IT SAYS 'LHD European Depreciation Proof Supercars' on Martin Pearse's business card and that's exactly what his company, MCP Motorsport, supplies. High performance vehicles that were originally imported to the UK in tiny numbers, or not at all. Alternatively, they can be contemporary iconic sports cars that cost a fortune simply because the steering is installed on the right-hand side. So European exotica that once cost telephone numbers can now be bought for a much friendlier four or five-digit figure. Best of all, that vehicle will barely depreciate any further because it is rare, usually hand built and highly sought after. Yes this is the car enthusiasts' Holy Grail: buy a great car, enjoy it and then sell it on without financial hardship. Surely though, some buyers must raise an objection to sitting on the left?
I usually put it this way when a potential customer says they can't cope with a left-hand drive car, says Pearse. If I were to put a briefcase with £15,000 on the left-hand seat, where would you rather sit? Few buyers hesitate, especially when the difference between some right and left-hand drive models is a whopping £30,000. Pearse points out that another big advantage to sitting on the left is that you can see the other side of the road, around the car in front. When you are in something as fast as an Alpina, pulling out to see if there is an overtaking opportunity is easy. Mind you, I would hesitate to say the same about a left-hand drive Golf GL though.

Enthusiasts' choice
Pearse sells only certain types of left hookers. These are cars that I like to drive and own. That restricts what I offer, although I will source particular cars if a customer requests it. But if I like the car it ensures every single customer and I have more than just a vehicle sale in common. Clearly Pearse is not your average car dealer, actually he's much more sophisticated and urbane than that. An enthusiast first, this 55 year-old only started importing five years ago after finding that the cars he really loved could be bought for less and in pristine condition in Germany.
The Germans, you see, really know how to look after their cars which may have six-figure kilometre readings but still manage to look showroom fresh. In the UK many owners only seem to service their cars when there is no alternative. Car hygien habits are suspect too as Pearse shows me an M3 that had belonged to a Brit for just a few months. He had turned the interior into a skip. Not surprisingly Pearse is reluctant to take UK part-exchanges. Unless it really is of a standard that he can resell. The only problem Pearse has is getting hold of the service history. That's because the Germans assume we are all like them, so don't always keep the paperwork.
The other problem with German cars is their lack of anti-theft devices. Because car crime is not such a big issue, there is rarely a Thatcham anything fitted to them. Otherwise they are utterly brilliant. So what are Pearse's favourites?

Alpina changed my life
I drove a friend's Alpina B10 Turbo and suddenly every other car on the planet seemed to pale into insignificance, says Martin. I decided that I just had to have one and got hold of a copy of the German magazine Motor and Sport and looked through the classifieds. I found what seemed to be the ideal example. The, owner was a businessman in Munich. His secretary spoke perfect English, but when she said that the B10 had done 274,000 kilometres I almost put the phone down. She convinced me that it was in showroom condition, had been valeted everyday and generally pampered between autobahn runs, being serviced regularly at Alpina's workshops. Then the service history chattered through the fax for what seemed like an hour, there were reams of bills. I contacted the service manager at Alpina who confirmed that the car was as described. The next thing I know I'm getting off a plane and being met at the airport by the businessman in a Ferrari Testarossa whilst his wife drove the B10. We motored to the Nurburgring whilst I read through a German road test which suggested that the BIO was quicker than a Testarossa. Hammering around the Nurburgring I had to agree that there was only one winner. So I had to buy the B10.
Not surprisingly MCP always has several in stock and a red Alpina B10 Bi-Turbo is parked outside the MCP office. With a top speed of 185 mph it is comfortably the world's fastest saloon and it must also be the world's best value saloon at around £12,950 for a sprightly eight, year old. But think left-hand drive BMW and you automatically think M3. The classified ads are full of them in varying states of repair. Outside the MCP office is a bright red Evolution for £7995. According to Pearse, Evo Sports are hard to find and convertibles are always in big demand. However, in this crowded market he prefers to source the more exotic incarnations of the M3. Alpina's own B6 3.5S costs around £14,000 and is difficult to find but, reckons Pearse, it is better than an Evo Sport III, Hartge's M3 was badged as tile H6 24V which pumps out an impressive 330bhp, but you probably won't ever have seen one because they only made six. Lotech's M3 is almost as rare and quick.

