Nothing looks, drives, and depreciates like an Italian exotic, but someone else’s loss could be your gain. We admit that a GranTurismo’s reputation may precede it a little, but once you see all you can get for a similar price to a Miata, it starts to become a tempting offer.
The first generation of the GranTurismo lasted over ten years, from 2008 to 2019. Over that time, many variants were offered, but the base and the S are going to be the most common, and luckily, both have V8s produced in conjunction with Ferrari – an era that is now officially done for. The base features a 4.2-liter V8 that made 405 hp and 339 lb-ft mated to a six-speed auto, whereas the S featured a 4.7-liter V8 that made 433 hp and 361 lb-ft.
If you’ve never looked up the prices of these, you should. It’s shocking how cheap it is to get into early first-gen models. You can find base ones with 30-40k miles in the low $20,000 range, while S models with the same mileage will cost you closer to $28,000. You always need to be wary of a cheap Italian exotic, but if you do your research and find the right car that’s been maintained, you could have something very special on your hands for a not-so-special price.