ability to another level. The spec of this car suits it perfectly, looking aggressively classy (is that a thing?), and with just 11,500 miles on the clock, it’s up at £74,950. For me, it’s an incredibly appealing proposition at that price.
