Now pointy car purchase!

boogieman

fandango said:

digitalscream said:

The new Alfa Romeo 8C? Guaranteed to be great fun for at least the first half of your journey...



Absolutely. Stunning.

There's always the Audi R8, too.

Ha! Thought of these. Looked them up and discovered that out of a production of 500 fixed heads/coupes, only 41 were officially imported into the UK. And 35 out of 400 for the spider version. 

And Pistonheads.co.uk have five listed in their classifieds. One for auction. The other four are all over £200,000. All low mileage examples, too.

So presumably they’ll get bought up by investors, mothballed and never driven. What a waste. 

fandango

boogieman said:

fandango said:

digitalscream said:

The new Alfa Romeo 8C? Guaranteed to be great fun for at least the first half of your journey...



Absolutely. Stunning.

There's always the Audi R8, too.

Ha! Thought of these. Looked them up and discovered that out of a production of 500 fixed heads/coupes, only 41 were officially imported into the UK. And 35 out of 400 for the spider version. 

And Pistonheads.co.uk have five listed in their classifieds. One for auction. The other four are all over £200,000. All low mileage examples, too.

So presumably they’ll get bought up by investors, mothballed and never driven. What a waste. 

Apparently, the driving experience isn't all it's cracked up to be, so no great loss.

Sporky

Budget around £50k tops, happy to spend (much) less.

Don't need super fast, don't want horrible surprise bills. Don't care if anyone is impressed or otherwise. 

digitalscream

Sporky said:

Budget around £50k tops, happy to spend (much) less.

Don't need super fast, don't want horrible surprise bills. Don't care if a yone is impressed or otherwise. 

New, nearly-new or used if the right one comes up?

NPP

I still think you should check out an MX5. It doesn't have the special sense of occasion or classic race car feel, but it is a great drive, reliable and practical, and minimal hassle. It's watertight, has aircon and heated seats and an easy to operate soft top, so you're actually going to use it rather than leave it in the garage because taking the roof off or putting it on again is too much faff, your bum is getting cold, the battery's gone flat, you're afraid it's going to rain or it's misting up inside etc. Suspension and power upgrades are available should you need them. 

If all these considerations are too rational, then go for a classic, an Elise or a Caterham. I personally would prefer any of these to a modern performance car, even if I had 50k to spend (which I objectively have, but subjectively would never spunk on a car - think about the 40% Phil Hammond is going to give you if you put it into a pension instead).

Sporky

digitalscream said:

New, nearly-new or used if the right one comes up?

Any of the above. I am keenly aware that used will get me much more, but I'd like manageable risk. 

stickyfiddle

i agree with @NPP. If you want fun with no stress an MX5 is the single best option. 

I’d be tempted by the new RF if you want a nicer experience in shitty weather, though I’d go for the regular roadster if it’s a second car.

I’m hiring one in Japan in a couple of weeks. I am SUPER excited 

Sporky

I do accept that this many people can't all be wrong about the MX5.

But the 124 looks much better to me. 

Also thinking about a recent but used Evora; easier to get in and out than an Elise, and a V6... 

Sporky

fandango said:

An '05 Aston Martin DB9 for under £30k.

Any TVR ... take your pick ... £10k to £40k+

Now those are some fine suggestions. 

HAL9000

digitalscream said:

The new Alfa Romeo 8C? Guaranteed to be great fun for at least the first half of your journey...

Honda Type R, or NSX. Works for the second half of the journey too.

NPP

Sporky said:

I do accept that this many people can't all be wrong about the MX5.

But the 124 looks much better to me. 

Also thinking about a recent but used Evora; easier to get in and out than an Elise, and a V6... 

I'm happy to include the 124 in my definition of MX5, or accept it as a suitable equivalent

Evora might be nice, too

Sporky

Dang it. There's a place nearby with five NSXs. And a Noble M12. 

Electro_Ham

MX5 for being a great little sportscar, the most fun and lowest running costs with roof down motoring option. (124 if you are so inclined - but drive both to be sure)

Cayman (or Boxster) for being a seriously good and practical sportscars with higher running costs.

Alfa 4C for looking great (but perhaps not being quite as good as it looks?)

monquixote

As an alternative to the MX5 what about the GT86?

Fairy cheap, reliable and fun to drive.

Jimbro66

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. I saw one parked in Le Touquet a couple of days ago and it had incredible presence. Pure driving fun with absolutely nothing computerised. Just allow for big fuel bills

Sporky

monquixote said:

As an alternative to the MX5 what about the GT86?

Fairy cheap, reliable and fun to drive.

Maybe a BRZ. The local Toyota places aren't great, but the localish Subaru place is.

digitalscream

What about a Maxda RX?

For shits and giggles, obviously, but primarily "Wankel".

Sporky

I have been looking at Evoras.

Why do they all have black wheels? Black wheels look awfully cheap to me.

stickyfiddle

Having just spent 5 days in a rental MX5, I can now confirm that the answer is still an MX5. Absolutely brilliant thing for real-world driving and a genuine 5-second top up/down time

grungebob

BMW X6M? 575bhp and 4 seconds to 60, 34mpg and I think it’s quite the looker.