Is It Just Me, Or Is The Porsche Carrera GT Surprisingly Good Value?

While calling a supercar that costs half a million quid ‘good value’ might make you assume I’ve completely lost touch with reality and/or become exceedingly rich overnight, I urge you to hear me out.

The prices of classic performance cars and modern classics have well and truly jumped the shark. With the world’s population of super rich rising dramatically, there are more and more people out there willing to pay mega bucks for something a little bit special. Rare Porsches in particular have become catastrophically expensive of late, as evidenced by a 993 GT2 fetching £1,848,000 at auction recently.

Even if you look at more recent stuff, the insanity doesn’t subside. You have 991 GT3 RSs going for nearly £100k more than their original asking price, and 911 Rs have been allegedly changing hands for anything up to £1 million. And it’s these hyper expensive 911 Rs that got me thinking. Put the rarity to one side for a moment, and what does it offer you as a driver over the facelifted 911 GT3, which has a 4.0-litre engine just like the R (one which revs slightly higher, by the way), and the option of a manual? Not a whole lot, when you think of it.

For the sort of bonkers rich car lover who places what a car can do over what it represents - and there are a fair few over there - why spend half a million quid or more on a 911 which costs that much simply because not many were made, when the same money could buy you a Carrera GT? If you’re looking for the greatest road car Porsche ever built, this is surely a strong contender.

We’re talking about a car with a mid-mounted, 5.7-litre V10 that can trace its roots back to F1, not to mention rev to 8400rpm and belt out 612hp. It has a carbonfibre monocoque. Inboard suspension. A six-speed manual gearbox without any dual-clutch gearbox option present in the brochure. It’s arguably the pinnacle of supercars in terms of driver involvement and no replacement for displacement heroics, and I desperately want to drive one.

Granted, with a lack of any driver aids I’m sure I’d be terrified getting behind the wheel, but shouldn’t driving a supercar be scary? I adore cars like the Audi R8, but you do get the sense they make things just a tad too easy.

Despite the, err relatively reasonable price, these are still very rare cars. around 1200 were built, and as such, there aren’t a huge number of Carrera GTs out there. This one is the only example for sale on Autotrader, and it has 23,000 miles on the clock. It’s had just one owner from new, and is up for £499,995.

Just in case you have half a mil lying around and are about to pick up the phone, it’s worth pointing out that a deposit have already been taken. For the rest of us, we’ll have to just sit here dreaming of a world where a used Carrera GT’s availability is actually something of consequence for us…