Harry’s Garage

[Carlos]

He did say it's torque limited in 1st and 2nd gear which I assume would mitigate some clutch wear.

[ZedLeg]

I’ve always liked the look of the new M2 and the Litchfield mods only make it better.

Had me looking at old 135s on ebay to price up a cheaper version

[Ascender]

I was going to ask about the clutch and also how much faster it can be at legal speeds?

Speaking of which, is that the first time (in a while?) that Harry has put some tape over the speedo?

[Beany]

Had me looking at old 135s on ebay to price up a cheaper version

Ooh, the E8x has come down a bit, hasn't it?

That said, ratty F2x are easily available under 10k if you're feeling brave....

[Jobbo]

Spoilers below - if you don’t know what Harry has replaced the Emira with, watch his video first.








Right, I think what he didn’t say about the Emira is more important than what he did say. He certainly didn’t seem to be massively wedded to it. But changing it for a 9yr old McLaren seems bonkers and risky. The spec on the one he bought is nice and the fact that it’s an MSO car might mean he got a bargain but I can’t see McLarens appreciating in the way Ferraris do. Mind you, he said he even considered an MP12-4C which seems utterly bonkers; maybe I have been too swayed by Hoovie’s experience. Surely he could have found a 720s which is much newer and closer to the 750S he loved for a similar price?

[Edit] Just checked Auto Trader and there are no 650Ss over £95k except that madly priced Amari one at £240k - Harry must have paid about £110k if it was £50k to change from the Emira.

[Explosive Newt]

He seemed to be quite disappointed by what is currently going on at Hethel (Heffle in Harry speak) in terms of the company’s direction but that seemed an odd reason to sell a car he initially seemed very enthusiastic about.

That said, I would buy him fixating on getting a McLaren and it being the most plausible subject for one in one out.

[Ascender]

Based on everything he's said about the Emira in his other videos, I'm surprised he's sold it and the explanation was just weird. I thought from some of the stuff he's posted that he absolutely loved the Emira. Maybe I've just not been paying attention.

When I saw the shape of the car under the blanket, it's obviously a McLaren, so I just assumed he'd bought a 720S. A friend sent me a link to a 720S he's looking at buying from Thorney and I think it was 129K. I'll be honest, I don't know enough about McLaren models to know the pros and cons of the different models.

Is Harry bothered about appreciation for some of his collection? I suspect quite a few of his cars will be appreciating nicely and he has room for some which will take a loss or not make much.

Still, am looking forward to the videos on it.

[Matty]

A lot less positive language about the Emira in that video - "It was OK" ... "It was pretty good" ... "It was fine". Seems the shine wore off quite quickly. Interesting he mentions that when he came into the garage to take a car out, the Emira wasn't getting chosen - a few Evora owners have mentioned after test drives it just feels a bit too ordinary, where as the Evora has an edge.

I've never been a McLaren fan, design wise they've never appealed at all.

[mik]

Rather weird that a significant factor is a concern over the direction the brand is heading in. (And his complaints about the Eletre range/efficiency were more about him having too high expectations for an EV of that size /weight/frontal area - imho).

Regardless - if you have a spare £50k burning a hole in your pocket, and are operating a "one out one in" policy - you should be able to identify a tasty upgrade. And a 650S is very much an upgrade in performance terms. Lovely colour and spec too (although I am not certain it's the model in the Macca range that I would have chosen to hunt down.

Not sure if this will make any difference to his "Countach QV or....." challenge though, but it's a purchase.

[Mito Man]

I similarly cancelled my Ferrari 12 Cilidri order because I am concerned that Ferrari are now making SUVs.
What utter horseshit

[MikeHunt]

Pretty sure my accountant pushed his beige hyundai santa fe 2010 off a cliff when the i30n was released.

That is a serious upgrade, love the spec of that.

[Beany]

I similarly cancelled my Ferrari 12 Cilidri order because I am concerned that Ferrari are now making SUVs.
What utter horseshit

Yeah, but one of Ferraris USPs are their engines - and they are still making mental V12s.

Lotus is basically dumping it's USP - light weight - and going directly up against their competitors with no real advantages over them.

Lotus' current direction is probably best described as somewhere between 'controversial' and 'courageous', in the Yes Minister meaning.

[Simon]

It's the nicest 650S I've seen and I LOVE the colour - I too remember it on the press P1.

I think he touched on the reason in the video - he didn't find the seats comfortable enough - for me if you're going to do the long trips that he likes then bad seats will kill a purchase for you. That and I think he saw the bottom falling out of Emira values whereas the 650S has done just about all the depreciating that it's going to do.

[Jobbo]

I remember thinking the same about my Elise after 3 years. Now it’d sell for the same sort of money as it cost new. If he’d loved it he’d have kept it.

[ZedLeg]

It was an unusually clickbaity vid from Harry tbh, I’d have preferred a “I sold the Lotus and bought this, let’s drive it” to the handwringing about why he sold the Lotus.

Be interesting to see if he holds on to the McLaren, my prediction is that it won’t see a full year in the garage

[V8Granite]

I get the feeling that the Lotus people gave a lot of promises to him directly and then never delivered. Maybe that’s why he gave so much praise and coverage of how the company was doing and then felt a bit cheated.

The 650looks incredible and I think he is attracted as much to the history of that car and the spec as he is the drive. I think it will be a long term keeper.

I’d also forgotten how bloody fast it is, 0.2 down on a 750 is no mean feat.

Dave!

[duncs500]

McLaren is pretty nice, seems like he got a solid deal on it. It seems like a slightly strange decision to sell it, he still loved the looks, didn't say anything negative really about how it drove either. I personally see it more as a need to generate content and keep things moving, than there being anything wrong with the car. I'm not sure it would have been different if he'd bought any other new car. It's not like his Jags, where he was invested in that project.

[GG.]

Yes all a slightly odd decision. I think he ended up boxing himself into a corner with essentially two requirements - that it had the cross-wheel hydraulic suspension set up (i.e. not one of the baby McLarens (sport series?)) and no more than about £100k.

Going for a top of the market 650s rather than spending a bit more on a 720s makes no sense to me but then again I guess if it is "limited puduction" the thinking may be that has a positive effect on values and Yootoob views.

Personally the fact that it has the basic rear end design from a 12C (a 14 year old car) would discount it immediately in my book. It very much looks like McLaren 1.0.

This would have been my choice (though admittedly there are very few 720s in that price range) https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... qw&fromsra

[Holley]

The Emira was just the wrong type of car for him I think.

Can't really compare the two, one is a sports car that's easily insurable and useable every day. The other a weekend super car that you would be too terrified to have any kind of 'prang' having all that carbon everywhere.

I normally quite like McLaren's but didn't like that 650 at all. Too mid life crisis/knightsbridge for me.

[scotta]

At that price you are very close to a 600LT - that's where my money would have gone.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-detail ... =price-asc