Top 6+ naturally aspirated V10 cars collectors are quietly snatching up

Today, many armchair enthusiasts consider turbocharged cars with automatic transmissions to be the ultimate performance machines. And I’ll admit these fast cars may post quick track times. But there's a problem with these surgical speed machines. Their technical performance capabilities mask a severe lack of smiles per mile.

It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, the market was packed with naturally aspirated V10s that made globs of torque. Better yet, most of them stuck the driver smack-dab in the middle of the experience thanks to stick shift transmissions. These supercars with soul have aged like fine wine, and collectors in the know are quietly snatching up the final generation of analog machines. Here are six of our favorites.

Lexus LFA

2011-2012

Legend has it that when Akio Toyoda canceled the Supra, chief test driver Hiromu Naruse told the exec that anyone without track experience was unfit to chair an auto company. To his credit, Toyoda took driving lessons from Naruse, competed in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring under a fake name, and launched a new lineup of analog, RWD sports cars. His new halo car: the short-lived Lexus LFA.

Toyota assembled just 500 Lexus LFAs between late 2010 and the end of 2012. The Nurburgring-tested supercar had a 4.8-liter V10 up front connected to the rear wheels through a six-speed automated manual. This old-school exotic layout was accentuated by an even firing order, which allowed the V10 to rev to a 9,000 rpm redline. The rare supercar was Akio’s pet project, a traditional race car legal on the street. And it's now prized by collectors as the technological pinnacle of this analog experience. With a great backstory to boot.

Porsche Carrera GT

2004-2006

Many consider the Porsche 911 automotive perfection. Too many, in fact. These nimble cars, with their flat-six engine in the rear, are downright common at your local Cars and Coffee. But it’s far from the only car Porsche built. Between 2003 and 2006, Porsche assembled 1,270 “Carrera GTs.” Squint and you might mistake this mid-engine Porsche for a regular 911, but it’s actually a barely restrained Formula One race car.

Porsche originally built the Carrera GT to be its Le Mans competitor. It even gave the car a 5.7-liter naturally aspirated V10 that Porsche designed for a Formula One team in 1992. The only configuration featured a traditional, six-speed manual transmission. The result is an absolutely bonkers old-school race car. It rockets to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and corners like it’s on rails. Many folks on the road will assume you’re in just another Porsche. But enthusiasts know the Carrera GT is essentially a holdover race car from the golden, analog days of Formula One.

Dodge Viper

1992-2017

In the late 1980s, Chrysler Corporation engineers asked a seemingly harmless question: What would a modern vehicle with a muscle car’s soul look like? The result was the brawny, bare bones, first-gen Viper. The 1992 supercar was a two-seat roadster with a massive 8.0-liter V10 up front, only available with a stick shift six-speed transmission. Best of all, it weighed in under 3,500 pounds. The Viper is what all the wildest muscle cars of the 1970s wished they could be.

Dodge redesigned the Viper to be a bit more refined for 1996 (adding a coupe configuration and roll-up windows), while retaining the raw personality of the beast. Across three generations, the Viper remained the deserving Dodge halo car until it was finally unseated by the Hellcat and canceled in 2017. Today, Dodge fans who watch too many Fast and Furious movies dream of doing highway pulls in a Charger Hellcat. But true driving enthusiasts know a Viper offers a near perfect all-around driving experience. It has brutal straight-line power and can hang with European exotics in the corners. The Viper looks timeless and drivers in the know are snatching them up. Built in higher numbers than everything else on the list (31,947 across 26 model years), a regular Viper isn’t necessarily a collector’s goldmine. But this muscle car born in the wrong decade is such a critical piece of Detroit’s history that it’s the perfect V10 to complete any collection.

BMW M5 E60

2005-2010

In 1968, BMW introduced its “M30” inline six-cylinder, staking its claim as the I6-powered, RWD, performance sedan company. Over the decades, it continued evolving this basic powertrain with more displacement, and eventually turbocharged I6s. Then in 2005, BMW did something no one was expecting: it launched the world's first V10 sedan. Back then, V10 was the same engine configuration it was using for the BMW Sauber Formula One team. Thus the car was likely a clever marketing move linking the sedan to motorsports.

The 2005-2010 BMW M5 is a sedan built for uncompromising drivers. Its 5.0-liter V10 and seven-speed paddle-shift sequential manual gearbox make it an absolute blast to drive. The North American version even offered a traditional, six-speed manual. Yet as a 5 Series BMW, it’s a true midsize sedan with room for the entire family. The 2011 M5 downsized to a twin-turbo V8, leaving the E60 M5 as a high-water mark for naturally aspirated BMWs. The automaker built just 8,800 sedans for the U.S. market. Enthusiasts know the engine requires some care, such as proactively replacing weak rod bearings. But because the E60 M5 represents such a unique chapter in the company’s history, they’re already a collector’s item anyway.

Lamborghini Gallardo

2004-2014

Volkswagen AG acquired Lamborghini in 1998 and promptly engineered one of the most legendary naturally aspirated V10s of all time. The Gallardo dropped for the 2004 model year as the first “entry level” Lamborghini. Forget its $165,000 MSRP, the real budget-friendly aspect of the Gallardo was its nearly bulletproof powertrain. Its 5.0-liter V10 is a proper exotic powerplant, featuring an even firing order for an 8,500 rpm redline. After complaints that the first model year felt too tame, the 2006 model year adopted a louder exhaust, stiffer suspension, new steering rack, aggressive gear ratios, and a higher engine output. The resulting vehicle won Top Gear’s Dream Car of the Year.

VW AG sold over 4,500 Gallardos in the U.S. market before canceling the car after 2014. Today, V12 Lamborghinis sold at the same time as the Gallardo are worth significantly more on the used market (namely the Murciélago and Aventador). In fact, used Gallardos are one of the few Lamborghinis drivers can buy for less than six figures. But the Gallardo has the distinction of being the final stick shift Lamborghini sold in North America. Ultra-rare stick shift Gallardos can resell for up to $250,000. Why? Lamborghini shipped just 59 to the U.S. They’re commanding such a steep premium that some specialty shops even convert automatic Gallardos to three-pedal cars.

Audi R8 5.2

2008-2024

One of the best personality tests in the used supercar market is that the cheapest Gallardo and most expensive Audi are mechanical twins wearing different sheet metal. And used, they cost about the same. Back in the day, you could configure an Audi R8 with a V8 engine (the 4.2), or you could order it as an absolute beast with the same naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V10 and gated manual as the Gallardo. Want Lamborghini flash on a budget? Go with the Gallardo. Want a sleeper supercar that non-enthusiasts might mistake for any old Audi? That would be the Audi R8 5.2.

Audi’s engineering-first reputation makes the R8 5.2 an attractive supercar for driving enthusiasts who want to signal taste without showing off. It was made famous as Tony Stark’s ride when he wasn’t flying around in his Ironman suit. And today, collectors can’t get enough. When Hagerty revealed its 2023 “Bull Market” list of underrated cars worth investing in, it had to call out the R8 5.2. Luckily for investors, VW AG kept selling the Audi R8 long after the Gallardo, finally canceling Audi’s halo car after the 2024 model year—and 44,430 units sold worldwide.