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We all know about the successful cars that pepper the bestseller lists.
But what about the ones that sold less welI? In this story, we take a close look at them, and also dig out the specific derivatives of a model that are very rare (when did you last see a Daimer Super Eight - pricey sister to the Jaguar XJ - like this one?), and in some cases it was the model as a whole that wasn’t a success. Climb aboard:
Data on cars remaining in the UK from the How Many Left? website as of mid-October 2023.
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Alfa Romeo Six (1979)
You can count the number of successful Italian executive/luxury saloons on one hand, but the Alfa Romeo Six took the term ‘dismal failure’ to extremes. Built between 1979 and 1986, the Six introduced Alfa’s glorious V6 engine in 2.5-litre form. Despite a seven-year production run just 12,070 Sixes were made, not many were sold in the UK and data suggests that only two survives on British roads today, with another five registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).
How to get one: Very rare obviously, Italian-market imports are probably your best bet and they cost from around £10,000.
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Talbot Tagora (1981)
When it comes to spectacular failures, few motoring misjudgments can match the Talbot Tagora. Intended to take PSA upmarket, the Tagora proved hopelessly incompetent and after just two years the production line was stopped with under 20,000 made for the whole of Europe, just a few hundred of which were sold in the UK. Data suggests just one - in GL trim - survives on the road today, with another eight registered as on a SORN.
How to get one: Almost impossible to get a UK-market example, but you can pick one up in the Tagora's native France from around £1600.
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Alfa Romeo 90 (1984)
Despite the Six’s lack of sales success, Alfa Romeo replaced it with the 90 in 1984 (two years before Six production ceased). This time production lasted just three years and while more than 56,000 examples were made, numbers are dwindling. Data suggests there are three left on the road in the UK today, though eight are on a SORN.
How to get one: Almost impossible to do in the UK, but there are a fair few in Italy for sale, from £3400.
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Hyundai Stellar (1984)
One of Hyundai’s earliest models in the UK (and indeed globally) was this Ford Cortina-inspired saloon. But sadly for Hyundai, the Stellar didn’t enjoy the buoyant sales of the Ford. Data suggests that just one remains on UK roads, with another 19 on a SORN.
How to get one: Classic status has not been bestowed on this model, despite the rarity, and it looks like survivors will cost from £2500.
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Honda Legend (1986)
Production of the fifth (and final) generation Legend ended in Japan in 2021, but Honda gave up on its flagship model in the UK well over a decade ago. Having given the model several decades to succeed you can’t say Honda didn’t try, but these V6-powered saloons and (in the early days) coupés were always among the rarest cars on the road. There are 558 left on the road, with another 443 on a SORN.
How to get one: Early examples are very rare, but examples from the 2007 start at £2250.
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Hyundai S-Coupé (1990)
While Hyundai’s long-lived Coupé that arrived in 2002 would go on to be a decent seller, its predecessor’s forerunner wasn’t such a hot little number. As dull to look at as it was to drive, the deeply unexciting S-Coupé was the antithesis of what a car with sporting pretentions should be – even in 114bhp turbocharged form. It looks like 11 are still alive in the UK, with another 37 on a SORN.
How to get one: Survivors occasionally appear for around £4000.
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Alpine A610 (1992)
Renault managed to shift over 500 GTAs in the UK, so when the car was heavily revised to become the A610 it was decided that this would be Renault’s flagship luxury model. Buyers got plenty of kit as standard but the £37,000 asking price was too high. Renault dropped it to £30,000 but still only 68 A610s were sold in the UK. Just 12 of them survive, though interestingly another 30 survive off the road, biding their time...
How to get one: They start at around £25,000.
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Suzuki X-90 (1995)
Everything about the Suzuki X-90 was comical: its design, its driving experience and the level of performance too. But perhaps the most comical thing of all about it was the sales figures – unless you worked for Suzuki. 115 X-90s remain on the UK road, though more than twice that number (269) are SORNed.
How to get one: There's two at the time of writing, starting at £1500.
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Toyota Paseo (1996)
For those who mourned the passing of the Hyundai S-Coupé, Toyota introduced the Paseo, which was built in the same mould. As such it offered mediocre performance to match the bland looks and driving experience. A 1.5-litre engine provided 89bhp for minimal thrills. 155 examples survive on the road, with another 203 on a SORN.
How to get one: They seem to start at around £1500.
