How about a lever machine with the following features:

- Can be operated as a spring-based lever, with two spring options (maximum of 6 and 8 bars)
- Can be operated manually without a spring, for pressure profiling with an analog pressure gauge, or with an optional bluetooth pressure transducer that interacts with a phone app. Both can be combined with a Y adapter
- Comes with a PID that uses multiple probes for temperature stability
- Uses standard 58mm portafilters
- Can be ordered with steam wand on the left or right side
- A plumbed in option

The only only catch is that the above should be written in future tense, and that preordering is closed until the first production run is delivered.

Oh, and with all the extras it costs about a third of your budget.

Manufacturer website

I know about Argos machine from Odyssey Espresso. This is too good to be true. I wish them all the success in the world, but I prefer wait and see how it actually goes.

I am not sure if the flange plate would be able to hand all the pull and push:


Comparing that to a LP lever machine:


Even the flair seems stronger than Argos in my opinion

The Argos actually seems stronger to me. It's one thick plate and the screws that hold it are further apart. Not that I expect this to be an issue on any of those machines.