Car? (Pocket Rocket)

[StarHalo]

Forgot to mention, the Top Gear from a couple of weeks ago got a hold of a 90's era BMW M3; they paid roughly six grand for it and it still willingly charged all the way to its 155mph speed limiter on the Autobahn (~153mph until traffic, at least). Not bad for a nearly two-decade old car..

My personal choice would be a Tigercat E1, they can be had for <£5K

Gotta love those Sevens, though I'd spend generously for the end-all still-street-legal track toy: http://www.radicalsportscars.com/range/sr8-supersport-lm

 

[gswitter]

Forgot to mention, the Top Gear from a couple of weeks ago got a hold of a 90's era BMW M3; they paid roughly six grand for it and it still willingly charged all the way to its 155mph speed limiter on the Autobahn (~153mph until traffic, at least). Not bad for a nearly two-decade old car..

Haven't watched that episode yet.

90's era M3 as in e30 (...'90-91) or e36 ('95-'99)? The former is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

Back when I used to do a lot track events, few cars impressed me more than a well sorted e30 M3, and the owners/drivers who would bring them were always competent behind the wheel. I don't think I could say that about any other make/model.

 

[Launch Mini]

Not sure if this fits your description, but I have a BMW 135i, with a few tweaks to the ECU for the twin turbo's.
I have 384bhp with 421 ft/torque.
0-60 is 4 seconds + or - a bit
Still get reasonable mileage with a light foot.
Will light up the tires with the traction control off when I punch it at 50mph.
The "blue ones" come with the "M Package"

 

[alpg88]

oops never mind, didn't notice price range.

 

[StarHalo]

90's era M3 as in e30 (...'90-91) or e36 ('95-'99)? The former is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

An E36, the E30 is considered a collector's item, there's no way you could get one anywhere near that price..

 

[gswitter]

Last time I priced them (couple years ago), you could find an e30 for that price. But, of course, it would come with the "needs new motor" caveat.

 

[Mjolnir]

Forgot to mention, the Top Gear from a couple of weeks ago got a hold of a 90's era BMW M3; they paid roughly six grand for it and it still willingly charged all the way to its 155mph speed limiter on the Autobahn (~153mph until traffic, at least). Not bad for a nearly two-decade old car..



Gotta love those Sevens, though I'd spend generously for the end-all still-street-legal track toy: http://www.radicalsportscars.com/range/sr8-supersport-lm

Of course, the M3 had been crashed and a front shock replaced, much to the ridicule of James and Jeremy... I found the youtube videos of their track laps quite entertaining.
Watching Top Gear sometimes makes me disappointed because of the sheer number of small, high performance "pocket rockets" that they have access to in Europe that never make it here.

Launch Mini do have the Dinan Stage 2 performance upgrade on that 135?

 

[Bobyn]

Not sure if its going to the States, but Fiat is bringing the 500 to Canada soon. I can not describe how excited I am for this car - I would sell all my lights and my motorbike to get this thing. The 500 is pure awesome hot hatch in my opinion.

My sister had a Honda Civic, four door base model, 2001 I believe. Brakes were great, but faded quickly. Suspension is fantastic! Lively, strong and responded very well to almost anything. The engine wasn't bad either, certainly lacked power but revved fantastically. It would happily stay near the top end all day. The body and interior on the other hand…..well…hands down.

My current car is a 2000 Jetta. 2.0l, auto tranny. Boring as hell to drive. Its slow, but torquey and the suspension feels very heavy. The brakes are great though! Body and interior I find fantastic. Made very well and super comfy to be in but certainly doesn't have the fun appeal of yesteryears VWs. I've given up long ago of having a fast car – that's what motorbikes are for.

Every now and then I borrow my fathers Miata. It has the sport package or something along those lines. Many chassis braces, stiff Bilsteins, short ratio tranny, although an NA engine. Handles like its on rails, and you certainly feel it in your back after a while. It's a great car but the one gripe I have about it is the pedal position – I think they are too far to the right for me, and I have a heck of a time using them.

As far as RWD v. FWD, FWD can certainly hold their own if not outhandle many RWD cars. Look at the Super 1600 rally cars, sure they are not WRC spec. but they are awesome in their own right. With that being said, I come from the FWD generation and have never owned a RWD vehicle (The only reason I would is if I got my hands on a Fiat 131 or Alfa Romeo Berlina). I compete (Driver) with my father (Navigator) in amateur performance Rally and I can say for sure that I would be completely useless in a RWD car. We don't have the fastest car - a VW GTI w/ HotBits Suspension, Caged etc, but once you hit the corners that thing grips like nothing else. (For a 2wd…)

One thing many people don't know is that many AWD vehicles are biased towards the front wheels – its safer for many casual drivers.

 

[StarHalo]

Not sure if its going to the States, but Fiat is bringing the 500 to Canada soon.

I've covered the arrival of the 500 in the states a few times in the Cars thread (post #228); they're not too interested in it there, but I'm sure it'll will have a huge following..

As far as RWD v. FWD, FWD can certainly hold their own if not outhandle many RWD cars.

Some can, but even the sportiest FWD models I can think of offhand, like the Dodge Neon SRT or the Mazdaspeed 3, would not be competitive against similarly-priced RWD cars like the aforementioned '11 Mustang V6 or the used 3-series.

There's only so much fun you can have in an FWD anyway; you can't goose the throttle to rotate the car in a turn, can't slide without using the handbrake or surprise downshifting, etc. As long as you're driving without any horseplay, there isn't a lot of difference between the drive types, but once you start really enjoying the physics of car vs road, RWD is where it's at..

 

[Bobyn]

I've never driven, or ridden in a new generation Mustang, so I can't productively comment on that but I have driven a 2000 model V8 and it was...well....a big Domestic boat. (Meant in the nicest way possible!)

I'd have to disagree with you about FWD not being fun though! With clever use of left foot braking, engine braking and suspension preloading a FWD car can be tossed around just as well. The handbrake should rarely be used, you just don't have any control. I can't think of the last time I used it in Rally. We didn't even bother to install a hydraulic handbrake in the car. I think its just too schools of thought and knowledge. I couldn't handle a RWD car nearly as well as a FWD car in a 'fun' situation...but thats just me.

I do say though, that RWD vehicles can do it with much more style. Hehehe. I'd like to see a Focus RS, Renault Clio or a Mk1 Rabbit GTi up against that Mustang (As of now, I am unsure of this 3500lb, live axle beast) or a BMW 3 series. I don't know who would win, but it would be an interesting battle for sure!