Probably not the first thing that comes to mind when talking about "exotics", but it does have some of the attributes:
Probably not the first thing that comes to mind when talking about "exotics", but it does have some of the attributes:
Ian F said:In reply to stroker :
This bit is a tad scary:
(Same engine that's used for the Ferrari F-430)
I believe part of the problem with a late model Maserati is you get Ferrari maintenance and parts costs without the Ferrari badge. Although I would imagine there is a DIY community for these (maybe on F-chat?).
I don't disagree with you about having a manual transmission, but unfortunately the choices are getting slim.
The primary market sure loves their automatic convertibles, don't they?
stroker said:But I found the "Budget Supercar" segments on YouTube.
Now I'm wondering about Mondials, Urracos and Meraks. I even did a bit of CL cruising.
So what's the "affordable" Italian Supercar that doesn't require extravagant maintenance?
I think you took the wrong lesson away from that segment 
BTW, using "as fast as a Z06" as a metric is kinda missing the point. Z06s are massive performance for the price, but there's more to life than simple numbers. Really, if you use the Z06 metric, all other cars should no longer be in production and the entire vehicle market should consist of nothing but Z06s valued at 25% of their original selling price.
Personally, I've thought about an Alfa Romeo Montreal.
Keith Tanner said:stroker said:But I found the "Budget Supercar" segments on YouTube.
Now I'm wondering about Mondials, Urracos and Meraks. I even did a bit of CL cruising.
So what's the "affordable" Italian Supercar that doesn't require extravagant maintenance?
I think you took the wrong lesson away from that segment
man so did I. that segment has stayed with me. i had just figured that in Europe they must get a wider variety or something
Keith Tanner said:stroker said:But I found the "Budget Supercar" segments on YouTube.
Now I'm wondering about Mondials, Urracos and Meraks. I even did a bit of CL cruising.
So what's the "affordable" Italian Supercar that doesn't require extravagant maintenance?
I think you took the wrong lesson away from that segment
BTW, using "as fast as a Z06" as a metric is kinda missing the point. Z06s are massive performance for the price, but there's more to life than simple numbers. Really, if you use the Z06 metric, all other cars should no longer be in production and the entire vehicle market should consist of nothing but Z06s valued at 25% of their original selling price.
Personally, I've thought about an Alfa Romeo Montreal.
For you Keith.
eAs someone that's driven a Montreal back to back with my '73 GTV, I always thought the GTV was the better driver. The Montreal was somewhat exotic, but somehow not that special in compared to other Alfas of the period. And it was only marginally faster with more weight on the front. But they are nice looking with nothing else on the road like it. And the V8 sounded nice of course. 
The Fiat Dino's used to be affordable alternatives but they've gone up in price so much to where some Ferraris are actually cheaper. Personally I've always wanted to build an Abarth X1/9 replica with an Alfa V6, even though the originals came with the 2 liter twin cam.
If I just wanted something that was fast, I'd get a $20k Z06 Most of the Italian exotics are not an overwhelming drive. But they're exotic and gorgeous and something you want regardless.
Although i consider them to be hideous, how about the Qvale Mangusta?
No mention of 928s yet? Solid performance numbers, fairly robust mechanicals, cool flippy headlights. And they go for under 20k all day.
In reply to NickD :
928's Rock! They're kinda exotic too. They drive better than most of the cars listed here, except the Z06...
The trouble is finding someone to work on it if you're not a GOOD mechanic. They are not a simple car and some of the systems require a fair amount of talent to make work properly. In the SF Bay Area, there are about three places I would take a 928 and none of them are near me.
I suppose this would be the case for all of these cars but oddly, there are several places that can maintain a Ferrari, Maserati, etc that won't touch a 928 in the South Bay (San Jose).
Get a good 928S4 or a GTS and you'll have an kinda exotic, pretty fast car.
Would not recommend an urraco/silhouette/jalpa as "affordable" in terms of maintenance. Especially since the urraco is legendary at belt snaps, tension issues and rebuilding heads, the silhouette suffers more issues than the jalpa, and the jalpa is legendary for head issues due to poor gasket exposure to the heads from wet sleeve design and require substantial effort in head repair.
On top of this there's so many things in the designs of the engines that require an awful lot of effort. If you are truly determined to DIY it isn't ... eh.... "horrific" i suppose, but i wouldn't put it in the world of "affordable" if you're looking for modern day car maintenance. They are always, always needing something. I love mine, but I think it'd be a horrible idea as a "budget supercar" anymore. If you are smitten with them and feel like you need one in your life, do it. But in terms of time and maintenance in comparison to other cars of the time and era, there are others that are far better "bang for buck" so to speak.