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Audi A6 4.2 (1997)
The A6 may have been a big seller for Audi, but any car in the executive segment with a petrol V8 is guaranteed to sell at a glacial pace. Sure enough, the thirsty but incredibly discreet A6 V8 was a wolf in sheep’s clothing but it was only ever going to sell in tiny numbers. Only 37 are left and we salute the owners of every one of them, with another 105 on a SORN.
How to get one: There's two for sale at presnemt, starting at £4800.
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Isuzu Vehicross (1997)
Never sold officially in the UK, it’s reputed that a dozen or more grey-import examples of the Vehicross have made it over here. We got our first glimpse of the Vehicross as a concept in 1993; by 1997 the car was in production with a 3.2 or 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission.
How to get one: You'll have to go to Poland, and spend upwards of £9000.
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Plymouth Prowler (1997)
With fewer than 12,000 made the Plymouth Prowler isn’t quite the unicorn that you might imagine – at least not in its home country. But in the UK, where the car was never officially imported, it seems there are seven on UK roads today, with another five on a SORN.
How to get one: You may have to wait a long time for one in the UK. Plenty for sale in the US, from the equivalent of £23,000.
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Renault Sport Spider (1997)
When Renault tries to take on Lotus in the affordable sports car market there can be only one winner. Powered by a mid-mounted 2.0-litre Clio engine, the Sport Spider was wacky and fun but far too compromised to appeal to British buyers. Still, at least we got a windscreen, unlike some markets. Just 96 made it to the UK, and 19 of them are left, with another 52 on a SORN.
How to get one: Hard to find used for obvious reasons, but when they do come up they'll set you back more than £30,000 - and you may have to import one.
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Vauxhall Sintra (1997)
With MPVs becoming all the rage, GM’s European arm wanted a piece of the action. So it imported and rebadged the US-focused Chevrolet Venture. Buyers could choose from 2.2 or 3.0 V6 petrol engines; a diesel wouldn’t arrive until near the end of its sales life. A dreadful car in virtually every respect, 10 are left today, with another 91 rather optimistically on a SORN.
How to get one: The masochistically-minded will probably have to opt for an Opel-branded version from the continent, but at least it will only cost you as little as £400.
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Cadillac Seville STS (1998)
We could just work our way through every Cadillac that ever came to the UK (not that there were many) but we’re sticking to those that were built with right-hand drive. Attempting to take on the established luxury marques, this GM offshoot failed miserably, but what a glorious failure with its 4.6-litre V8: 58 of them remain, with another 124 on a SORN - from 426 sold in the first place.
How to get one: There are two on sale at the moment, from £4700.
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Ford Cougar (1998)
It's true the Cougar didn’t sell in tiny numbers lime most of the cars featured here, but it’s one of those cars that’s fast-disappearing from UK roads and before we know it they’ll all have gone. Of all the Cougars registered over 90% have already been lost or taken off the road so while it didn’t used to be a unicorn, it’s fast becoming one: 496 are left on the road, down from a cool 6505 examples in 2012.
How to get one: Though high-mileage ones can cost as a little as £1000, it looks like £3000 is a more sensible entry point.
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Alfa Romeo 166 (1999)
When an Alfa dealer sold a 166 there were street parties to mark the occasion; the Italian company just couldn’t lure buyers away from the German brands that ruled the roost. As a result any 166 is now unusual; 196 are left on the road - down from 1008 in 2012 - though an impressive 413 are on SORN, some doubtless awaiting modern classic status for this model which is entirely possible, especially for well-preserved examples with ULEZ-friendly Euro 4 petrol engines.
How to get one: There are three for sale at present, from £700.
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Honda Logo (2000)
By the time Honda launched the Logo in the UK it had been on sale in its home market for four years, so it was already past its sell-by date. As a result Honda didn’t expect to sell a huge number of Logos – which was just as well really as the model was canned in 2001, having had one of the shortest periods of any car on the UK market. There is still a decent number on the roads - 434 - with another 233 on a SORN, a testament to how tough old-but-simple Japanese-made cars can be.
How to get one: Looks like they appear for sale for as little as £600 occasionally.
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Renault Megane Scenic RX4 (2000)
Renault never offered a four-wheel drive version of its later Espaces but it did produce a 4x4 version of the bigger-selling Scenic. However, the Scenic RX4 didn’t prove a hit and as a result it was short lived. Engineered by Steyr Daimler Puch, the RX4 featured part-time four-wheel drive with the rear diff displacing the spare wheel well – which is why this was relegated to the outside of the tailgate. 144 survive.
