Lol, it was said in jest, im hardly a brand snob, i drive a Golf. Although for me, there is something magical about owning a Lotus
Ive driven them both, Elise around the 'ring in fact. Would have the Lotus every time, just that little bit more pure imho. The point of the car is the delicate chassis, incredible driver feedback and feeling of go-kartness. The Turbo VX220 would miss out on that slightly i feel, more of a blunt instrument than a precision tool.
Mk1 Focus RS?
I know you said car but you say it's for weekends and has to be fun. Nothing more fun than a motorbike and not much keeps with them speed wise. Just adding it into the mixer. Lol
its alright, i was only yoshing too, as said for me an Elise is just not an Exige... a compromise in a way, and the fact they are just not that quick is a bit of a factor too
was also thinking this last night...
A good V6 will be a good car all round.
The price shouldn't depreciate that much and there a fun car to drive.
I agree that the Ph1 looks meaner but I couldn't live with the interior.
Like waitey said, Ph1 with Ph2 interior.
I went the 350z route, cracking cars, and very few of them about! VX turbo...
Id find it VERY hard not to go for one of these for a toy!
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/...all/monaro/vauxhall-monaro-v8-vxr-2006/883093
£10k will also buy you a lot of Caterfield.
My mate matt has a MNR Vortex with a ZX12 engine in it and its obscene. Like mental.
We have a winner IMO. All kinds of 'Should I buy a Westie/Caterham' ticks on the checklist.
Looking like it's gonna be an Elise S2. Off to see a gunmetal grey one tomorrow with 30k on the clock. Fingers crossed it's as good as it is in the pictures!
Had been hours away from buying the black Phase 2 V6 on PH but their were two many questions over it for me to go for it. Having thought over it I think the Elise will suit me better in terms of running costs and how much I use it. the temptation with a V6 would be that it'd end up a total garage queen.
Have been mainly perving at E46 M3's tonight. Tempting. What are the big things to look out for other than the obvious vanos issues?
Rear subframe mounts and head gaskets.
i initially started looking at VXT's after going out in DanFreeman's (now wick's), bloody lovely, however both Dan, Wick and a few others i have spoken too have highly recommended getting a cheap N/A VX and super-charging it, lots of companies do it now and they are quite reliable... if its a second car it sounds like it ticks the boxes unless your sir_dave and are a brand snob
Standard servicing I can cope with, it's the potential for ball busting costs for things like Vanos, subframe cracks and head gaskets that make me a touch nervous!
VX is nice but the number of decent low mileage examples is a bit thin on the ground.
Anyone who picks an s2000 over something like a vx220 turbo as a toy is retarded imo. A friend of mine has an s2000 and there is nothing special about it. Another friend of mine had a vx220 a few years ago the 2.2 (150 or so bhp) and that was fcuking rapid, god knows what the turbo must be like! As much as I love my e46 m3 I don't think I would consider it a 'toy' more a jack of all trades which does everything very well but without the pantomime of something like a lotus, tvr or vx220.
Fair comment, the lotus has aged. IMO the VX200 looks as fresh today as it did when released. I would agree you don't get much for your money in a car like that, but that's what they are about.
Id be inclined to go for something bonkers if the vx/lotus aren't tickling your pickle so to speak, like a 600 bhp evo or something.
I can't help but think that the M3 does pretty much the same job as the Golf. It's a practical, fast car.. Because its practical its compromised.
As a weekend 'toy' (for me at least) unless i could afford to have a csl in the garage then I think an S2000 would be better! Must be able to strap a supercharger on them too to make it slightly more interesting!
They don't cost the earth to run, compared to M3s etc. Not that much more than an RS Clio tbh.