8 Of The Cheapest Ways To V10 Ownership

With the death of the Lamborghini Huracan in 2024, the age of the V10-powered road car is over. For now, at least. This, clearly, is very sad, but the majority of V10-powered cars were always big-money exotica anyway.

Happily, while depreciation might cause sleepless nights for the people who bought plenty of these cars new, it’s brought a lot of ten-cylinder metal into a much more affordable realm for us mere mortals. Nowadays, you can pick yourself up a bona fide V10 thoroughbred for the same sort of money as a new supermini. It’s just best if you don’t think about the fuel bills. Or the insurance. Or the inevitable repair bills. Or…

1. Audi S6 (C6)

One of the sleeper-iest sleeper cars, the C6-generation Audi S6 looks, to the untrained eye, like any old Audi exec cruiser. But we know that under the bonnet is basically the same 5.2-litre V10 from the R8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo (maybe. Nobody seems to be able to agree on quite how much the two engines share), and it’s got 429bhp for a 5.3-second 0-62mph dash.

There aren’t that many on sale, but when they do come up they tend to sit between around £7000 and £11,000 for tidy ones – or if you’re feeling especially brave/stupid (delete as you feel appropriate) you can find one for as little as £500. No matter your chosen budget, it’s not much for that level of power and swank. Fuel bills will, however, be ruinous.

2. Audi S8 D3)

Sure, the S6 is big and luxurious, but what if you want even more, erm, bigness and luxuriousness? Audi also stuffed that V10, here making 444bhp, into the D3 generation of its uber-luxe S8.

Gluttons for punishment can find them for as little as £6000, while if you want one that might wait a little while before forcing you to remortgage your house, double that figure and look upwards from there.

3. VW Touareg V10 TDI

Oh, the heady days of the mid-2000s, when you could casually drop a V10 (and a diesel V10 at that) into a family SUV and no one would bat an eyelid. The 5.0-litre V10 TDI version of the big Volkswagen Touareg is one such hilarious machine.

If you want to gamble on some very big repair bills, you might be able to find one for around £7000, but reckon on between £10,000 and £20,000 for a decent one, especially if it’s the more performance-geared R50 version. Sure, a diesel V10 won’t scream like a petrol, but it will tear the tarmac from the road and waft you along in comfort. And we wouldn’t recommend towing a caravan with a Lamborghini. 

4. VW Phaeton V10 TDI

If the Touareg’s a little too massive for you, then you can find the diesel V10 in another ostentatious Volkswagen. The Phaeton was VW’s crack at breaking into the large luxury saloon market, and while it didn’t really succeed from a business case, it has left some hilariously specced cars on the used market.

The V10 TDI is one such example, and it’s even cheaper than the Touareg at around £8000 to £9000. Brilliantly, it’s not even the daftest engine available in the Phaeton – VW also made the Phaeton with a petrol-powered W12 nicked from Bentley.

5. BMW M5 (E60/61)

BMW might have built its reputation on six-cylinder engines, but it knows how to put a glorious V10 together, and the E60 M5 with its S85 5.0-litre engine is perfect proof. A nice round 500bhp, a 4.7-second 0-62mph sprint and a 200mph top speed are very tempting numbers, especially when prices start at around £15,000 for a high-mileage example.

Prices are starting to go up, however – you’re looking at north of £20,000 for a nice one, and low-mileage M5s are going for £40,000-plus. You’ll need to budget even more if you want the rarer E61 Touring version, too. Are you brave enough to bag a cheap one?

6. BMW M6 (E63/64)

Eyebrows shot through the roof when the Chris Bangle-designed E63 BMW M6 arrived in 2005, but we reckon time has been very nice to what was controversial styling at the time. And besides, it has the same S85 V10 as the M5 under the bonnet.

Starting prices are similar to the M5 too, but aren’t going quite so high, with quite a few around for between £13,000 and £15,000 and some very nice-looking examples for only a small amount about £20,000. Time to grab one before they skyrocket in value?

7. Dodge Ram SRT-10

So far, so good, but so European. So say hello to America with the Dodge Ram SRT-10. The V10 under its expansive bonnet (sorry, hood) is borrowed from the Viper. It’s 8.3 litres in capacity and blats out 500bhp, which is enough for five seconds to 60mph even in a truck the size of Wyoming.

The Ram SRT-10 was never officially sold in the UK, but there have been a few arrive through grey import routes with the steering wheel on the wrong side. That means you’re unlikely to see any others about if you get one. And to do so, you’ll need to dig out at least £25,000. Still, cheaper than a Viper…

8. Audi RS6 (C6)

Ok, yes, we know that “cheapest” is doing some heavy lifting at this end of the list. But look, power and cylinders cost money. When you consider that a brand new Audi RS 6 today will cost you at least £117,000 before you start adding options – and you only get a V8 with it – the older C6-generation RS6 still looks like a bargain.

It uses the same 5.2-litre V10 we mentioned earlier, but in the RS6 power is cranked up to 571bhp thanks to the addition of two turbochargers. And, unusually in this list, prices look to be dropping at the moment. Prices start at around £15,000, while decent-looking examples go for around £20,000 an upwards. When we did a similar list to this back in 2015, RS6s were £25,000. So by our maths, you’d be MAKING money if you bought one. Right?