No of course it doesn’t exist — for one thing, I’m not a zillionaire like Harry Metcalfe, and nor have I been a petrolhead like Harry for decades.
That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t (and who wouldn’t?) like to have a 10-car garage like Harry’s, filled with all my dream cars. The only question: could I keep it to only 10? Let’s have a look, and they’re not in any order of preference.
Firstly, Longtime Loyal Readers will not be surprised by any of the cars in my garage, because they’ve heard me bang on about them for years. So I’ll start with the most-frequently-mentioned ones:
1972 Dino 246 GT
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Dino-246-GT-1972-7.jpg)
Okay, honestly: it was Ferrari’s first attempt at an entry-level Ferrari — Old Man Enzo didn’t even want to badge it as a Ferrari, at first — and it’s not really a very good drive, by Ferrari standards. The gear shift is clunky and the clutch needs Lou Ferrigno muscles to work if you’re driving it in stop-start traffic. But: it is to my mind, and to the minds of many others, one of (if not the most) beautiful cars ever built. And if like me you will occasionally say, “The hell with function; what about the form?” then you’re not going to quibble (kinda like Salma Hayek’s inability to make a decent fish ‘n chips: who cares?).
The same is true of the next one in Kim’s Garage:
1966 Jaguar E-type Series 2 Speedster
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Jaguar-E-type-Roadster-1966-5-1024x597.jpg)
Yes, I’d probably prefer to have the resto-modded Eagle version, but truthfully, I don’t care. And this car needs no justification, because E-type.
2001 BMW Z8
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2001-BMW-Z8-01-1024x494.jpg)
BMW’s successor to the 1959 Model 507, it’s one of the very few “modern” (made in the 21st century) cars that made me catch my breath the minute I saw it for the first time. As did the next one:
2015 Maserati GT
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2015-Maserati-GT.jpg)
It has a Ferrari 4.7-liter V8 engine, and looks to put Lollobrigida in the shade; what’s not to worship? But enough of the youngins. Let’s go back in time a tad…
1954 Mercedes 300 SC
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mercedes-300-SC-1954-1024x467.jpg)
Quite possibly one of the best cars Mercedes has ever built. The engineers were told to design a car that could cruise at top speed all day on the autobahn without ever suffering a mechanical breakdown of any kind. So they did. (I’d even accept the larger 300 S sedan model of the same year — same car, really.)
1967 Austin Healey 3000 Mk III
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1966-Austin-Healey-3000-Mk-III-1024x503.jpg)
Yeah I know: oil leaks, Lucas electrical system, blah blah blah. Don’t care, I love it dearly. As I do the next sports car:
1970 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT Junior
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Alfa-Romeo-GT-Junior-1970-1024x618.jpg)
Alfa pura. Tiny, raucous, spunky and glorious. Like the next one.
1966 Mini-Moke
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mini-Moke-1967-1024x668.jpg)
Not the modern electrical one; this is the underpowered runaround with the famed Mini 850cc engine; famous, that is, for being the engine that when you put your throttle flat to the floor: nothing happens. And speaking of underpowered runarounds; if I couldn’t find the older Austin Moke, then I’d get a decent substitute:
1960 Fiat 500 Jolly
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fiat-500-Jolly-010-1024x708.jpg)
Just the wicker seats alone make this worth the price of admission. But let’s get serious, now…
1976 Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1976-Mercedes-450-SEL.jpg)
The Q-ship of the Mercedes line, with a standard W116 frame that concealed a roaring 6.9-liter V8 monster under the hood. What the 1954 Merc engineers would have designed if they’d had the technology. (In today’s money, it cost the equivalent of $195,000 back then.) This, and the ’54 300 SC would be my “refined” drives.
At some point, I have to acknowledge that several of the sports cars listed above would be, shall we say “occasional” drives, the occasions being that they were actually working and not in the shop. So for the last one, I’m going to go for reliability above all.
1994 Honda NSX
![](https://www.kimdutoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Honda-NSX-red-1024x456.jpg)
It’s the sports-car equivalent of the two Mercedes on the list: reliable to a fault, but with all the grunt I’d ever want or need. And it’s not bad looking, either. (I don’t like the more recent model NSX because it’s pig-ugly and vulgar.)