Hey, I'm waffling again and I always find the group of people here have excellent 'no holds barred opinions' on this kind of topic - so I'll put all my thoughts out and solicit yours.
I'm thinking about swapping the Porsche for a 2012 Audi R8GT (v10) with a manual conversion. Price delta would be about $40k, which wouldn't 'break our bank' and would be cheaper than the switch to a 992 (if I ever got an allocation).
Here is the car in consideration:
https://www.hagerty.com/marketplace/...0-f7d558dafc28
I found it on 6sponline and have been chatting with the owner about it.
In my mind - the pros are: it is a very 'special' car, only 75 or so R8 GT Spyders in the U.S. Both my wife and I think the first gen R8 is really beautiful. I like the Daytona Gray color with the CF accents a lot - for some reason I even like the black wheels on this car. It is incredibly emotionally appealing and would be a car that checks all the 'lust' boxes. I would only buy a gated manual car (which this is--- kind of). I can only imagine the performance, sounds, visceral feelings this thing produces, but it give goose bumps just thinking about it. There sure as heck won't be any more manual V10 convertible cars ever made again. I'd expect you can count the number of manual swapped GTs on one hand.
Cons: I assume this would be an order of magnitude more expensive to maintain than the 911? I assume this would be less livable and usable than the 911 - I've done a lot of reading and it is still sprung towards the GT side of the sports car paradigm, but i expect a lot harsher than my base 991. I don't know if a swapped manual transmission is a good idea - how close to OEM it feels/performs/is reliable. I'm not in love with a modified car, even if the modifications are ridiculously expensive new. I don't want an over the top exhaust, and I don't love the idea of an engine tune.
i reached out for his maintenance records and he shared the following:
JamesMaintenance:
2/27/13 - 5,241 Miles
5,000 mile service
Cowl/firewall panel resealed
3/13/13 - 6,195 Miles
Console replaced
1/25/14 - 9,490 Miles
10,000 mile service
11/25/14 - 12,530 Miles
15,000 mile service
Brake Fluid
ECM reprogrammed
Front door trim panel replaced/repaired
Switch replaced/repaired
8/12/15 - 14,188 Miles
Airbag system checked
Fuel filler door adjusted
Fender liner adjusted/secured
Transmission range switch replaced
3/9/16 - 15,478 Miles
25,000 mile service
Seat(s) checked
4/12/17 - 17,225 Miles
35,000 mile service
Brake Fluid
8/11/20 - 19,604 Miles
Engine oil pump replaced
A/C compressor replaced
Oil & Filter
10/30/20 - 22,133 Miles
Oil & Filter
Engine Air Filter
Cabin Air Filter
Brake Fluid
2/19/21 - 23,965 Miles
Oil & Filter
Rear brake rotors & pads
Oil pan drain plug replaced
9/13/21 - 28,950 Miles
Oil & Filter
Body electrical wiring repaired
Oxygen sensor replaced
3/11/22 - 30,807 Miles
A/C refrigerant recharged, A/C system flushed
A/C cycling/pressure switch replaced
Hydraulic Pump and Convertible top assembly replaced
2/10/23 - 34,234 Miles
Oil & Filter
Exhaust system checked
4/10/23 - 34,473 Miles
Oil & Filter
Brakes replaced
9/26/23 - 35,900 Miles
Oil & Filter
Transmission Fluid
Gated Manual Conversion
There seems like some crazy sh*t in there, which I will definitely do my due diligence on if I think we want to move further. Most oddly - the 2020 oil pump replaced - wtf. He also said a/c compressor was replaced - which was an engine out fix.
For comparison, on the 911 w/ 10k less miles I did 2x water pumps under new car warranty, tires and 2x/year oil changes
This thing is a total unicorn, I'm just not sure its a Unicorn I should try to tame. I need some help balancing the emotional heart string pulling with the logical, this thing will eat you alive and make you miserable conundrum please.