Which sports car please..?
Discussion
I know there are loads of these posts but everyone has their own and different criteria, so I was just looking for some advice and opinions please.
Currently own a 2003 Porsche Boxster which I love. It's a fantastic car that I've enjoyed over the year I've had it, but I fancy a change. I went for the Boxster because it was the best of the cars I looked at, and was a good introduction to rear wheel drive. Plus it was quite practical which was useful as it was my only car.
I've now picked up a shed for everyday driving, so looking at replacing the Boxster with something to use as purely a fun/weekend car.
Initial thoughts are to sell the Boxster and buy a TVR Chimaera, a car I've always wanted, and is also within my budget with some cash left over incase anything does happen to go wrong. Great looks, power and noise, just concerned the car could be expensive to keep running.
Another idea is to buy a nearly new Boxster S, but this would have to be financed rather than a cash purchase like the TVR. I've never financed a car before, but it doesn't look like a bad option to get me into a newish car. I can only imagine that the new S would be even better than my current car.
Other cars I thought of were the Elise (maybe not powerful enough??), Caterham/Westfield (not sure if I'm a good enough driver to enjoy these two properly) and the Tuscan/Tamora (maybe too powerful and too expensive if they go wrong??).
Budget is up to 15k for an outright purchase, more if I go down the finance route. The car has to be a convertible, quick enough, and it'd be nice if it made a proper noise! Any suggestions and advice will be very welcome!
Olly
Currently own a 2003 Porsche Boxster which I love. It's a fantastic car that I've enjoyed over the year I've had it, but I fancy a change. I went for the Boxster because it was the best of the cars I looked at, and was a good introduction to rear wheel drive. Plus it was quite practical which was useful as it was my only car.
I've now picked up a shed for everyday driving, so looking at replacing the Boxster with something to use as purely a fun/weekend car.
Initial thoughts are to sell the Boxster and buy a TVR Chimaera, a car I've always wanted, and is also within my budget with some cash left over incase anything does happen to go wrong. Great looks, power and noise, just concerned the car could be expensive to keep running.
Another idea is to buy a nearly new Boxster S, but this would have to be financed rather than a cash purchase like the TVR. I've never financed a car before, but it doesn't look like a bad option to get me into a newish car. I can only imagine that the new S would be even better than my current car.
Other cars I thought of were the Elise (maybe not powerful enough??), Caterham/Westfield (not sure if I'm a good enough driver to enjoy these two properly) and the Tuscan/Tamora (maybe too powerful and too expensive if they go wrong??).
Budget is up to 15k for an outright purchase, more if I go down the finance route. The car has to be a convertible, quick enough, and it'd be nice if it made a proper noise! Any suggestions and advice will be very welcome!
Olly
pablo said:
you dont need to be a driving god to drive a caterham or similar, they are actually very easy to drive "and make progress" but i will agree that they are bloody difficult to drive fast. buy one, its what i would do, if just for the experience!
Seven clones are wonderful things precisely because anyone can enjoy them. A well set up LSIS is a joy to drive whatever your level of skill. You might not actually be going very fast, but frankly who cares?Elises aren't slow, an S2 111S or 111R will easily keep pace with a Boxster S at the kinds of speeds you're likely to reach on the public road, but they are rather... sensible for a toy, IMHO.
Having said that, neither an Elise or a Seven is ever going to sound wonderful (unless you get a Westfield with a Rover V8 in it).
Edited by kambites on Friday 16th April 21:53
pablo said:
you dont need to be a driving god to drive a caterham or similar, they are actually very easy to drive "and make progress" but i will agree that they are bloody difficult to drive fast. buy one, its what i would do, if just for the experience!
^^^^ This.I bought my Caterham 10 years ago as my only car (and first I'd owned) - was rubbish at driving it but it still put a grin on my face. 10 years later I'm a bit more competent behind the wheel but still no expert 7 driver and it still makes me grin every time.
The great thing about a Caterham is it is so benign on the limit - it won't suddenly snap and stick you into the hedge (unless you're really hamfisted/unlucky).
OllyHill said:
Being 6'3 I think I'd be needing to look at the Caterham SV? Just seems like a lot of money to spend on something that is a complete toy?
Depends if you're 6'3 and 18 stone or 6'3 and 13 stone 
There is a lowered floor option in the standard chassis which a lot of taller people find good enough, or combine that with a bag seat for even more space.A 7 need not completely be a toy - mine was my only car for 5 years and I've done over 70,000 miles in it over the years.
Just thought I would share my thoughts. A Chimera would probably be cheaper to run than your Pourche, its a Rover V8 so parts are dead cheap, loads ok knowlege on them and the car itself has very few electrical gizmos to go wrong. As long as the chassis is sound and the engine is running sweet then it shouldnt require much more than running costs. If you go for the 5 ltr ones (well within your budget) you will find it a nice step up in performace too and probably much more grunty than a boxter S
Hi Oliver. Just my 2p's worth -
Check this out http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1601004.htm
(or similar)
Convertible - check
Quick enough - check
Makes a proper noise - oh, god yes - check
Bit of financing needed.
(Only mentioned this as you were considering a Westfield type car)
HTH Cheers, Jon
Check this out http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1601004.htm
(or similar)
Convertible - check
Quick enough - check
Makes a proper noise - oh, god yes - check
Bit of financing needed.
(Only mentioned this as you were considering a Westfield type car)
HTH Cheers, Jon
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