There are few moments more memorable in your adult life than seeing a car and saying to yourself: “One day when I am rich, I am going to buy that.”
For me, that has happened twice.
The first time was in 2011 when the upgraded Nissan GT-R launched in South Africa and I had just finished my first year of working full time.
Nissan had upgraded the twin-turbo V6 engine from the 357kW in the previous model to a mammoth 390kW. Torque had also been increased to 612Nm.
It was angular and powerful, and on the inside sat a large tachometer which red-lined at 7,000rpm and a speedometer which would track you past 300km/h.
In March 2011, the Nissan GT-R Premium Edition retailed for R1,314,000 in the country – and I aimed to get there in 10 years.
Unfortunately, as my salary slowly increased each year, so did the price of the car.
Today, a Nissan GT-R Premium Edition retails for R2,475,200 – which is almost double its price from 2011.
To put the price increase into perspective: if you had R1,314,000 and invested this money in a fund which kept up with South Africa’s inflation rate, you would have just over R2.1 million today.
As I did not have R1.3 million in 2011, nor do I have R2.4 million in 2021, the GT-R will remain on the to-do list for now.
BMW M2
The second occasion was in 2016, when BMW launched the new M2 in South Africa.
Its shiny blue body with flared hips and large, black mags was stunning.
Its exhaust note sounded like a nest of angry hornets trying to escape out the rear, and the two-door design told you not to waste your time thinking about road trips with the family.
Rear wheel drive, a 6-cylinder engine, and M-Sport suspension rounded off a 275kW package that made my chest ache with desire.
In early 2016, BMW priced the car as follows in South Africa:
- BMW M2 6-speed manual – R791,000
- BMW M2 DCT – R841,900
Today, an M2 starts at R1,139,464 – which gets you the Competition version of the car.
If the price of the BMW M2 had risen in line with inflation in the country, the R791,000 price tag would be R979,000 today.
For now, the BMW M2 desktop wallpaper will have to suffice.
Saving up
The moral of the story here is that in-demand and desirable cars like the BMW M2 and Nissan GT-R have seen their prices rise well above inflation in South Africa.
This means that if you have a long-term goal to buy one of these dream cars new, you will have to add a few rand to any projected figures you have written down.
Keyword: How much my dream car cost in 2011 vs 2021