Awesome Cars That Will Be Cheap In 2017 Thanks To Depreciation

We picked five awesome cars that will get cheaper as the new year rolls around.

There are many car enthusiasts that don't like buying a new car because they know it will lose most of its value in a few years. There is leasing, but that is more like renting than buying. That's why many enthusiasts turn to the used market where they can take advantage of the depreciation someone else paid to buy a car they couldn't afford new. We do stories like this all the time in our "Supercar On A $50,000 Budget" series, but this top five will focus more on cars that are fairly new, and will be surprisingly affordable as soon as next year.

BMW is getting ready to replace the current generation M5 with a new, AWD model based on the G30 5 Series. This means that the current F10 M5 will probably start to depreciate as much as the old E60 generation did. The E60 can be found for less than $25,000 and we have already found a few F10s that cost less than $40,000. These cars cost almost $100,000 (base price) when they were new and came with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 560 horsepower. In the coming years, we expect that most of the M5 models of this generation will drop below $40,000 and could bottom out like the previous V10-powered car did.

The Jaguar F-Pace just came out this year, so it might take a while before it becomes as cheap as we would like. However, based on the way that even the most expensive Jaguar models like the XFR have depreciated in the past, the F-Pace should be very affordable on the used market. The base price of the F-Pace is just under $41,000 for the 20d model with a 180 hp turbo-diesel engine. However, the cheapest model that we found online was the 35t model with the 340 hp supercharged V6 for $45,000. While it is still too new to be found for cheap right now, we think that the F-Pace should come down in price as the car ages.

The Ford Fiesta ST is one of the best affordable sports cars on the market. The ST has a base price of around $21,000 and comes with a 197 hp engine with a six-speed manual as the only transmission option. It is not hard to see why the Fiesta ST is such a great driver's car, especially considering that it is so reasonably priced. Even though the Fiesta ST has only been around since 2014, there are already some amazing deals to be had. We found Fiesta ST models for as little as around $11,000. This is an extremely good deal for such a great car, and prices will only continue to become more affordable. Small, fast Fords have had a history of losing their value, and it seems like the ST is not immune to depreciation.

In the United States, the cheapest Audi model that still had some guts under the hood was the S3. The US will soon get the more powerful RS3, which will be a closer competitor to the BMW M2 and Mercedes-AMG CLA45. Even though that car will feature an epic 400 hp five-cylinder engine, the S3 is no slouch with its 292 hp four-cylinder. The base price of a new S4 is just under $43,000, but is bound to depreciate like most Audis. We found a 2015 certified pre-owned S3 for just $35,000 with only 30,000 miles. The S3 should get cheaper as Audi enthusiasts trade it in for the more powerful RS3 or the larger S4.

The Fiat 124 Spider is one of the cars that we were most excited for in 2016. Now that it's here, were are anxious to see how much it depreciates in the coming years. The base price of a 124 is just under $25,000, but a used one can be purchased for less than $23,000. While this isn't a huge savings, this price drop did happen in less that one full year. Prices have been dropping like stones on the Fiat 500 Abarth, so we bet that the 124 will follow suit.

Aston Martin's Electric Cars Will Sound Awesome

From a company known for making V12 engines, this doesn't surprise us.

Aston Martin is gearing up to replace its oldest model, the Rapide, with an all-new electric model called the Rapide E. The Rapide E is expected to arrive next year and Aston Martin has been teasing us with little details like a photo of the car's electric drivetrain without a body on top of it. We know only 155 will be built in the first year, each with over 600 horsepower and 710 lb-ft of torque. Aston wants it to be able to complete laps around the Nurburgring without running out of juice, so clearly, this will be a seriously fast EV.

One detail that hasn't been brought up is how the car will sound. Aston Martin has clearly been thinking about it, as Automotive News Europe reports.

When a normal car company like Chevrolet or Nissan sells an electric car, what it sounds like is of very little concern. However, Aston Martin's customers are used to the growl of a V8 or V12 engine, so they may be less willing to purchase a car that makes no engine noise. Clearly, the company has reason to be concerned.

"It's not just a car. It's about Aston Martin as a box. Here is electrification — go put that inside a company that has a great history of making V12 and V8 engines," John Caress, vehicle line director for the Rapide E, said.

Aston wants to make sure it eliminates the noises that were masked by the V12 engine. The Nissan Leaf famously used a different windshield wiper motor because the Nissan's normal unit was too loud without an engine to drown it out. Aston is already thinking about this sort of issue and will use noise-canceling Pirelli tires to partially eliminate road noise. In regard to how the electric motors will sound, Caress said "Electric machines have a certain frequency, but it's very hard to tune them. You get into augmented noises and that's not what this car is about."

After the Rapide E, Aston plans to revive the Lagonda brand with a new electric SUV. Clearly, customers are on board with an electric SUV from Aston Martin because company CEO Andy Palmer said: "We had people throwing money at us as deposits" at the preview event for the Lagonda. We can't wait to see what Aston Martin comes up with to make its EVs sound good. Chevy recently revealed a white noise for the Volt, but it is geared towards helping pedestrians hear the car coming. Aston's sound will need to make people forget about the V12, which is not an easy task.

Awesome Concepts That Never Made It To Production

The world would be a better place if these had made it onto the road.

For motor manufacturers, concept cars can mean a great deal, or they can mean nothing at all. Often, they’re a way of gauging public interest before committing to production. But all too often, they’re ‘celebratory’ models, or indications of future design intent. In some cases, some manufacturers seemingly build concepts merely to disappoint us by never actually producing anything vaguely reminiscent. So with that said, here are ten concept cars we thought should’ve reached production, but never did, and likely never will.