How to get one: There's a 129,000 miler from 2000 up for £1000 at present.
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Renault Avantime (2002)
One of the all-time might-have-beens, the Renault Avantime deserved better. Shoddily built and poorly packaged, the Avantime couldn’t hope to compete with more rational (invariably German) rivals which is why fewer than 400 of these luxury coupé-MPV-estates were sold in the UK and just 8557 were made in all; 125 survive in the UK today, with another 167 on a SORN.
How to get one: Hard to find, and they seem to start at around £3000
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Renault Vel Satis (2002)
Though not quite as 'different' as the Avantime, the Vel Satis was still out there. The Vel Satis offered hatchback practicality in a segment that favoured saloons – and German brands. 89 are left in the UK, with another 221 on a SORN.
How to get one: Examples out there start at £2500.
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Fiat IDEA (2004)
Fiat has had more than its fair share of duds over the years but this one was one of the lowest-profile models ever. This micro-MPV looked neat but buyers didn’t even know it existed, so few were sold, and it was actually pretty awful. If you do see one, it probably won’t even register. Believe it or not, 498 remain in the UK, with 274 on a SORN on top of that.
How to get one: They start at around £1300.
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MG XPower SV (2004)
MG Rover was in big trouble when the SV was being developed, but instead of focusing on its bread-and-butter models it invested in vanity projects like this one. Just 82 were made before MG Rover went bust, the company having made a loss on every one despite it selling for Porsche 911 money. 13 survive on the road, with another 23 on a SORN.
How to get one: Rarity means values are going up, quite fast, and you'll have to spend at least £80,000 now.
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Volvo XC90 V8 (2005)
Most XC90s were diesel-powered, but Volvo had teamed up with Yamaha to develop a petrol V8 engine and decided to install it into its first SUV. This seven-seater could crack the 0-60mph sprint in just under seven seconds and go on to a limited top speed of 130mph. There are still 171 on UK roads, most of which we suspect have been converted to run on LPG.
How to get one: The V8 is now the most desirable Mk1 XC90 - especially in an ULEZ compliant guise - and they will cost you at least £5000.
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Citroën C6 V6 (petrol)(2005)
The C6 didn’t exactly set the sales charts alight, but if you want a spectacularly rare car your quest should be to track down one of the V6 petrol editions. Citroën sold under 1000 C6s in the UK and of those, it seems that all but 100 or so had diesel power. It looks like just 16 V6 petrol C6s are left on our roads.
How to get one: You may have to wait a while for a V6 petrol, but V6 diesel C6s start at £3000.
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Hummer H3 (2005)
While the Hummer H3 was in production from 2005 until 2010, it was introduced to the UK just at the point that Hummer became one of the most toxic automotive brands ever created. The company retreated from the UK after small sales and the brand being axed in America. 96 H3s remain in the UK, along with 43 more on a SORN. The Hummer name was revived as a sub-brand of GMC in America, used on a new EV pickup that arrived on the road in early 2022.
How to get one: Four examples are for sale now, starting at £12,500.
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Cadillac BLS (2006)
Cadillac has never been able to make things work in Europe but to show how committed it was to this side of the Atlantic, the GM offshoot went so far as to develop a Caddy that wasn’t even sold in the US. Effectively a rebodied Saab 9-3 and built in Saab’s Trollhättan factory, the BLS came in saloon or estate forms, both of which sold in tiny numbers. 177 are left, with another 79 on a SORN.
How to get one: There's two for sale now, the cheapest of which is a 2008 example with 59,000 miles, for £2300.
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Subaru Tribeca (2006)
If ever you needed proof of the UK/US motoring divide, this is it. While British customers were never going to buy a full-size SUV that came only with thirsty six-pot petrol engines, it was just the thing for American buyers. About 264 are left in the UK today, with another 124 on a SORN.
How to get one: They start at around £2000.
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Aston Martin Cygnet (2010)
Aston Martin reckoned it could sell 2000 Cygnets each year and it was initially bullish enough to say that the car would be available only to existing Aston owners. Then it realised that far from being sought after, the Cygnet - essentially a poshed-up Toyota iQ - was a harder sell. Production was wound up after just three years, with just a few hundred examples sold around the globe. 126 examples are left on UK roads, along with 30 on a SORN.