Beemers and Porkers
One of the best value BMW buys is the 850 Coupe which was expensive (at £50,000-plus when new), heavy, slow and largely ignored by right-hand drive buyers. However, at £10,000 in left-hand drive form it makes a fabulous alternative to a Mercedes SL, or the still-pricey Jaguar XK8. More beautiful and powerful though would be a 635 B7 Turbo, which has 320bhp on tap and a real rarity value as just 60 were built. Pearse says that the '93-on 3.8 M5s, providing they are immaculate, always sell well and there is lots of interest in the Zl at £15,000. But really the slide-doored ,3251 is a summer run vehicle rather than a track-day special or business express, the two main categories that most of MCP's sales fall into. Pearse tips the Alpina 750 B12 5.7 as the one to watch. By next year these beautiful beasts will be £16-£17.000 down from £100,000 new.
Of course you can't shop for left hand drive cars in Germany without noticing what good value Porsches are. A silver 1995 993 Bi-Turbo 4 sits menacingly outside the MCP office and is arguably the ultimate 911. It will accelerate to 100 mph in just 9 seconds, it has had just one owner and has covered 45,000 miles. The asking price is £39.950. But if the steering wheel was on the other side you could add some £25k to that figure. Pearse also seeks out the companies who rework Porsches in the same way that Alpina transform BMW's. Because there are so many Porsche specialists around, MCP always aim to offer something a little more special from Ruf, Almeras and DP Motorsport. A distinctive 'flatnose' Kremer Porsche Turbo from 1979 looks outrageous and costs £16,995. Mercedes also went down the high performance special route with the 190 in Evolution II tune which cost £56,000 in 1991. Pearse has two of these superbly built models from just £19.999.

Luton's Finest
Apart from the BMWs, Pearse's best seller is the humble Vauxhall Carlton. Well that's not quite right, because it was actually the Lotus Carlton, an incredible super saloon transformed by Lotus into something that would frighten Alpina BMW's by getting to 100mph in 9 seconds. Except that General Motors also insisted on a German version that was badged as the Lotus Omega. These are now £10,000 cheaper than right-hand drive versions allowing Pearse to sell them for just £13.995. Then there is the overlooked Opel Omega Evolution 500, German tuner Irmscher's answer to the Lotus Carlton. It looks better on the outside because the arches and spoilers are fared into the body and there is even a retractable rear spoiler. Inside, though, it is awful GM plastic. More important is the 230bhp engine so that it can keep up with a BMW M5. When they come up they sell for £8000 or so which makes them a subtle supercar bargain.
A consistent seller for MCP is the Audi Avant RS2. There are some stupid prices placed on UK-owned examples, but MCP offer them in the £l6-£19.000 bracket, although values have been on the rise recently MCP has a beautiful grey example which belonged to a 72 year-old supergran who obviously liked her supercars. Says Martin: These cars last forever. They are the best estates you can buy which won't depreciate, and with four-wheel drive they won't fall off the road. Nothing else comes close and I do not see a Subaru Legacy estate as a rival.

Far East free zone
What you won't find at MCP is any of that Far Eastern nonsense. We don't stock Subarus, Skylines or Lancer Evolutions. They might be good value, but they still depreciate too much for my liking. Also a customer of mine went to a track day in an Alpina B10 and basically left those Impreza Turbos a long way behind.
MCP will, however, supply a genuine oriental supercar in the shape of European-specification Honda NSXs which sell for a tempting £18-£21k.
Pearse is also decidedly cool about those Italian left-hand drive icons. Fragile Lancia Intergrale Evolutions just don't feature on his stock list whilst Ferraris sell on value. An F40 is £.30k less from Europe and a 348s is always going to be £20k-plus cheaper in left-hand drive. However, Pearse manages a wry smile when commenting that he has never seen a Ferrari with more than 40,000 miles on the clock, which should make any Ferrari buyer just a little concerned. However, he produces a Polaroid snap of a Testarossa he found in a European showroom with zero kilometers on the clock. Unregistered and waiting for its first owner, apparently trophy cars like this are regularly uncovered – especially among reclusive collectors. When it comes to pure Italian driving machines Pearse loves the wilfully ugly Alfa Romeo SZ and has sold a few for around £20,000.
But there's no doubting that Pearse's heart lies with German cars and that's where he puts his money when buying used exotica. Probably because they last so well!

DIY Import?
IT ALL SOUNDS so very tempting to simply nip across the channel and come back with a left-hand drive icon of your own and leave out the middle man. Except that middleman, Martin Pearse, isn't greedy, keeps overheads low and prides himself on never having a problem car. Indeed you can phone up his customers for testimonials and can rest assured that the car you see is fully serviced and fully documented. Less scrupulous importers immediately register the cars in the UK to lose the German documentation. Pearse holds onto the Fahrzeug Brief (log book) so that you can see who'd owned the car and even ring them up. Cars can be write-offs, clocked or stolen, so personally we'd rather trust an experienced enthusiast with a network of good contacts than chance it alone in Europe. That's because there are regions that you don't buy from. Bandit country for used car sales is Italy, but the eastern half of Germany is no picnic either. Also there are registration details to sort out unless you want your vehicle confiscated. A recent sob story involved a British buyer of a Porsche Carerra 2 who only found out it was stolen when the Police stopped him. He's now without wheels and out of pocket by £23,000!
UCB are convinced. Why be miserable in the driver's seat of an underwhelming car when for the same money you could be enjoying life in the passenger seat of an icon? We say wave depreciation worries goodbye, think with the left-hand side of your brain and start driving the supercar you always promised yourself.
Martin Pearse (01263 822481).