The Perfect Track Car????

[c4racer]

funny this topic would surface - I've been wrestling with the exact same issues. Let me tell you where I'm coming from:

Street cars I've owned that I have tracked include:
89 IROC Camaro
98 M3
00 M5
04 Z06
91 Corvette

The Corvette has recently undergone a conversion to a dedicated track car including a full cage, race seat and wheel and everything built to NASA / SCCA safety regs. My plan was to run the car for a few years with the ~300hp motor and develop the handling / braking side of the car before adding a built motor. Best laid plans ended when the motor blew, so I have been building a ~475hp mild race motor - 355c.i. Now I am comtemplating if I made the right choice or not. This car has cost plenty to build since I started from a nice street car that I purchased 6 years ago. However, the value once up and running with the new motor will be close to $15K. Not a ton, and a number I am generally comfortable walking away from if the worst happens. I buitl the car with the intention of running in DE to start, but hopefully adding some actual racing venues since the car is prepped for it. Meanwhile I've been mostly running my street cars since the race car has been out of commission all this year.

So now I feel I am at a crossroads. I need to finish the car and get it back on track, but I am not sure if I will keep it or sell it. Problem is, there are no real competitive series where I can go develop as a driver. About the only place I could go run the car is SCCA ITE class, which is a bucks-up class in which several sponsored cars tend to play - the feedback I've gotten from a friend who used to race in that class is that I would need a new set of hoosiers pretty much every weekend. Well, that gets expensive really fast and is well over my head.

So I started thinking about selling the race car, which also means I can get rid of a very expensive full sized SUV tow rig, and pick up something that I can drive to the track and still have some fun in DE venues. I don't really have the time or budget to go racing at the moment anyway, so owning a dedicated race car doesn't make too much sense to me - especially a car that still needs some $$ and time to finish development and bring the chassis / brakes up to par with the new motor. I guess I want something that I can just drive and not wrench on all the time.

So my thoughts went in several directions:
E36 M3
E30 or E36 325is
C5 FRC (hard-top prior to Z06, so has standard 350hp LS1 motor)
STI
RX8
For that one I was thinking I could lease one, since they are offering such attractive rates - put on a set of shocks, some R tires and good brake pads and go beat the living hell out of the car for 3 years and give it back

Then I started thinking, hey, if I am going to spend mid-upper $20's on a track-toy sports car, why not get an NSX? My buddy has a '94 which I've ridden in a lot and also driven, and it would surely make a killer track car....

Then I got back to - what if I put it in a wall thoughts....

And came back on the sub $10K idea, similar to the starter of this thread. I hadn't considered a 944S, that is a good suggestion - a neighbor has one that he runs in DE and PCA events, has a roll bar but not a full cage, and also drives it on the street - has stickers and everything, not sure if he runs in races or just DE open track stuff, but I've seen the car on track and it is fast. E30 BMW 325is would be a good place to start too - much simpler car and lighter than the E36, the rear suspension is not as good, but there is great aftermarket support for it and parts are cheap, plus the cars are generally very reliable. And the nice thing about either the 944 or 325is, there is a natural progression to a competitive race series if you should decide to go down that path - either with the car you start with, or with a full sorted race car (always the best way to buy).

Scott
'05 CTS-V
'04 Armada
'91 Corvette race car

 

[dsf3g]

Let me plug the MR2 (and the Miata) here:

This summer I did my first two track days/performance driving schools at Summit Point in West Virginia and took my MR2 Turbo. Before going I'd learned (from hanging out at Elisetalk) that at least one Lotus Elise would be at the event, and I was pretty excited, since it's one of the three cars I hope to be able to upgrade to in ten years or so (the others being an NSX and the new Porsche Cayman) and I'd never seen one in person.

Now, when the Elise finally did show up, I was floored. I almost wept it was so beautiful. My MR2 looked like bread van by comparison. Then I went and talked to the owner and we chatted for a while about his ride. I asked him where he was from and he told me that he lived a mere 15 minutes away. I was like "Whoa! I'd be here every weekend if that were the case." But he explained that he was too worried about wrecking the Elise, since insurance wouldn't cover it.

That's when my MR2 started looking a bit more beautiful. I thought about it and realized that if I were to wreck my MR2 I'd be out about $10,000 (all of which is paid for). But if I were to wreck an Elise, I'd be out $40,000, a fair amount of which would probably be an outstanding loan.

So I'm thinking that the best track car would probably be a Spec Miata (to cheaply learn what it feels like to drive a dedicated track car) or an MR2 turbo, to gain confidence driving a Mid Engined car on the track before risking your $50,000 NSX. (That said, I suspect that a $25,000 early NSX would be a nice track car car people with a bit more disposable income than me).