1. 2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept

The Lamborghini Miura is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful supercars ever. In 2006, Lamborghini celebrated the 40th anniversary of the original Miura concept with the gorgeous green concept you see here, penned by then chief of design, Walter de Silva. Technical details were kept a secret, but there was never even a hope of it reaching production. Then CEO of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann said, “The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. Retro design is not what we are here for. So we won’t do the Miura.”

2. 2010 Audi Quattro Concept

What better way for Audi to capitalize on its rich heritage in motorsport, and particularly in the World Rally Championship, than to build a modern version of the infamous Quattro rally car? Well in 2010 Audi teased us with just that. To celebrate 30 years of quattro all-wheel drive, Audi unveiled the sleek two-door Quattro Concept in Paris. It was based on a shortened RS5 platform, weighed in at a measly 2,866 pounds, and kept to the Ur Quattro’s ethos by packing the same 2.5-liter unit from the RS3, but dialed up to 403 horsepower. It would’ve been an exceptional celebration of Audi’s AWD-prowess, but it never reached production.

3. 2009 Bugatti 16C Galibier

After the Bugatti nameplate was revived by Volkswagen, resulting in the rulebook-rewriting Veyron, everybody wondered “what next?” for Bugatti. The 16C Galibier was a hint at what could’ve been. It was characterized by a central rib that ran the length of the body – a throwback to the Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic – and was met with great interest when it debuted in Frankfurt in 2009. Powered by an 8.0-liter twin-supercharged W16 engine – derived from but not the same as the unit in the Veyron – it produced in excess of 1000 hp, and could manage a top speed of more than 235 mph.

4. 2014 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge

When the now Cadillac president, Johan de Nysschen, was at the helm of Infiniti, he envisioned a rival to the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. In 2014, Infiniti revealed the Q50 Eau Rouge concept. The super-sedan was named after the sweeping left-hander at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium and was much more than just a static design concept. No, the Q50 Eau Rouge packed the Nissan GT-R’s 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 under the hood, developing 560 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque. It was mated to an all-wheel drive system – though not the same one as the GT-R – and looked to be the M3’s worst nightmare.

5. 2008 BMW M1 Homage Concept

BMW has a rich history, filled with great racers and segment-defining street cars. But amongst generations of series models, the original BMW M1 supercar is still a holy machine amongst enthusiasts. In 2008, BMW honored the original with a truly fitting concept – commemorating 30 years since the release of the original. It too was a rear-mid engined supercar, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro who designed the original, and it wore a similarly striking orange color and the dual BMW logos on the rear. But BMW never intended on taking it to production – it was merely to honor a hero of the past.

6. 2014 Hyundai PassoCorto

We’re still getting to grips with the idea of Hyundai as a performance brand – its new Veloster N giving us a first look at its ability to produce a proper hot-hatch. But back in 2014, Hyundai showed strong intent when it released the PassoCorto concept. The striking sports car was a compact 2-seater – its name translating literally as ‘short wheelbase' – that was the product of a design competition hosted in partnership with Hyundai and the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin. The PassoCorto proposed using a mid-mounted 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4 to drive the rear wheels of what could’ve been an Alfa Romeo 4C-fighter.

7. 2014 Mini Superleggera Vision Concept

In 2014 at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, the open top collaboration between Mini and Touring Superleggera – called the Mini Superleggera – was revealed. It melded contemporary design elements with traditional Mini ‘Britishness’ in a striking package that would’ve been incredible in production guise. The Mini Superleggera had an eye on the future though, as it was powered by an electric motor. It never made it to production – but just imagine what Mini could’ve become if it had made it.

8. 2010 Jaguar C-X75

Remember the Jaguar XJ220 hypercar of the 1990s? Few do, but when it was around it actually set the record for the world’s fastest car – a record only beaten by the McLaren F1. In 2010 Jaguar sought to reinvent the XJ220, but suitable for the future. An archaic combustion engine would be out of the question, so the all-electric C-X75 was born. Its four electric motors produced 778 hp, and the batteries were to be charged on the go by two diesel-fed micro-gas turbines. There were plans to produce the C-X75, albeit as a hybrid with a turbo-gasoline motor, but they never materialized due to the ongoing global economic crisis getting in the way.

9. 2013 Nissan IDx

Nismo Small cars are fun – add in rear wheel drive and retro styling, and you’ve got a winning formula. In 2013, Nissan unveiled twin IDx concept cars to the world – styled to be reminiscent of the old Datsun SSS. The IDx Nismo was the one that caught everybody’s attention though – with a racy livery, boxy flared styling, and the promise of a compact, lightweight rival to the Toyota 86, with a boosted 1.6-liter engine at its heart. The attention garnered by the IDx Nismo concept was massive – and Nissan constantly flirted with the idea of production, refusing to rule it out. But we’re now 5 years down the line and it still hasn’t materialized.

10. 2015 BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R

Another BMW Hommage concept, but one deserving of a place on this list; built to commemorate the original 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile,’ the 3.0 CSL Hommage R debuted at the 2015 edition of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. It was built with a lightweight racing inspired interior, and was powered by an inline six-cylinder engine complete with an eBoost hybrid system. It utilized liberal amounts of aluminum and carbon fiber, but like the M1 Homage and the 2002 Hommage, it was a celebration of the past, not an indication of the future.