How to get one: Rarity has boosted values; you won't get into a used example for less than £34,000 today.
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Chevrolet Volt (2010)
Also sold in the UK as the Vauxhall Ampera, the Volt would prove to be even more exclusive with just a few dozen sold. Which is a shame really, as it was a neat-looking machine that packed some equally neat technology. 103 Volts are left on UK roads, with another six on a SORN.
How to get one: Used examples start at £9000.
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Peugeot 508 RXH (2011)
On paper the 508 RXH looked promising; 198bhp, four-wheel drive and fuel economy of 69.9mpg. What’s not to love? And for business owners it was even more tempting, thanks to CO2 emissions of just 107g/km. But the clunky transmission that you had to drive around, and a fidgety ride conspired to ruin the driving experience, while real-world fuel consumption was closer to 40mpg. Suddenly the 508 RXH wasn’t so lovely after all. 524 or so survive in the UK, with 27 more on a SORN.
How to get one: The models start at around £10,000 on the used market.
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Renault Fluence (2012)
Pure-electric cars were struggling to gain traction when the Fluence arrived in 2012, and despite a relatively low price of under £18,000 (plus battery lease costs) it wasn’t that costly. But after just 79 had been sold Renault gave up on the Fluence. Of those, 42 are left, and 12 more are on a SORN.
How to get one: Prices start at £2500.
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Suzuki Kizashi (2012)
If ever there was a car that you just knew at the outset would sell in miniscule numbers, this is it. Suzuki buyers like small, cheap-to-run hatchbacks, so the idea of a 2.4-litre petrol-engined automatic saloon with four-wheel drive was only ever going to appeal to a tiny audience. Incredibly, Suzuki managed to shift around 330 of them, but they have a very high survival rate: 290 are still on the road, and another 19 are on a SORN.
How to get one: Prices start at £4200.
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Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (2018)
The 697bhp 6.2-litre V8-powered Trackhawk went on sale in the UK in 2019, joining the ranks of the super-SUV, though in a lower-key way compared to rivals from Lamborghini and Aston Martin. There are 86 examples on the UK roads today.
How to get one: Rarity and that enormous power output have led to sturdy residuals - £75,000 is the entry point.
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BMW 550i (2010)
The 402bhp V8 550i may lack the glamour and power of the M5, but those model-specific twin-exhausts give the game away of this ultimate Q-car. Most came fully loaded: ensure yours has the useful head-up display and adaptive cruise options. There are around 321 on UK roads today, but the one you want is the estate, with just a handful of the 2010-2017 F10 generation ever sold. There is currently a fully-loaded 77k-miles 2011 estate up for sale, for £16,995.
How to get one: 550i F10s start at £9000, whereas previous generation 550i E60s start at £5000.
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Volvo S80 V8 (2006)
Respect to whoever at Volvo decided to bring this thirsty AWD 4.4-litre V8-powered luxury saloon to UK shores. It makes no sense at all, until it does: for those who don’t do many miles, such as retired folk, this is a way to travel in huge comfort and style. With a near-silent 311bhp petrol engine humming away you might even get 28mpg on a steady run. Of 128 or so sales in total, there are 84 of these left on UK roads at present, and that number seems pretty stable; we're pleased to see them getting looked after. A further 17 S80 V8s are on a SORN. We wish Volvo had fitted this engine to the S80's V70 estate sibling too...
How to get one: Used examples start at £8000 - and all are ULEZ compliant.
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Rover 75 V8 Tourer (2004)
In its final years MG Rover undertook an ambitiously mad scheme to re-engineer the 75 platform for rear-wheel drive, powered by a Ford Mustang V8, and available both as a saloon and estate. The Rover wagon would deliver 22mpg, which could be viable as long as your mileage isn’t great, and it would be a gloriously smooth way to transport your family.
Its MG ZT-T 260 sporty twin brother has 62 examples still on the road; this Rover version? Just 17 were built in estate form, of which eight survive on the road today. Seven more are on a SORN, and we reckon they could all be worth good money one day.
How to get one: You might have to wait an awful long time for a V8 estate, but the saloons start at around £10,000, and there is one up for £39,000 with a somewhat remarkable 94 miles on the clock. MG ZT-T 260s are cheaper as there's more out there; think £8000 and up.
