Series 1 XJ6. 2011 XJ-SS 503hp supercharged 5-liter. Appropriate 6-speed manual, maybe a Getrag Type D. 2011 XJ-SS suspension. I don't know if you could make all the modern goodies fit, but there's got to be a way, and the outcome would be epic.

Oh God... remember that thread about cars that you can afford that the maintenance costs keep you from buying? Consider that argument invalidated. It would be worth every penny of repairs that car could throw at me to have that sound in my life.

The difference is, with the Mustang it's real engine noise, the exhaust is just set up in a way so that it's extra-audible in the cabin.

The one where there were exactly 225 examples of the BMW 850CSi imported into the US and a solid one will run you north of $30,000 with most examples changing hands more in the 40-50k range, if you can find one for sale, which you probably can't. The one in which, yes, lesser 8s can be had for $7,000, but in which…

Can't be much... the engines themselves (other than the V8 in the Atom 500 V8) are really nothing special, and.... there isn't much else to an Atom.

That's very prudent. If you want to get an M5, do your homework and make sure you get a good one that's been well taken care of. The maintenance isn't as terrifying as some people seem to think it is, but one that's been neglected can definitely turn into a pretty deep money pit.

See, I just find it interesting to see which cars are TRULY known among their owners for being expensive nightmares to maintain, and which ones just picked up that reputation from early, non-resourceful owners and dealerships banking fat checks for warranty work.

Okay, if you seriously see an 850CSi for that price and it's been run over less than ten times, buy it. You can turn around and sell it for five times that and never worry about the parts costs.

A lot of people seem to be missing the point.... it's what car THAT YOU CAN AFFORD do the maintenance costs prevent you from buying? I don't think the maintenance costs are scaring too many Jalops off from Miuras and Veyrons.

^^^this right here. The E36 isn't scary at all. Just go for it.

$5000 a year in maintenance? That's only like $400 a month. That's a reasonable car payment. And since I could buy one of these with cash, it'd be like just making payments on it!

The E39 M5 stacks up better against the E55 AMG (performance-wise and chronologically.) I'd compare the E63 to the E60 M5. And yes, you are right... the M-B products are faster in a straight line, but I'd take the M5 every time for the overall experience. For one thing, you can get them with the correct number of…

Um... yeah... steer clear of H.A.R.B.'s neighbor's car. Unless it has less than 10,000 miles or so on it, there's way more that should have been done. The more you put it off, the more costly it gets. Odds are he's just deferring those expenses on to the second owner (as is BMW policy these days...)

Also an outstanding choice. Just repeat what I said about the M5 because it all applies.

Don't fear the VANOS. That problem is dramatically overstated (it's usually not a bad VANOS at all, but rather a seal failing and letting oil get into, and kill, a solenoid... which reads as a complete VANOS failure to BMW diagnostic tools.) Diagnosing and repairing the solenoid isn't all that expensive. Visit…

Don't know what the second is, but +1 on the first. If you can wrench, I wholeheartedly recommend you throw caution to the wind and just buy one. Yes, there's quite a bit to keep up with but it's not really that bad (until the mod bug bites... I can't afford for the mod bug to bite me.) Notice I said "if you can…

Galloping Ghost was a P-51D, but heavily modified to improve aerodynamics for racing at the expense of visibility from the cockpit, resulting in the "different" appearance from the stock Mustang.

It's a solid argument.

If any hauler out there thinks it can out-cool a flatbed Citroenchero race car transporter, I'd like to see it try.