Then buy ... a Porsche 911
The thing is, this answer hasn’t really changed since 1963. Oh, the Porsche 911 has become far more expensive (the rate of inflation has nothing on the change in the 911′s price platform since the 1960s, when it was actually surprisingly affordable), and its power source has changed. Still a flat-six petrol engine, it took on water cooling (supplanting the original VW Beetle-inspired air-cooling, back in the late 1990s), more recently becoming an all-turbocharged lineup (except for the specialist GT, S/T, and R models, while the range-topping Turbo gets a capital T to emphasise the size of its … er … impeller) and now even getting hybrid power for the latest GTS model. The 911 is also now considerably larger than ever it was (not great on narrow roads, to be honest) and far more luxurious than that far off 1960s original.
Ah, but … For all the electronic aids, for all the luxury touches, for all the wireless phone connectivity and digital services, a 911 still manages to feel reassuringly analogue in an online-fixated world. Not even Vicks can clear your head like a brisk drive in a 911, any 911, and the metallic howl as you pass 4,000rpm – while more muted than once it was – remains a defining sound of motoring. As ever it was, the cheapest 911 you can buy is the best one.
Plus: That shape, the performance, the tactility of it all.
Minus: Stiff pricing, width.
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Equals: Arguably the greatest sports car the world has ever seen.
Also try: Ford Mustang
Heavily updated for 2024, with new bodywork and interior but, thankfully, the same old 5.0-litre un-turbocharged V8 under the blocky bonnet, the Ford Mustang is one of the car world’s survivors. Really, the awfulness of the late 1970s ‘Stangs should have killed it off, but Ford persevered, and eventually rediscovered the magic of the 1960s original – happily, also discovering how to build a Mustang with right-hand drive.
Crude in some ways, definitely loud, and absolutely a Blue Collar Hero compared to Porsche’s sharp grey Hugo Boss suit, a drive in a manual V8 Mustang is something we should all experience at least once.
Aston Martin Vantage
You’ll need the old annual bonus to really kick in if this is going to be your personal reward car, but it’s worth the cash. Aston has taken the basic bones of the previous Vantage and covered off just about every avenue of complaint we might have had, thanks to a high-quality new cabin, sharper handling, and ever more performance from that Mercedes-AMG-sourced V8 turbo engine. The only this is – is it less pretty than the old one?
Wild card: Mazda MX-5
It may seem strange to recommend a car with a starting price of under €40,000 as a ‘reward for life’ car, but hey – why should the excessively rich have all the fun? Besides, a week spent in the updated (only lightly so – upgraded infotainment and a ‘Track’ mode for the traction control) 2024 MX-5 just reminded us what a genuinely lovely, fun, engaging, enjoyable, and still relatively practical car this is.
Nothing has a gear shift as good as the MX-5′s six-speed, and the simple throw-it-back manual soft-top shows up electric roofs for the pointlessly heavy things that they are. The MX-5 is like the perfect cocktail – sweet, but with a sharp acidic hit of pure driving pleasure. So reviving that it should be available on prescription.
Buyer’s guide series: What car should you be driving in 2025?
What should I buy if I want a high-end executive car?
What should I buy if I need an ‘affordable’ second car?
