What do you want them to build?

[Turning Japanese]

Is there a car configuration you wish manufacturers would make. Below is mine and as far as I know there isn't anyone building it?

Small 2 seat coupe with front-mid engine and rear wheel drive weighing around 950kg.
Around 130bhp 1.6 16v twin cam high reving engine.
6 speed manual gearbox with LSD.
Double wishbone suspension front and rear.
16" alloy wheels.
No aircon or radio.
Electric windows and remote locking, nothing else.
Under £20k

[wemorgan]

MX5?

[mike9009]

mk1 MR2 almost fits the bill if you count reverse as the '6th' gear.

Mike

[mph1977]

wemorgan said:

MX5?

not a coupe ... although arguably one fitted with a hard top and the hood gubbins removed would be one to all intents

[Alucidnation]

Something fking reliable.

[Ozzie Osmond]

I'll take the new Abarth (Fiat) 124 with a 3-litre N/A straight six, please. You know, one of those old-fangled BMW engines.

Or an enlarged Elise with a V6 in the middle (No, not the old and cramped Exige S.)

Or those new 450bhp Corvette V8 Stingrays look pretty serious - I'll take mine in RHD.

[kambites]

Ignoring the budget (which frankly isn't realistic for something that specialist), this fits the OP's description reasonably well:

http://www.pistonheads.com/road-tests/road-tests/d...

For me, I can't realistically see anything bettering my Elise without being an order of magnitude more expensive, which is why I've had it for nine years now and have no intention of replacing it.

Edited by kambites on Friday 29th July 20:34

[Ozzie Osmond]

kambites said:

Ignoring the budget, this fits the OP's description reasonably well:

Hmmm, Ginetta. Well, I had a long hard look at the G60 but oh dear, oh dear. It's a bit like three blokes in a shed trying to make an iPhone and compete with Apple.

[cptsideways]

You need the new MX-5 coupe in 1.5 SE spec comes out shortly, almost down to a tee + a/c

[kambites]

Ozzie Osmond said:

kambites said:

Ignoring the budget, this fits the OP's description reasonably well:

Hmmm, Ginetta. Well, I had a long hard look at the G60 but oh dear, oh dear. It's a bit like three blokes in a shed trying to make an iPhone and compete with Apple.

The G40 isn't the G60 (which wasn't designed by Ginetta anyway).

I haven't driven or even seen a G60 but the G40 is a phenomenal car if you're more interested in driving than cuddling plastic.

[Sway]

An 'enthusiast commuter' car.

Single central seat, enough space for a suit bag and a holdall.

Very light - half a tonne should be the max.

Roof and screen.

Mid mounted engine, naturally aspirated and with some character, c.150bhp.

Something like a modern LCC Rocket but suitable for all seasons. Perhaps more BAC Mono shrunk down to mx5 size and with a canopy that slides back over the airbox for entry, leaving a screen with blown air wipers (which I'm sure wouldn't pass regs, so some form of wiper system would be necessary) - thinking about it, could a ram air system act as a virtual roof, creating an air curtain that flows over your head?

Trick would be the details that cost a fortune to develop well - wipers, canopy, keeping weight low whilst giving protection. Suspension tuned for the road and not track. All the things that the cars I'd love as my commuting wagon but couldn't live with ignore.

[Ozzie Osmond]

kambites said:

I can't realistically see anything bettering my Elise without being an order of magnitude more expensive,

That is the whole problem in a nutshell,

• MX5
• Elise
• Boxster/Cayman
• F-type

It's not easy to gate-crash that party! (As Alfa have discovered)

[kambites]

Ozzie Osmond said:

It's not easy to gate-crash that party! (As Alfa have discovered)

Alfa might have found it easier if they hadn't completely screwed up the final suspension calibration on an otherwise enormously impressive car.

Although that engine and gearbox combination was always an odd choice for a sports car.

[bobbo89]

Turning Japanese said:

Is there a car configuration you wish manufacturers would make. Below is mine and as far as I know there isn't anyone building it?

Small 2 seat coupe with front-mid engine and rear wheel drive weighing around 950kg.
Around 130bhp 1.6 16v twin cam high reving engine.
6 speed manual gearbox with LSD.
Double wishbone suspension front and rear.
16" alloy wheels.
No aircon or radio.
Electric windows and remote locking, nothing else.
Under £20k

Pretty much spot on what I want apart from I'd rather have a radio over central locking and electric windows. I can get over winding down a window occasionally as well as using a key but regardless of how you use the car, there will always be motorway miles and times sat in traffic when a bit of music helps!

[Ozzie Osmond]

kambites said:

The G40 isn't the G60 (which wasn't designed by Ginetta anyway).

Nobody said it was the G40. Surprisingly the G60 is made by Ginetta - or at least it would be if they could actually sell any.
Which further highlights the whole problem.

[kambites]

Ozzie Osmond said:

kambites said:

The G40 isn't the G60 (which wasn't designed by Ginetta anyway).

Nobody said it was the G40. Surprisingly the G60 is made by Ginetta - or at least it would be if they could actually sell any.
Which further highlights the whole problem.

Haven't they abandoned the G60 entirely now? It was always a daft market to try to complete in which is probably why two companies went bankrupt trying to even bring the car to market. It's a shame in a way because it's a car a lot of people said they wanted; just not one that anyone was willing to buy.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Sway said:

Something like a modern LCC Rocket...

Did they actually sell any of those ridiculous things? I doubt it.

[Roberty]

Turning Japanese said:

Is there a car configuration you wish manufacturers would make. Below is mine and as far as I know there isn't anyone building it?

Small 2 seat coupe with front-mid engine and rear wheel drive weighing around 950kg.
Around 130bhp 1.6 16v twin cam high reving engine.
6 speed manual gearbox with LSD.
Double wishbone suspension front and rear.
16" alloy wheels.
No aircon or radio.
Electric windows and remote locking, nothing else.
Under £20k

And as soon as they build it everyone would start bolting on 18, 19 or 20 inch wheels and moan about the lack of air con/radio and suggest it could handle a load more power!

[CABC]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Sway said:

Something like a modern LCC Rocket...

Did they actually sell any of those ridiculous things? I doubt it.

haven't had the pleasure yet, but for a true sunday morning sprint it sounds ideal. And i am talking ideals, not weekday necessity.

[Sway]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Sway said:

Something like a modern LCC Rocket...

Did they actually sell any of those ridiculous things? I doubt it.

A reasonable number, considering the time and the price.

I love them. Pretty much my perfect car for 95% of my driving, if I could afford one. Oh, and some form of ability to put the lights on without having to get out, but I think there's a solution to that.