Thursday 22nd September 2016

Track day hot hatches: YKYWT special

£32K for a Mini Challenge? Pah. Here's a selection of track ready hot hatches from £2K up...

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The track day special, even the hot hatch track day special, is not a new concept. Indeed, the idea of a car refined enough to handle the drive to a circuit but capable enough to relish the drive around it seems to be growing in popularity. There's now a Mini you can buy that uses the same tyres as on a 918 Spyder and is fitted with Nitron adjustable dampers. But it still has air-con and Bluetooth to keep you sane on the journey home.

But both the Mini Challenge and Golf GTI Clubsport S are more than £30,000. The Golf you can't in fact buy any more. Which got us thinking. What is there lurking in the PH classifieds that can do track fun while retaining road legal status?

Wouldn't be a hot hatch story without the French...

A caveat first off: while all of these cars are road legal, they're all going to be rather less plush than the newer equivalents. An obvious point perhaps, but these are certainly cars focused on the 'track' bit of roadgoing track car; they're legal for the road, if not wholly suitable for the road. But when you see the fun on offer for so little money it'll make the investment in a fleece and headphones seem worth it.

Your entertainment starts at less than £2K in fact, with this Rover 100. Yes, really, a Rover 100. Oh sure, you could have a Clio instead, but where's the fun in following the crowd? This car has 160hp and is sub-800kg so should be plenty quick enough - the ad claims 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds in fact. The journey may be hard work, but imagine the looks in the paddock when this is terrorising the obvious suspects on track. Just don't crash it...

The French are always good for hot hatches, making them the ideal base for circuit projects too. This 306 GTI-6 includes decent suspension and brake upgrades, both of which help offset the rather dubious wheel choice. With that second seat a passenger can enjoy the ride too!

... or two of them. Or three in fact!

For an older, faster and even more revered fast Peugeot, how about a Turbo Technics 205 GTI? Fairly scabby outside but seemingly A1 mechanically, it's the perfect riposte to those pristine show cars no longer used. Offers are being invited around the £6K mark...

Perhaps the most exciting French track tool on PH currently though is this supercharged Citroen. Because how could a 260hp Saxo not be? There's far too much uprated in the car to list here, but suffice it to say this looks like a fantastically fast and hugely exciting little Citroen. It's yours for £5,495, which looks tremendous value given the work that has gone into it and the apparent quality of the finished product.

Bringing us back to Mini, and this R53 generation Cooper S track car. It's more expensive than the others at £10K but of course far newer. Built originally for track attack championships but only used so far on track days, this Mini is making 230hp and also includes a Quaife LSD, BC coilovers, brake calipers from an R56 GP and nearly new Dunlop Direzza tyres. Finally, yes, it can have an MoT.

So you're really are spoilt for choice if track hatches are your thing. The hours and money have been put in by someone else, leaving you to enjoy the result. It's hardly like you have to worry about future residual values now, is it? Get out and have some fun in any of these five!

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ROVER 100 VVC
Price: £1,895
Why you should: Fast, light, cheap
Why you shouldn't: Old, fragile, Rover

PEUGEOT 306 GTI-6
Price: £3,500
Why you should: A hot hatch icon that should now be even better
Why you shouldn't: Seems a shame to meddle with something so rare

PEUGEOT 205 GTI
Price: £5,975
Why you should: A 205 GTI to drive fast and enjoy!
Why you shouldn't: Turbo lag

CITROEN SAXO VTS
Price: £5,495
Why you should: Clearly a lot of time, money and effort has gone into it
Why you shouldn't: Perhaps a bit much for a novice

MINI COOPER S
Price: £9,995
Why you should: Built to a good spec and barely used!
Why you shouldn't: Rear-wheel drive may be tempting at this price

[Dion20vt]

A track day prepped car can be had for less than 2k! I bought a MR2 Turbo for £1100! buckets, cage, harnesses, semi slicks, uprated brakes- albeit with no MOT. I soon realised how solid the car was and £60 later it was MOT'd!

There's a lad locally selling a Saxo VTR that's track prepped (minus a cage) with 3 months mot left for £425...