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Volvo V70 T6 (2006)
In the market for a comfortable, smooth family wagon without that horrible diesel rattle and future black pump ULEZ supertaxes? Of course you are, and the 281bhp straight-six T6 fits the bill perfectly. Auto and AWD are standard, as is a 0-60 time of 7.2-seconds, going to a top speed of 152mph. Interestingly, of 122 or so still on the road, it seems a full 15 of those are ‘Authorities’ spec, used in past or, less likely given their age, present by the police and ambulance services.
How to get one: The most treasured V70 engine, you can join the T6 club for around £5000, though the annual demands for £675 in road tax might become tiresome...
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Volkswagen Passat W8 (2002)
For an apparently staid company, VW certainly does some wacky things: the Phaeton and emissions fiddling spring to mind. But so should this idea of shoehorning a 4.0-litre 275bhp W8 engine into a model that has long been the byword for suburban anonymity. It even came as an estate, and in both forms only the quad exhausts hint at the potential.
A potential that was never fully delivered on, sadly: it wasn't actually all that fast in reality, hindered by a lack of low-end torque. There are only a few left on UK roads - 57 to be precise, with another 84 on a SORN; we hope they will all be savoured and preserved.
How to get one: There's a 50,000 mile 2004 W8 estate imported from Japan on sale at present for £7000, and it looks lovely.
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Jaguar XF Super V8 (2008)
If you wanted a top-welly XF from its first generation, the fire-breathing 503hp XFR was the way to go. All of which overshadowed the Super V8 models, which struggled on with a mere 420bhp. As Autocar said at the time, with an XF V8 “it’s hard to think of a better way to cover miles.” There are 281 XF Super V8s left.
How to get one: SV8s start at £4250 for a 2007 example with 169,000 miles.
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VW Passat R36 (2008)
The Passat W8 may have proved impossible to sell but that didn’t stop VW from coming up with a sequel – the R36. Despite losing a quarter of its cylinders, power was boosted to 299bhp and again there was four-wheel drive to get it all down.
Control freaks were dismayed that there was no manual option; all R36s came with a six-speed DSG transmission instead. We loved it though: “behind the running costs this is a talented, likeable car”. There are 128 survivors on UK roads, along with 22 more on a SORN, from 166 original sales.
How to get one: Used examples cost from £7000, with estates going for a decent-sized premium over the saloons.
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Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer (2013)
The wealthiest Audi buyers don’t choose an A8 or R8; they buy A6 Allroads. Perhaps this fact wasn’t lost on Vauxhall’s product planners when they dreamed up the high-riding Insignia Country Tourer with its body cladding and four-wheel drive.
Launched in 2013, the Insignia CT was axed two years later but that hasn’t stopped Vauxhall coming back for more; the all-new Insignia of 2017 spawned a Country Tourer edition too, but that got the axe along with the estate in September 2019. If you fancy something uber-rare try to find a petrol-powered Country Tourer; there are just 11 on UK roads, alongside 41 diesels.
How to get one: First-generation CTs are available from £9000.
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Citroën BX 19 GTi 4x4 (1987)
Using the same injected 1.9-litre engine as the Peugeot 405 SRi, which was closely related to the 205 GTi’s powerplant, the Citroën BX 19 GTi came in various forms. Most prosaic was the 8-valve edition, while the spiciest was the GTi 16-valve. Rarest of the lot is the BX GTi 4x4; just four remain in use in the UK - though 23 more are on a SORN, some of which are presumably awaiting a modern classic valuation being conferred upon them...
How to get one: a requirement for a GTi 4x4 might mean a long wait, but 2WD GTis come up occasionally for £5000 or so.
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Ford Galaxy V6 4x4 (1996)
It would be easy to assume that any Ford Galaxy will have sold in vast numbers and that as a result there’ll be no shortage of survivors of any derivative. But few buyers opted for the top-spec V6 four-wheel drive models which is why just four Ghia V6 4x4 autos are now on the road, along with 15 on a SORN.
How to get one: You will have to have the patience of a saint...
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Mercedes-Benz R63 L AMG (2007)
The Mercedes R-Class didn’t make much sense in any form. It wasn’t that well packaged and it was rather ugly, but its cabin wasn’t a bad place to be. As a luxury family car for six it was never short of power, but if you wanted an over-abundance of horses Mercedes was happy to sell you a 6.2-litre AMG edition with 503bhp.
That was enough to propel the luxo-MPV from 0-62mph in just 5.1 seconds, threatening the constitution of its occupants. Just five are on UK roads, with another four on a SORN, down from a peak of 12 on the road in 2007. 322 R63s were produced globally.