NickD said:No mention of 928s yet? Solid performance numbers, fairly robust mechanicals, cool flippy headlights. And they go for under 20k all day.
I hardly ever see 928s anymore these days. I think by comparison since they are becoming so rare could be an exceptionally cool idea.
corsepervita said:NickD said:No mention of 928s yet? Solid performance numbers, fairly robust mechanicals, cool flippy headlights. And they go for under 20k all day.
I hardly ever see 928s anymore these days. I think by comparison since they are becoming so rare could be an exceptionally cool idea.
Need I say anymore?
If you include the 928 as exotic, you should also include the bmw 850i.
corsepervita said:Would not recommend an urraco/silhouette/jalpa as "affordable" in terms of maintenance. Especially since the urraco is legendary at belt snaps, tension issues and rebuilding heads, the silhouette suffers more issues than the jalpa, and the jalpa is legendary for head issues due to poor gasket exposure to the heads from wet sleeve design and require substantial effort in head repair.
I dunno man, when I was a kid my aunt had a Silhouette and it didn't seem to bad for her. A/C problems are REALLY rough though, I do remember that much; it's all the way at the firewall and you need to extract the engine to get to it.
I mean, it's a stretch to call it an exotic but I'll admit it was pretty flashy when it came out. What kid didn't have THIS on their wall?
In reply to P3PPY :
Excellent! As Johnny T sez in Get Shortie , "It's the Cadillac of minivans!" Can't get much more exotic than that!
But the Trans Sport was the Trans Am of vans!
GCrites80s said:But the Trans Sport was the Trans Am of vans!
I really gotta say that I am sorely disappointed here:
NOTHING. >:/
P3PPY said:corsepervita said:Would not recommend an urraco/silhouette/jalpa as "affordable" in terms of maintenance. Especially since the urraco is legendary at belt snaps, tension issues and rebuilding heads, the silhouette suffers more issues than the jalpa, and the jalpa is legendary for head issues due to poor gasket exposure to the heads from wet sleeve design and require substantial effort in head repair.
I dunno man, when I was a kid my aunt had a Silhouette and it didn't seem to bad for her. A/C problems are REALLY rough though, I do remember that much; it's all the way at the firewall and you need to extract the engine to get to it.
I mean, it's a stretch to call it an exotic but I'll admit it was pretty flashy when it came out. What kid didn't have THIS on their wall?
That legitimately made my day
Some people just want to watch the world burn.
Y'know, the more I watch of Jeremy Clarkson the more I come to the conclusion he's running a few pints low on humility.
LanEvo said:The 360 Modena is easy to find and higher mileage examples aren’t any more expensive than a new BMW M3. They also sold a bunch in cool colors, like various shades of blue ... so you don’t have to be that douche in a bright red Ferrari.
I guess that makes me a douche in your book. When searching for a Modena I was on for hunt for TDF blue as my first pick because I just love the color. I ended up finding a gated 360 in Rossa Corsa off market and jumped on it. While red wasnt my first choice, it is a classic Ferrari color and I’ve grown to love it. I was shuffling the garage around one day and took the pic below. The 6.0 SEC looks black, but is actually dark blue.
stroker said:Y'know, the more I watch of Jeremy Clarkson the more I come to the conclusion he's running a few pints low on humility.
Pints? Gallons.
That along with the fact that he almost always fails makes it funny to laugh at him
Keith Tanner said:I think you took the wrong lesson away from that segment
I took the "Top Gear is definitely entertainment ONLY" lesson away from it. One egregiously terrible thing about it was that Hammond's car, as I recall, was perfectly reliable but because they had to have every car fail the challenge they set it up to fail by giving a completely impossible and arbitrary MPG target for it to hit. I don't remember the numbers - it's been since it first came out that I last watched it - but it was the equivalent of taking a 13mpg Escalade, putting 10 gallons of gas in it, and saying "Now, you have to drive 200 miles." It made no sense and just drove home the "nothing in this show should actually be treated as information" point to me.
It was pretty funny watching Clarkson trying to do the spark plugs on a mid-engined car. It was like watching Louie Anderson try to do ballet.
My dalliance with a Fiat Dino was enough to turn me off to exotic car ownership for life. I'd much rather own something I can order parts for online or find in a junkyard or swap meet. For the money they cost to buy and maintain superior performance awaits in numerous other cars. I guess if you are really into the "look at me!" aspect of car ownership they make sense.
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