Reply With QuoteI’d go with Exige S3. I’ve owned a Caterham, Westfield, Boxster, S2000, Z3M, VX220, Exige S2 and Chimaera 450 among others and the v6 S3 Exige was the best allrounder
Lotus man myself,s1/s2/exige..any really
boxsters not bad
caterham/westy
I’d go with Exige S3. I’ve owned a Caterham, Westfield, Boxster, S2000, Z3M, VX220, Exige S2 and Chimaera 450 among others and the v6 S3 Exige was the best allrounder
Interesting reading, if you asked Gordon Murry he would probably say a 60's Lotus Elan. And I'd agree, had a few over the years, superb handling, no driver aids, and very pretty. But most are looking at newer cars, so my 2p worth .....
It depends if you want this car to be a daily or weekend toy, if it's a toy then Mk1 Elise, Caterham etc:, I've owned both and would prefer the Caterham because the Elise is easier to crash! They handle so well that when it lets go it's almost too late, whereas with the Caterham you know exactly when it's going to let go.
If it's a daily then all modern sports cars are good, MX5, 3.0 Z4 (have one at the moment), Cayman etc:
As for me, I like the air cooled 911's, I have a 993 C2 manual, superb all rounder and it's almost 25 years old. I also have a Caterham Supersport for brain out blasting, and a 1957 Healey 100/6, try driving that quickly and you'll know what real classic sports cars are like.
As with anything, most will remember the cars the couldn't afford when they were young, e.g. a MK1 Escort Mexico/RS2000 is an absolute hoot, so is a Mk1 Mini Cooper S.
So it's just as well we all have different tastes otherwise the roads would be full of the same rubbish!
I loved mine!Originally Posted by Dazzler
As for the best manual sports car - Caterham! (I loved the one of those I had too!)
Cheers for all the suggestions guys! Bit of an eye opener really.
I think I'm going to keep the Mk3 RS for a while and get some use out of it, but also buy a JDM Honda of some kind (EK9, DC2)with the thought to fully nut and bolt restore it and use it as a trackday car, I have had a Civic typeR(2005 ep3) before and Vtec is highly addictive and unlike anything else.
Eventually the focus will get swapped in for something abit more 'fruity' but that depends how business goes over the next few years!
Fully restore a car AND then use it as a track car??!? That makes no sense to me at all.
I suspect that the actual last of the best (though that's a bit of a weird phrase) manual cars is going to be the new TVR if it ever sees the light of day. I realise its slightly out of budget.
Failing that I agree with all the Elige recommendations - having had an air-cooled 911, a 944, an Elise S2, a RenaultSport Clio and a Z4M it was definitely the most involving and fabulous fun on track. The best actual car though was definitely the 993, really regret selling that.
And just because I can, here is a video of me in the Elise chasing down a Carrera GT at Ascari:
Not exactly bereft of driver assisting technology though...
So you'd be happy to buy a 20year old car and thrash it around a track straight off the forecourt? Won't last long trust me! I never said fully restore, just nut and bolt!
"fully nut and bolt restore it" sounds like a full restoration to me!
But yep, I would check the usual things (brakes, suspension, how much rot etc) and then I'd happily take a 90s car on track.
Probably abit of a bad explanation on my behalf then, by fully nut and bolt restore I kind of mean everything minus the bodywork(which of course is pointless for a trackcar) - which in my book would be what I'd do prior to taking a 'new to me' car on a trackday. On a old civic/integra it's hardly a big job.
Oil is a myth (and it uses cheap mineral stuff) and 10 grand buys a lot of petrol :)
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
We went to a small car show yesterday with everything from SLS 6.3 Merc to Austin 7 on show. There were a lot of nostalgic moments for me and I would love to have Sunbeam Tiger, TVR, Caterham/Westfield/Robin Hood or something of that ilk in my garage to play with. Unfortunately we don't have a (usable) garage so I have to content myself with a modern buzzbox which is the Peugeot 208 Gti. It is a cracking little car with a great power/weight ratio and minimal electronics. Also surprisingly eco-nomical at 38.6 average even the way I drive and cheap tax. It is also subtley enough styled not to attract too much unwelcome attention.
It has a switch on the dash to set the differentials to either snow, gravel or tarmac. Oh, and ABS as well but that's it. If that's too still too much nannying for you there's always the RS version with a mechanical LSD.
It seems the op has made his mind up but if I was in a similar position I'd be looking at either a MX5, RX8 or 944 S2 and one of these.
1st generation Honda NSX, are they still under 50?
An early 2000s boxster would be a good bet.
Alfa Sud
TVR Griffith / Tuscan / Chimaera
Capri 280
RX7
But Simon is right, ignore the uninformed, if you want a balanced drivers car that you can push hard at sensible (ish) speeds then the MX-5 bears consideration.
No driver aids whatsoever, and massive fun in the sun today :)
Very balanced and approachable performance, whilst being absolutely obscene at the same time. Rocket!
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...type-r/7631618
My daily driver for the past 9 years, now 17 years old and I still cannot find a better car to replace it with; possibly the Mk4 MX5 2.0 Sport Nav but that is about it. Epic car.
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£50 grand would quite easily get you an Alfa SZ.
I had one of those, it was really good, but as a drivers/track car the JDM market STIv Type R (which I had as well) was better, it was lighter, had a lower ratio gearbox, no ABS, front and rear LSDs and a variable centre diff. Brilliant fun but the P1 was a nicer daily driver IMO.
This place https://torque-gt.co.uk/showroom/ have some interesting JDM models from time to time. No affiliation and I've never bought from them.
For me...20180408_195034.jpg
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Very nice great colour
Thank you. When I originally ordered the car I spec'd Fly Yellow. It was very bright so I opted for silver - essentially I didn't have the bottle. I think the orange nose-band helps the car be a little more visible to other road users. And I've never seen another in this colour combination.
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IMG_0852.JPG
My S1 Elise isn't bad but hardly get time to use it these days
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Last edited by Coronet king; 18th April 2018 at 20:37.
The S1 is a great car. I think it's shape will stand the test of time better than the S2 as each ages. I know what you mean about usage. My 7 is 11 years old and has done 13,000 miles, mostly road but some track. I've even offered it to friends to try and get the mileage up but I think they're nervous of pranging it. How old is yours and how do you use it?
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18yrs old less than 50k but probably 3k in the last 3 yrs. I need to pay it some attention really, just sitting in the garage hasn't done it any favours. Just starting a house refurb so that will be another summer lost.
My buddy has just bought an Exige S (2016) and he loves it. I'd suggest a drive in one of those. I still miss my Elise 111S.
I've just sold a TVR Tamora with Tuscan engine and that was a riot, before that I had a Noble M12 which was just too quick for UK roads. I also didn't get on with the boosty mid engined feel, I cut my teeth with a Z3M and always love the way FR cars handle.
OP I would be considering TVR Tuscan 2, E46 M3 CSL, lotus exige and then more modern alternatives such as M2, 997.2, 981 Cayman S, F Type
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