How to get one: They occasionally appear at auctions, and sell for at least £24,000.
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Citroën XM V6 24v (1994)
The XM was a proper Citroën, with its Hydractive suspension and styling that put it a million miles away from its staid German rivals. Uniquely, when the tailgate was opened a separate hinged window kept rear-seat occupants’ barnets intact. The XM proved a slow seller and now it’s a bona fide classic it’s the 24-valve V6 that everybody wants. Which is a shame as there are just one left on the road, with another 13 off it.
How to get one: You will almost certainly have to settle for a left-hooker bought on the continent; pricese there start at £3000.
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Peugeot 607 V6 (petrol)(2000)
Anything Citroën could do, Peugeot could match. British buyers don’t like big French cars so when Peugeot introduced the 607 in 2000 it was never going to be a big seller. But it was likeable enough and Peugeot shifted quite a few with four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. It was the V6 petrol units that nobody wanted, so it’s a minor miracle that there are still as many as 13 still in use, with another 33 off the road.
How to get one: Unicorn alert! There's a 2008 V6 petrol with 69,000 miles on the clock up for sale in Abingdon right now, for £3500.
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Ford Scorpio TD (1996)
If ever there was a car perfect for tinted glass it was this one; nobody wanted to be seen driving one of these. Despite this there's still a good number running. But they’re virtually all petrol-powered; just seven have diesel power.
How to get one: There's one coming up for auction soon, with a £2000 estimate.
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Renault Espace Quadra
After Germany, Italy and Switzerland the UK was Renault’s biggest export market for the Espace, and we liked the four-wheel drive Quadra edition so much that it accounted for almost one in six of sales. Admittedly the original Espace is now getting on, but despite its popularity there are just three Espace Quadras left on the road here - from 700 in 1995.
How to get one: You'll have to search on the continent - and even then, you face a long wait...
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Seat Altea Freetrack TSI (2007)
The picture here doesn’t do the Altea Freetrack any favours as it looks misshapen and frankly more than just a bit weird. But it was actually a pretty decent car thanks to its spacious cabin and lengthy standard kit list. But when was the last time you saw one? Probably never, even though there are over 250 diesel-powered examples on our roads. Much rarer is the petrol-powered 2.0 TSI, of which there are just 48 currently in use.
How to get one: They come up occasionally from around £3000.
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Subaru BRZ auto (2012)
The Subaru BRZ and its cousin the Toyota GT86 prove that you don’t need loads of power to create a brilliant driver’s car. But ideally you do need a manual gearbox and while this isn’t the only performance car to come with just two pedals, when there’s an alternative most buyers will take it. Which is why there are just 155 BRZ autos registered in the UK.
How to get one: They hold their value well - examples available are on sale from £17,500.
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Vauxhall Vectra 3.2 (2002)
When Vauxhall introduced a 3.2-litre V6 engine for the Vectra it was always going to be a niche seller. Huge running costs – not least of all depreciation – meant few private punters signed up for one. And neither did fleet managers, terrified of the depreciation rates. So it was up to police forces to take them on; the 154mph Vectra V6 made a great unmarked traffic car.
Or at least it used to. In the past two decades police forces have tended to buy premium cars like the BMW 530d Touring as they depreciate less, which rather left cars like the Vectra 3.2 without a market. It seems around 220 Vectra 3.2s are left today.
How to get one: Prices are from £2000 and up.
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Renault 25 V6 Turbo (1985)
There was a time in the 1980s when large French saloons like the Renault 25 operated quite successfully in the executive car class. The top-of-the-range 25 Turbo arrived in 1985, which saw power boosted to 182bhp, up from 144bhp of the standard V6 version. But it was expensive, at a time when the 25 started to face serious competition from the likes of the all-conquering Mercedes W124 E-class. So not many were sold – and today just tworemain on the road.
How to get one? Have enormous patience, or settle for a left-hooker from France, where you can today buy a 1989 330,000-miler for £817.
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Ford Orion 1600e (1988)
Something of a run out special, the 1600E was the closest the Escort-with-a-boot came to attaining true luxury express status. Based on the Orion Ghia Injection, which used the same 105bhp 1.6-litre engine as the XR3i, it built on the Ghia's already well-appointed interior. Specialists Tickford installed a full leather interior with real walnut door cappings, and unique cross-spoked alloy wheels completed the package. Priced suitably higher than the Ghia, just 1500 were produced over 10 months until July 1989, and only seven remain today.
