Coupe prices - what's happening?

I’m still amazed at how underrated the 3200 and 4200 are.
If only more people had the chance to drive one before making a decision…
I can’t help but feel the issue lies in our perception. German manufacturers have turned sports cars into something resembling supercars—sharp handling, lightning-fast shifts, powerful yet easy to drive on twisty roads.
My old 911 would outperform my Gransport any day, in any condition, with any driver behind the wheel.
And yet—it became so predictable, so clinical, that I eventually found it boring.
On paper, the Gransport looks like a poor choice. It’s heavy, the gearbox is clunky, the cabin is noisy.
But somehow, the connection I feel when driving it never fades. It’s engaging, full of character—never dull.
It’s not the flashy blonde that turns heads. It’s the girl next door—unexpectedly wild, endlessly captivating, and full of surprises once the lights go out.
 
Crazymind said:
I’m still amazed at how underrated the 3200 and 4200 are.
If only more people had the chance to drive one before making a decision…
I can’t help but feel the issue lies in our perception. German manufacturers have turned sports cars into something resembling supercars—sharp handling, lightning-fast shifts, powerful yet easy to drive on twisty roads.
My old 911 would outperform my Gransport any day, in any condition, with any driver behind the wheel.
And yet—it became so predictable, so clinical, that I eventually found it boring.
On paper, the Gransport looks like a poor choice. It’s heavy, the gearbox is clunky, the cabin is noisy.
But somehow, the connection I feel when driving it never fades. It’s engaging, full of character—never dull.
It’s not the flashy blonde that turns heads. It’s the girl next door—unexpectedly wild, endlessly captivating, and full of surprises once the lights go out.
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Having recently got out of a 3200 and into a 987.2S I can agree that the Maserati had a lot more charisma, or should I just call it noise(?) The Maserati did pretty much the same thing but with a lot more fuss and a lot more fuel consumption - about 9-10 mpg more I would say! Yep, a mid engined Porsche does handle very well on the twisty bits and you don’t get that weird steering lag that the 3200 has. But, for what it’s worth, I do miss the eccentricity of it and the wife no longer hears me coming down the road!
 
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williamsmix said:
Having recently got out of a 3200 and into a 987.2S I can agree that the Maserati had a lot more charisma, or should I just call it noise(?) The Maserati did pretty much the same thing but with a lot more fuss and a lot more fuel consumption - about 9-10 mpg more I would say! Yep, a mid engined Porsche does handle very well on the twisty bits and you don’t get that weird steering lag that the 3200 has. But, for what it’s worth, I do miss the eccentricity of it and the wife no longer hears me coming down the road!
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Was just watching Sportmotive on the tube, saying an LS swapped 6.2l 430 hp - (tuned to 470) will do mid 30’s mpg on a cruise run…Stuff of dreams….:D
 
TimR said:
This lovely, low miles (…ish) special edition didnt even crack £20K …The guide estimate was £26_32 K if memory serves.
I thought it looked rather nice. Good on the owner to let it go in so many ways….They have a come a long way since I bought mine….:oops:
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Looks cheap for an Anniversary but to be honest I have never liked those headrest fairings.

Dicky has a lovely Black GS Spyder which is where my money would be going subject to me having any:)

https://www.richardgracecars.co.uk/for-sale/maserati-gransport-spyder/603

maserati-gransport-spyder-603-1.jpeg

maserati-gransport-spyder-603-7.jpeg

maserati-gransport-spyder-603-14.jpeg
 
Crazymind said:
I’m still amazed at how underrated the 3200 and 4200 are.
If only more people had the chance to drive one before making a decision…
I can’t help but feel the issue lies in our perception. German manufacturers have turned sports cars into something resembling supercars—sharp handling, lightning-fast shifts, powerful yet easy to drive on twisty roads.
My old 911 would outperform my Gransport any day, in any condition, with any driver behind the wheel.
And yet—it became so predictable, so clinical, that I eventually found it boring.
On paper, the Gransport looks like a poor choice. It’s heavy, the gearbox is clunky, the cabin is noisy.
But somehow, the connection I feel when driving it never fades. It’s engaging, full of character—never dull.
It’s not the flashy blonde that turns heads. It’s the girl next door—unexpectedly wild, endlessly captivating, and full of surprises once the lights go out.
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Totally agree and my mind was made up last September driving my brothers Lancia Fulvia in the Alps far more Fun than any of the other cars I've had for Pure Driving just ticks all the boxes but you have to be a driver.
 
williamsmix said:

If I’m not mistaken McGrath have just dropped the price on this Manual 3200. I think it was originally on for £17500(?). I guess that even McGrath have to recognise market reality …
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What's the potential for this to go wrong, given the provenance? I know the fact it's a manual (crankshaft thrust) and a pre-OBD2 doesn't help, but surely McGrath will have seen to this? Asking for a friend :)
 
