Desperate need for some rwd suggestions

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I bought a Hiace 2.7 auto in jan 2016, it is rwd and a great fit most things van....
Still looking for the right car, budget has grown as Ive just sold a Forester XT, still have a soft spot for Lexus IS300 sport cross although don't do enough regular miles to bother with an auto now.

Ive narrowed the search down to -

A waterproof Caterham SV.

A gull winged S2 Elise.

A Z4MC with a sunroof and larger boot.

A Porsche Cayenne turbo with switchable 2 - 4 wheel drive.

A R34 Skyline that doesn't have a cheap flakey looking interior, again with switchable 2 - 4 wheel drive.

BRZ or GT86 but with good rear lights more bhp and a straight six engine.

Lexus LFA under £25k.

E46 3.8 M5 engined Touring, sunroof, heated memory seats & LSD.

Think I need to build something...

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Thanks for the kind words and understanding in reality a Z4M coupe or roadster is as close as Im going to get, I have a pending house sale perhaps I can justify a nice Z4M if all goes to pan...

I kind dream of a RWD Honda Civic type R (non triangle nonsense exhaust version) a four seater RWD LSD hatchback for less than £10k would be perfect.

A GT86/BRZ comes close but Ive just ended my 2nd Subaru love affair and what I'd convinced myself was a good engine design in reality is a 'split block, leak inclined double headed smash your hands flat with a hammer to change the plugs' Frankenstein of an engine.

Straight six BMW shimmed valves in a temperature controlled hermetically sealed room here I.....er.....oh I don't know

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I will check out the manual 550i.

Will try and find a good Skyline to look at also, thanks!

BRZ/GT86 Im sure they deserve the hype and I should drive one, but I do like fiddling on mechanically I assume it would be fairly straight forward to turbo one, has it been done? People must have by now...

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hornetrider said:

An eclectic mix there. I know its bad form to suggest your own car, but given you've mentioned Cayenne and an E46 touring, I have a manual 550i in the classifieds which ticks a lot of boxes.

I can't find your manual 550i, have you more details?

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C70R said:

Methinks it's this one (a touring): http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Looks to be a cracker, and absolutely on point for your needs.

Thanks it does look good!

Theres a TVR Tuscan rolling chassis and shell in the classifieds thats intriguing especially with a LS or even 2JZ GTE & V160 fitted, would be a labour of love rather than an investment tho but...

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skyrover said:

RWD: Check
Fun: Check
Track day: Check (dirt track)
Sunny day: Check (take roof off)
School run: Check
DIY: Check.. you wont get a more DIY friendly car.

Good call Im partial to a bit of britishess also, are Defenders RWD though?

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cerb4.5lee said:

I have had a TVR Cerbera/Z4M/E92 M3...yet my 200SX was the most fun for me out of all of them overall and the one I miss the most.

I would love a S15 Silvia for sure.

Its a car I look for quite regularly, almost seems as if the time for them has passed now. It seems harder an harder to get low milage interesting cars; my theory being that there are so many euro boxes being sold that the 'interesting' cars are getting rarer/more sort after. Ive done the TVR thing with a Griffith, 3 years of life I won't get back, but on the right day...

I know Im over thinking this whole next car issue, I suspect I need a 'transformer' some kind of BMW touring, Elise-Caterham-Bowler-LFA hybrid would fit the bill

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Valgar said:

Oh definitely loads in America, Litchfield also do a supercharger.

An American company call crawford performance do a 500hp turbo kit but you would need better internals http://crawfordperformance.com/collections/brz-frs...

I've watched reviews that say the turbo Crawford is too powerful and upsets the balance.

Thanks for this!

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skyrover said:

It's not a defender, it's a series which is 2wd/4wd selectable.

Defenders are full time 4wd although you can make them 2wd by either buying a kit from Ashcroft, or pulling off the front prop and locking the center differential

Well I didn't know that! Thanks!

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AOK said:

I got very close to buying one of these about 3 years ago... and they are almost exactly the same price they were back then.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Nice left field alternative to a Z4M, with added rarity factor and (IMO) the most gorgeous oem alloys ever to have been offered on any BMW

Good call for some reason I hadn't even thought Alpina fiddled with Z4's, thanks!

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300bhp/ton said:

Exceedingly rare. The reason for the kit is if you want to fit the LT230 transfer box to a Series Land Rover, this will give it full time 4wd. But Series Land Rover's run UJ's on the front axle, not CV's and aren't really suited for this.

So if you want the latter transfer box (usually with the latter 5 speed gearbox, over the Series 4 speed one), then you buy the kit to convert it a 2wd option.

As a side note, Santana of Spain used to build Land Rover's as CKD's and had their own variants. The last of the line was the PS-10.

It's essentially the final development of the Series 109 Land Rover. It has a 109" wheelbase, uses the LT230 transfer box and R380 5 speed gearbox. But can be used in 2wd High Range.

The PS-10 is arguably a better vehicle than the Defender 110, lots of improvements Land Rover never bothered to implement. Wider rear door, no seat boxes, bigger arches, optional rear LSD.

I looked at LR's a while ago and couldn't get warm, but obviously didn't look hard enough, thanks for this!

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British Beef said:

Mazda RX8.

