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Richard Dredge's batmobile

I had some classic car-owning friends round for dinner the other evening; why is it that on these occasions, the conversation seems to revolve exclusively around cars and the question always arises of what we hanker after? They were fans of the Rover P6 and I’ve owned my Triumph Vitesse for 14 years, so we started discussing what we’d replace our steeds with.

With a budget of £6000, should I go for something pre-war but usable, such as a Morris Eight? Or perhaps something more recent would be in order – but it would have to be pre-1973 for the free road tax. That really opens up the field, because Sixties and Seventies cars are frequently so under-valued. A Lancia Fulvia would be something rather different, but then a Rover P5B could be just what the doctor ordered (and he frequently did, for himself, when the cars were new).

Or I could go almost modern; having written a feature on the Renault GTA a few years back, they’ve always struck me as unfeasibly good value. Six grand nets you a superb example and they seem to have no real downsides.

Of course I don’t need to blow six big ones on something desirable; just half that sum will secure me a mint Peugeot 205GTi (if I can find one), or there’s the constantly overlooked Maserati Biturbo. But I’m not a gambling man, and any Maser of this vintage is just too much of a risk to take on.

So for now I’ll keep my Canley classic – but if the right opportunity presented itself you just never know. Tell me what you think I should blow six grand on and you might just start off a chain of events that I come to regret…