How to get one? Have enormous patience. They occasionally come up for around £4000.
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Ford Sierra 2.9 GLS 4x4 (1989)
Back in the late 1980s the car that many successful executives wanted to mark their ongoing success was the Ford Sierra XR4X4. It wasn’t for everyone – and for them Ford briefly had a lower-key alternative: the Sierra 2.9 V6 GLSi 4X4. It had the same engine but was cheaper and more comfortable than its brash big brother. There are just 11 left on the road, down from 1600 in 1995 – at a time when a cool 11,000 XR4X4s were still out there.
How to get one? You’ll need patience, and at least £4000.
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Volkswagen Phaeton W12 (2003)
The Phaeton was a finely engineered car that shared many bones with the Bentley Continental Flying Spur – but had a decidedly more blue collar badge on its nose. And while this was a problem with even lowly members of the range, it became colossal with the top-of-the range W12 version which cost a cool £70,000 – back in 2003… about £120,000 in today’s money – and that was just the start of the story as depreciation was fierce.
Still, you got a finely-finished limousine equipped with an intriguing 6.0-litre 12-cylinder engine that produced 414bhp of thrust and attained the company’s primary aim of delivering a 186mph speed in 55 degrees centigrade of heat while maintaining 22 degrees inside. Just 15 Phaeton W12s are left on UK roads – and we salute every one of their owners for choosing to be different.
How to get one? It looks like the depreciation curve for this version at least has at last bottomed out – one 2008 W12 was sold at auction in 2020 for £12,551.
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Chevrolet Epica LS (petrol version)(2007)
This particular Chevy has a rather interesting backstory: it started life as the Daewoo Tosca, but then the General took it and launched it as the Epica in Europe in 2007 with a bow-tie up front. And though most sold were diesels, the petrol version was equipped with a 2.0-litre straight six - engineered by Porsche, no less. It was predictably pricey to buy and run and it looks like no more than 60 or so petrol LSs were ever sold – of which just 19 survive today.
How to get one? They seem to sell for around £2000 - assuming you can find one...
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Daimler Super Eight LWB (2006)
For the Jaguar XJ 308 model, its Daimler sibling was dubbed Super V8 and a customer included one Elizabeth Windsor, of Windsor, Berkshire, and London SW1. For the XJ X350 edition that arrived in 2003, an ultra-plush Daimler-branded version called Super Eight was produced in 2006 for a fairly short period of time. It featured the same supercharged 4.2-litre 400bhp engine as the Jaguar XJR and Super V8 models – but all done in a dignified and comfortable Daimler manner. It looks like 106 examples were sold in the UK, and today 77 are left on the road with another 17 on a SORN.
And in case you’re wondering, due to deals done over 100 years ago Jaguar retains the right to use Daimler-the-badge in certain markets like the UK despite the fact that Daimler-the-company was until recently the parent company of Mercedes-Benz.
How to get one? Rarity does seem to have helped these cars retain more value than more common luxo-barges. There is one for sale for £29,950 at present in Torquay, naturally.
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Audi A8 L W12 Quattro (2011)
Now the A8 W12 could-have should-have done rather better than its Phaeton VW group stablemate. And it did… a bit. Now equipped with a W12 boosted to 493bhp, the four-rings up front operated more easily in the high-end luxury space – up to a point at least. Gloriously comfortable with insatiable but subtle performance, they still depreciated fairly horribly and even some corporate chieftains seem to have baulked at this. First launched in 2011, just 36 A8 Mk3 W12s remain on UK roads. Still, magnificent…
How to get one? Prices start at £21,000 and there are at least three on sale at present.
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Skoda Superb 3.6 Laurin & Klement V6 4x4 (2011)
When the Superb Mk2 arrived in 2011 it was lauded for its space and wide and interesting range of engines, the most notable being a 3.6-litre V6. While you could also get it in the Elegance trim level, it also featured in an all-bells-and-whistle top of the range Laurin & Klement version, with pricing well above the Czech value brand’s usual comfort zone. Sales of just 45 examples were duly notched up – though interestingly all still remain on the road.
How to get one? L&K V6 estates are rare, but there is a 2014 one for sale at present for £15,795, with 67,000 miles.
Data on cars remaining in the UK from the How Many Left? website as at March 2023.
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