£20k Track Day car - also good for the drive there
Discussion
What a great position to be in 
Loads of good ideas on your post but I wouldn't discount a good Caterham with a top on for your journey, either a C400 or r400, or for the price bracket you are in. It may be worth having a look at the Zenos cars as well. The S is just within budget and I've ben on track with them a few times recently and admittedly they wasn't 'ragging' it, but they looked so planted through the bends. £25-£30K will get a new one.
Loads of good ideas on your post but I wouldn't discount a good Caterham with a top on for your journey, either a C400 or r400, or for the price bracket you are in. It may be worth having a look at the Zenos cars as well. The S is just within budget and I've ben on track with them a few times recently and admittedly they wasn't 'ragging' it, but they looked so planted through the bends. £25-£30K will get a new one.
Did the OP end up buying anything? I've started to look around at a dedicated track car myself but it would need to be driven there and back. I've been using my R35 GTR for the job but I fancy something a bit more nimble and lower on the running costs. I was looking at E46 M3's as they can be bought, stripped and setup for track for around £15k.
I am still track-daying in my 5 litre TVR Chimaera - best fun I have ever owned. Loads of great owners out there, we go to track days together, and the car gets a great reception just driving around the town. I'm not the fastest car on track, but that's not the point. The car is really reliable (no breakdowns in 30+ track days) and I have the biggest grin.
Here's a clip of last time out at Castle Combe - sorry for the poor quality - mate playing with his new iPhone 6
http://youtu.be/DfwbOM38E9w
Here's a clip of last time out at Castle Combe - sorry for the poor quality - mate playing with his new iPhone 6
http://youtu.be/DfwbOM38E9w
Mine is a Chimaera from 1999.
Pretty good on track - you need to set the car up well, bit of camber and well aligned suspension, change the brakes for bigger ones, brake fluid and pads for racing versions, and dampers for adjustables. I have also fitted a roll hoop, and a bigger, baffled sump to mine. After that it is down to the driver. Handling is not to the same standard as Lotus, Caterham etc, as the TVR does tend to be a bit tail happy, but once you are used to it, it is pretty chuckable a la MX5.
Depreciation - what's that? Two things only cause TVRs to lose value, and they are high mileage and tasteless mods. If you want to watch the value of your TVR head steadily upwards, start with a low mileage one (40,000 or less) keep it absolutely stock and drive it sparingly, polishing it all the time in between. Not my idea of TVR ownership.
Reliability - as good as any other car that is driven regularly. That is the secret to TVR ownership, they don't like languishing in the garage.
Fuel consumption on track.
I get about 8 mpg on track. 20-21 mpg on the road. Mine is a modified 300 bhp 5 litre car. A friend with a 390bhp 5.5 gets 15 mpg on the road, a standard 220bhp 4 litre gets about 27 mpg. You simply don't buy a TVR if you are after fuel economy, but like all car fans, we do wind ourselves up about it.
Torque - my car has huge amounts of torque, very handy for annoying MX5s and Caterhams.
Noise - awesome.
Next time you see one at the track ask for a passenger ride - we're a friendly bunch, who like showing less fortunate mortals what great cars they are.
Pretty good on track - you need to set the car up well, bit of camber and well aligned suspension, change the brakes for bigger ones, brake fluid and pads for racing versions, and dampers for adjustables. I have also fitted a roll hoop, and a bigger, baffled sump to mine. After that it is down to the driver. Handling is not to the same standard as Lotus, Caterham etc, as the TVR does tend to be a bit tail happy, but once you are used to it, it is pretty chuckable a la MX5.
Depreciation - what's that? Two things only cause TVRs to lose value, and they are high mileage and tasteless mods. If you want to watch the value of your TVR head steadily upwards, start with a low mileage one (40,000 or less) keep it absolutely stock and drive it sparingly, polishing it all the time in between. Not my idea of TVR ownership.
Reliability - as good as any other car that is driven regularly. That is the secret to TVR ownership, they don't like languishing in the garage.
Fuel consumption on track.
I get about 8 mpg on track. 20-21 mpg on the road. Mine is a modified 300 bhp 5 litre car. A friend with a 390bhp 5.5 gets 15 mpg on the road, a standard 220bhp 4 litre gets about 27 mpg. You simply don't buy a TVR if you are after fuel economy, but like all car fans, we do wind ourselves up about it. Torque - my car has huge amounts of torque, very handy for annoying MX5s and Caterhams.
Noise - awesome.
Next time you see one at the track ask for a passenger ride - we're a friendly bunch, who like showing less fortunate mortals what great cars they are.
Can't be arsed to read all the comments, but in your position I'd either hire something each time (Radical/Caterham/Porsche/M3) or buy a cheaper Caterham and leave it with a race/trackday support company to store/deliver/maintain it for you.
This means you can just roll up Gentleman Racer style, thrash your track toy around a bit then drive home leaving him to take care of the car logistics.
This means you can just roll up Gentleman Racer style, thrash your track toy around a bit then drive home leaving him to take care of the car logistics.
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