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romainh said:
What's the potential for this to go bad, given the provenance? I know the fact it's a manual (crankshaft thrust) and a pre-OBD2 doesn't help, but surely McGrath will have seen to this? Asking for a friend :)
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If it was going to succumb to end float issues, it would have done it around 30k -40k miles. This appeared to be the mileage, mine included , that it appeared. I haven't heard of many in the last few years succumbing.I doubt it will be an issue now unless servicing is scrimped on.
 
williamsmix said:
Having recently got out of a 3200 and into a 987.2S I can agree that the Maserati had a lot more charisma, or should I just call it noise(?) The Maserati did pretty much the same thing but with a lot more fuss and a lot more fuel consumption - about 9-10 mpg more I would say! Yep, a mid engined Porsche does handle very well on the twisty bits and you don’t get that weird steering lag that the 3200 has. But, for what it’s worth, I do miss the eccentricity of it and the wife no longer hears me coming down the road!
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I’ve never been a huge fan of mid-engined Porsches. I enjoyed my Boxster 3.2S during the summer—it was a fun car—but I never really connected with it. It wasn’t easy to drive at the limit, and I struggled to manage the understeer or get it to oversteer when I wanted.
Switching to the 911 was a revelation. The level of control during acceleration in wet conditions was impressive, and the traction on twisty, rain-soaked roads was outstanding. Thanks to the rear-engine layout and the McPherson strut front suspension, correcting oversteer feels incredibly intuitive—right up until the midpoint of a slide. After that, there’s no coming back…
The Gransport, on the other hand, feels much more unpredictable in the wet. It tends to oversteer and relies on the rear LSD to correct itself in a way I still haven’t fully figured out. That said, the steering rack is razor-sharp—sharper even than the one in my old 911, and noticeably more precise than in the 3200.
 
Crazymind said:
I’ve never been a huge fan of mid-engined Porsches. I enjoyed my Boxster 3.2S during the summer—it was a fun car—but I never really connected with it. It wasn’t easy to drive at the limit, and I struggled to manage the understeer or get it to oversteer when I wanted.
Switching to the 911 was a revelation. The level of control during acceleration in wet conditions was impressive, and the traction on twisty, rain-soaked roads was outstanding. Thanks to the rear-engine layout and the McPherson strut front suspension, correcting oversteer feels incredibly intuitive—right up until the midpoint of a slide. After that, there’s no coming back…
The Gransport, on the other hand, feels much more unpredictable in the wet. It tends to oversteer and relies on the rear LSD to correct itself in a way I still haven’t fully figured out. That said, the steering rack is razor-sharp—sharper even than the one in my old 911, and noticeably more precise than in the 3200.
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Interesting…I went the other way. Having been through a couple of air cooled 911s I wanted the mid-engine experience. I find the car very precise and easy to drive. I don’t push it to the kind of limits you’re describing though. The PDK took a little bit of getting use to but I reckon it has quite a good “brain” changing gear in auto mode a lot better than I can, although I do like to switch into manual on a twisty B road and use the engine braking. The PASM is less forgiving than the 3200 and the Sports Plus setting is insane; really just for track IMHO. The 3200 felt like it would try to kill you in the wet, in Sport mode with the traction control off! Whereas the Porsche gives me a lot more confidence … and I like that.
 
TimR said:
This lovely, low miles (…ish) special edition didnt even crack £20K …The guide estimate was £26_32 K if memory serves.
I thought it looked rather nice. Good on the owner to let it go in so many ways….They have a come a long way since I bought mine….:oops:
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Someone got a bargain. I’m surprised the owner let it go for that - they’d have only received about £17k. Should have taken it to Blenheim next month on the Club day at Salon Prive, as I’m sure a member would have paid more than that. (Me, probably, if the sun had been out!)
 
There’s no doubting that the Boxster is a very capable vehicle. Just too ubiquitous and “everyday”, rather than special, rare and exciting (like a 3200). I’d choose the 3200, but it would have to be a superb example - buying an average one no longer appeals given the repair/running costs.
 
Ewan said:
There’s no doubting that the Boxster is a very capable vehicle. Just too ubiquitous and “everyday”, rather than special, rare and exciting (like a 3200). I’d choose the 3200, but it would have to be a superb example - buying an average one no longer appeals given the repair/running costs.
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Are we comparing similar cars / market rivals though? The Boxster/Cayman is a mid-engined 2 seater and the 3200 is a front engined 4 seater with the 911 being a closer market rival(?). I’m not sure that consideration would deliver the same answer although, admittedly, the 911 is a lot more “common” (dependent on the spec). If you compared turbo to turbo I think you’d definitely get a different answer …
 
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