I never gave them a 2nd look and believed all the hype about engines popping after 5 minutes and thought they looked awkward. Now one sits on my drive my opinion has changed on all fronts.

My M5 (E39) daily driver is currently off the road for some restoration and I needed a fun 2+2 to tie me over. I found a 40th anniversary RX8 near where I lived, and for 15% the cost of a 997 911 I tried, I think I have got a better car for my needs.

If engine is looked after, then 100 k miles is possible, the R3 engine variable (2010-2014) had additional oil lube port in engine improving reliability. They do drink petrol and oil and fall into top car tax bracket - only downsides so far.

The chassis is excellent, good steering, the engine is a screamer, its RWD, LSD and actually has usable +2 seats even a 6 footer can get into.

A full engine rebuild, with 2 year warranty is "only" £2k, so even that is not the end of the world.

Just my thoughts.

Edited by British Beef on Tuesday 24th May 17:41

Ive just strongly advised a friends wife against one of these, but they have always appealed faults aside, really really good value if they do last! Thanks for this!

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romac said:

Here you go! and right in the price range...
Infiniti G Convertible 3.7 V6 GT Premium 2dr - the rich man's 370
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/infiniti/g/u...

Or it's coupe sibling...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/infiniti/g/u...

Edited by romac on Tuesday 24th May 17:49

Ive just been looking at this, this afternoon

http://www.goodmayesmotors.co.uk/used-car-nissan-s...

Great minds..!!

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The Obeast said:

Thought about a Lexus ISF?

Yes I had thanks they don't quite look right to me but Ive never sat in one so should do really, Thanks!

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RobEB said:

How about a C55? If you can find one ? 350-odd HP....

Yes good car but nothing there for the home tinker-er, and I do like to tinker.

Strangely of all the kind suggestions the Land Rover has me the most intrigued, Ive got to an age maybe...

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jmcc500 said:

Did I miss someone suggesting a Cayman S? 987s less prone to xMS issues than earlier cars, come in on budget or you could be in a Gen 2 within your stretch budget. Not many nicer handling cars in my (perhaps biased) opinion.

That or the newest supercharged Jag you can get :-)

Ive read up lots on the Cayman and various for's and against vs the Z4, I prefer it to the Boxster but they don't call to me for the money they command. But Ive not even driven one and should so thanks!

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Alias218 said:

Despite this being a year old thread, I would recommend a 350Z. £15,000 will buy you a last off the line (2009) car with change left over for tinkering. 308bhp for the later models, comfy, safe, bullet proof and will stick it's tail out at the mere thought of provoking it. I may biased, but for the money you get an awful lot of car.

Yes I need to go and drive one, Thanks!

RobEB said:

Should be able to have a Caterham thingy for that budget, Good tinker-ey kind of car...Are you fussed about road noise, engine scream, getting wet, really? You are looking for a fun car to drive and tinker with.

I did go and test drive an R260 and have driven an R500 round croft, I think you might be right. What put me off is a friend races semi professionally and has a track R500 but says he wouldn't drive one on the road theres not enough impact protection....made me stall!

Hugh Jarse said:

I like these! Have researched them in the past, will look again. I think the Elise is a more useable than a Caterham if you can master the entry and exit, I prefer a front engined RWD layout so maybe this is the answer, Thanks!

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scotty02uk said:

how about some alpina options ?

alpina roadster s

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

BMW Alpina B10 V8S 4.8

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/b...

Really like the B10, Thanks!

LordGrover said:

There are loads of options available.
Plenty over on gt86.org.uk - very good looking Harrop and Cosworth superchargers and the AVO turbo are probably the more OE looking fitments. Plenty of others from Sprintex, HKS, etc.
Anything from stock +50BHP to north of 500BHP.
There're a few transplants too including some V8.

I've driven the AVO stage 2 and Harrop SC and both are awesome, but dramatically change the character of the car. May suit your requirements though.

Thanks for this I really need to go and drive one.

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V8RX7 said:

You should try a drive in an R32 Skyline, whilst they are 4WD they are generally RWD and you can really throw them around, get the back out at will etc nothing like a Subaru.

A V6 Transplant will cure your MR2 - better to buy one already converted or even the VVTLi 190bhp transplant.

V8 RX7 conversion is another option.

If you're happy with Auto a Soarer VTi Turbo is a great option for lots of cheap power.

Your right I have driven an R33 but not a 32.
The MR2 has gone now I liked it but it was just too small, I started to strip the interior and removed the folding roof and had a hard top, was about to start looking for a cage and a Celica engine and then the thought occurred - if I was going to start pouring in cash that I wouldn't get back I really should have just bought an S2 Elise...

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Raize said:

I like how the TOTD is a year old thread. It's like some kind of epic saga.
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/general-pistonhead...

It is an epic saga!!! Im a car enthusiast with nothing to enthuse over, Ive been lucky enough to own a lot of cars that I wanted at the time, but also unlucky enough/stupid enough to have spent many £££'s on upgrades and then fall out of love and feel the need to move on. It would be far easier and I envy those MG fanatic types, if I had a go to brand but I don't.

Because Ive lost so much over the years chopping & changing I thought Id ask for help here before jumping into something short lived again.

I know Im overthinking it but thoughts are a lot cheaper...