£100K Garage: Kris McCloy
Japanese fan Kris has three legendary Hondas in his dream garage, along with a Lotus and a Mercedes too
Previously owned: Volkswagen Lupo, Citroen Saxo VTR, Honda Civic EJ9/EK3/'99 EK4 SiR, Honda Integra DC2 (import)
Currently owned: Honda Civic Type R (FN2)
On the shortlist: "Toyota GT86, Lotus Elise, Honda Integra Type R DC5 facelift, Honda Civic Type R FD2, Honda S2000"
Lotus Exige S2
Cost: £22,495
Balance: £77,555
Why I chose it: "I have always wanted an Elise since I was a kid but, with £100K burning a hole in my pocket, I think I would like the more hardcore Exige. The low weight, nimbleness, styling and driving position are all part of the appeal for me. Especially the fact that it's constantly used as the benchmark for steering feel and driving pleasure. This would be my track vehicle. The colour, mileage and service history draw me to this particular example. I admit I don't know an awful lot about these cars technically but it looks like it would be interesting to play around with all that adjustable geometry too. A racer for the road."
Cost: £36,995
Balance: £40,560
Why I chose it: "Being a Honda fan, I had to include an NSX in my line-up. It needs no real justification in my opinion. I love the proportions of this car. The small surface area of the roof and all that glass give excellent visibility (while looking great) along with the long rear light cluster, those pop-up headlamps as well as the low overall height. The ethos of being a usable supercar and the engineering to support that ethos further reinforced my choice. The full aluminium body construction should mean less chance of body corrosion too. I want to drive one!
"Having only sat in a few, my first impressions were that the interior is a very well thought out place ergonomically and the driving position felt perfect; virtually sitting on the floor while feeling like a premium product. This particular model is a fresh import so I expect the undercarriage to be extremely clean. Silver is my preferred colour choice and it has just 69K on the clock. I would have to remove that rear window tint and change those wheels for some Enkei RPF1s in silver."
Honda Integra Type Rx
Cost: £8,490
Balance: £32,070
Why I chose it: "Having previously owned a 1999 import model, I would love a late OEM spec model, preferably in Phoenix Yellow but this will do as I don't see any yellow cars in the classifieds. I had some great experiences in my last car, getting on track in Ireland, the UK and Germany. I would need another for the odd blast and to keep me busy refreshing all perishing components. These cars are a joy to work on, especially with no corrosion!
"In my opinion it is the finest driving experience offered from a front-engined, front-wheel drive mass-produced car - around 200hp from a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre which revs happily to 8,800rpm, 1,060-1,080kg depending on spec and that sound. I love the technical specs of these cars, with hydraulic power steering tuned for the Type R, a quick ratio steering rack, helical limited-slip diff, plus double-wishbone suspension front and rear supplement a driving experience not much else can offer in this price range. Such neutral handling that is probably more biased towards oversteer is definitely one of its finest attributes I feel. The car in question is a final model 'Rx' which has all the options ticked as standard. It also has quite low mileage, no modifications and looks clean on the underside."
Cost: £9,495
Balance: £22,575
Why I chose it: "I need a luxurious barge for long journeys and motorway miles. I think the exterior styling of the original CLS is fantastic and I never plan on owning a diesel, so it has to be the 5.0-litre model for me! This car looks like a great example with very low mileage and I quite like those optional extra wheels; they're understated, yet classy."
Honda S2000
Cost: £10,995
Balance: £11,580
Why I chose it: "Another portion of my £100K had to be used for some open air enjoyment, and what better way to do it than while listening to that engine revving to 9,000rpm? I admit an early Boxster did cross my mind but I think I'll take the front-engined, rear-wheel drive drivetrain in this instance as I already have mid-engined NSX and Elise in the garage... Being on the shortlist I think this would be a fun summer weekend car with 240hp and the roof down. The gearchange in these is sublime and, again, on the styling front I think they look fresh to this day despite being released in 1999. I prefer the facelift model and the colour combination appeals too."
"The remaining £11,580 should be enough to fit a Honda K20A engine into the Exige, maybe get it running around 250hp."
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Funny I was just entertaining some wild day dreams about picking up a low mileage mk2 Exige myself. In theory I can afford it (or perhaps that should be I have the ability to purchase it) but in reality it is a stack of cash. And I have no where to garage it currently....
As for the Boxster vs S2000 debate, I'm a big Honda fan but the S2000 has never appealed to me as much. The engine is on par with the Porsche flat six, but the Boxster has the benefit of ideal engine placement. The handling delicacy and poise of a Boxster is undeniable. My experience of the S2000, even when freshly set up, is that they never offered the same feedback or delicacy. The Boxster just becomes better as it approaches the limit whereas the S2000 never feels as comfortable with the same chassis loading.
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