Something fast and cheap?

[Howard-]

So I've been wondering what to do when I come to part with the MX5, as to whether or not I will replace it with another toy.

So an, at the moment, hypothetical 'what car':

The fastest car that you can think of that could be bought with £2-3k?

V8s, turbo 4 pots, 2 seats, 4 doors, RWD, 4WD, whatever. The only real criteria is that I'd rather not have to spend hours underneath it with spanners or a welder each year in order for it to work and pass an MOT. But I'm OK working on it myself.


Any thoughts?

[Baryonyx]

MR2 Turbo, hard to go faster for cheaper! But buy the best you can and it'll be a belter, they are as tough as nails and very comfortable too

[williamp]

a veyr ropey XJR, M3 or 328i for that price?

540 too?

[0077]

Impreza WRX?

[BriC175]

Baryonyx said:

MR2 Turbo, hard to go faster for cheaper! But buy the best you can and it'll be a belter, they are as tough as nails and very comfortable too

Never owned one, but on paper I think you may be right. Very cheap for the performance. My mate has an N/A, and it's a nice little car.

[Howard-]

Baryonyx said:

MR2 Turbo, hard to go faster for cheaper! But buy the best you can and it'll be a belter, they are as tough as nails and very comfortable too

Good shout. That completely slipped my mind, I was thinking Jap and turbocharged, but that just led me to think "Impreza" or "200SX".

• looks in Classifieds*

[willfinch36]

MR2 Turbo (not just saying that because I own one!)

[paulmoonraker]

An old Impreza STi and get it mapped.

[wackojacko]

High mileage leggy 850 T5 for £500 or so get it mapped and you will have endless fun. When It goes bang...... Do it all again

E34 540i's don't go badly but manuals are hard to come by.

MR2 Turbo as said are always great for cheap and fast motoring.

[Fleckers]

ticks some of the boxes

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[43034]

E36 328i as suggested above?

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...


http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

[HonestIago]

You'll get a nice classic Impreza for that money. I'd go with a UK turbo, plenty fast enough!

[kpb]

[quote=wackojacko]High mileage leggy 850 T5 for £500 or so get it mapped and you will have endless fun. When It goes bang...... Do it all again [quote]

Of an S60 T5 with a Rica/MTE remap. Silly fast in a straight line but not the best handling cars ever.

[Baryonyx]

Howard- said:

Good shout. That completely slipped my mind, I was thinking Jap and turbocharged, but that just led me to think "Impreza" or "200SX".

• looks in Classifieds*

A 200SX would be a good call, though maybe not quite as fast as the MR2 Turbo. I would have one though, I love them.

[Howard-]

Fleckers said:

ticks some of the boxes

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

Not quite; Sorry, I forgot to mention, it needs a drivetrain.

[crosseyedlion]

43034 said:

E36 328i as suggested above?

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...


http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

+1 mine looks veeerrrrryyyy similar to the silver one, faster than the specs suggest (6.5 to 60, bmw were conservative), loads of midrange and easily given another 30bhp or so after a 325i inlet and remap. Handles brilliantly, sounds nice, and CAN be economical if not hooned around/on the motorway.

Very nice car to live with or for 'spirited' driving.

Will be selling mine (manual, 110k ish) in the coming months. Still feels as tight as a drum

[Dave Hedgehog]

200 quid metro driven over beachy head

[braddo]

Supercharged MX5

[Howard-]

braddo said:

Supercharged MX5

I suppose I could extract more power from it

[Chris71]

Dave Hedgehog said:

200 quid metro driven over beachy head

I can't imagine the terminal velocity of a Metro in freefall is much above 100mph. That might be more than it does on the road, but it won't catch a rice rocket with a big turbo.

Lightly tweaked MR2 Turbo gets my vote.

For another option, though ... has anyone mentioned the Pulsar GTi-R? A friend had a very rapid a few years ago and I can imagine they've come down to that sort of price.