The Perfect 10-Car Garage... On A “£100,000” Budget

It’s that fabled old game for petrol heads; your perfect 10-car garage. Sounds easy when you consider all the glorious metal there is in the world to choose from.

However, sometimes this game just gets far too predictable and the concept needs a little bit of a shake-up to make it more interesting and challenging.

Therefore, I put it to you to come up with your own perfect 10-car garage, but, with a “spending” limit of just £100,000. Before you choose, take a look at mine below and then... let the games begin.

Honda S2000 - £9,000

The love of this car started when I first picked up a Gran Turismo game and realised I couldn't afford one with my meagre start-up kitty of 20,000 credits. A few race wins later and it was mine.

Don’t ask me why this affair started, maybe it was the sleek styling, endless bonnet and 8,300rpm redline, but the S2000 became the first car I properly ached for and to this day is still part of my 5-car plan.

BMW M3 E30 - £15,000

Probably one of, if not the most obvious car in this list and I don’t care. The 1990 European Spec M3 E30 is just motoring perfection as far as I’m concerned and even though I did consider popping a Mercedes 190E in here, it would always lose out to the M3 in my book.

A tremendously rare car for its type; just 5000 were built and only 300 of those made it to UK shores and it’s that rarity that makes it all the more desirable.

Honda NSX - £18,000

I know this is the second Honda of the list, but they just have a knack of producing a car that turns my head immediately; from the old 60s coupes to this, the V6 powered “bargain supercar”.

A chassis design influenced by Ayrton Senna and even though it’s by no means the fastest with just 275bhp at stock tuning, it’s still got sub-zero standards of cool and will probably make you want to remortgage your house.

Land Rover Defender TD5 - £8,000

Time now for a bit of common sense. The Defender is the ultimate 4x4 and there’s very little to argue about considering that statement, even if it does have a diesel engine that would go hand-in-hand with a UK fuel card.

I had to get a 4x4 in here somewhere and wanted it to be properly robust and not something that would have you looking at a moderate hill and think “will I actually make this?"

Renault Clio Williams - £2,000

Hot hatch time and this was a tough one. Recent motoring history has offered us an abundance of choice in this area and I considered quite a few when sticking such a car in this list.

Eventually, after thinking about GTis and Abarths, I decided on the Williams. From just £1,000 you can get a pretty decent example and has the original soul that we encountered with early hot hatches. And those gold alloys... yes please.

Audi RS2 – £12,000

As if creating the Quattro wasn’t good enough, Audi pulled it out of the bag once more towards the end of the 20th century with the RS2 “super estate” as I like to call it.

Its successor the RS4 is probably the better car, but the Porsche-assembled RS2 oozed with character, yet was so subtle on the road. Appreciating prices mean that now is the best time to get one.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Makinen Edition (TME) - £7,500

This was a choice that was immediately a must for this list; the car named after 4-time WRC champion Tommi Makinen, with most having around 400bhp available. I was also amazed to find examples below £10,000.

The Evo VI came out at possibly the pinnacle of modern WRC interest and the TME just made me want one more than anything else at the time.

Original Mini Cooper - £3,000

Bringing the list back down to earth again and we have another British legend in the Mini Cooper, but first I have to make the admission that I currently own a new shape Mini, which is probably against some sort of petrol head ethic. I will defend it by saying it’s like a giant go-kart, but the old one is equally as brilliant to drive and a hell of a lot of fun.

BMW Z4M Coupe - £15,000

The Z4M has slowly become a bit of a treasured individual since its release in 2006 and thanks to that 3.2 straight six from the old M3 churning out 343bhp and the Interlagos Metallic Blue paint, I loved it.

I originally had a TVR Tamora in mind for this spot, but then I realised I like my cars of this age to work every day and have a recognised dealership, which is a shame, because I adore the Tamora.

Porsche 914 - £6,700

Here’s the odd one out of the list and maybe even the ugly duckling, but I believe this car to be one of the coolest cars of the 70s.

I appreciate that the 914 isn’t a proper Porsche and more of a Volkswagen in disguise, but I’ve loved this car for a number of years now and after finally getting to to see one in the flesh last year in the Porsche Museum, it only solidified my admiration.

Total 10-car garage cost: £96,200

So that's my list, now tell me yours…

Sponsor disclosure: Sam Bisby writes for UKfuels.co.uk and their various fuel card services for businesses across the UK. Thanks to Piston Heads for pricing estimates.