7k, something for road and track use. WWPHD?

[Blanchimont]

7k for a road/track car, What Would PH Do?

Very limited on restrictions really.

No turbo 4pot FWD cars, had pretty much nothing but, and fancy a change.
No MX5's.
No slushbox autos. Manuals only.
7k.

Won't be used as a daily, occasional drives to the shops, tracks and then track-days.

I currently have an EP3 type R which is/was slowly being turned into a track car, this would be sold to put towards the new one.

The current list of contenders.
DC5 Type R - I'm not a fan of the electric steering in the EP, and the Civic was a compromise as I initially wanted a DC5.
Nissan S14.
Impreza WRX.
Megane 250 (I know, I know, the "no turbo 4 pot") - I had 2 before and only sold them due to circumstance changes. I'd like to try something else if possible.

[AT]

MR2 Turbo

[Jonny_gti]

Honda S2000 springs to mind straight away hopefully 7k still gets maybe an early AP1 not sure on the prices now as they were rising I think.

I think for 7k you wont get much of a Megane 250cup but 7k would get you a really good R26 with a decent spec ready for track, could even get it in the fav Liquid Yellow

[Blanchimont]

Jonny_gti said:

Honda S2000 springs to mind straight away hopefully 7k still gets maybe an early AP1 not sure on the prices now as they were rising I think.

I think for 7k you wont get much of a Megane 250cup but 7k would get you a really good R26 with a decent spec ready for track, could even get it in the fav Liquid Yellow

I'm not a massive fan on the R26. Massively competent cars, but I'm not keen on the rear end.
A 250 will be a ropey-er one, and base spec, which doesn't worry me that much.

Looking at S2k's they seem to be a good shout!

[TheAlastair34]

vx220

[Jamescrs]

TheAlastair34 said:

vx220

I haven't seen a VX220 anywhere near 7k, there's one on Autotrader at the moment just under 10k in a very undesirable shade of red but that's nearest there is.

The Civic you have OP sounds pretty much ideal for the job really, I'd keep with it but that aside I'd be looking at maybe an old BMW 3 series coupe or Mk2 MR2

[V8RX7]

E46 M3 might just be in budget
350z / Boxster if you can cope with 2 seats
R33 GTST Skyline

[coldel]

Mk3 MR2 and slap a V6 in it?

I had an R33 GTST and the chassis does feel very loose, would need a fair bit of bracing to make it track ready, prices are climbing on these now that the GTR version has gone up to around the £20k mark.

[Blanchimont]

I like the R33, but most of them have been converted to drift spec.
Money no object though, R32 GTR.

[V8RX7]

Blanchimont said:

I like the R33, but most of them have been converted to drift spec.

Money no object though, R32 GTR.

Plenty of standard ones around

I know I looked at a few £5k R32 GTR a few years ago - they've at least doubled in price

[coldel]

V8RX7 said:

Blanchimont said:

I like the R33, but most of them have been converted to drift spec.

Money no object though, R32 GTR.

Plenty of standard ones around

I know I looked at a few £5k R32 GTR a few years ago - they've at least doubled in price

The good R32 GTRs are £20k+ now prices have just rocketed.

[GrumpyTwig]

Supercharge the EP3?

[V8RX7]

coldel said:

The good R32 GTRs are £20k+ now prices have just rocketed.

In fairness at £5k they weren't the best cars

[ZX10R NIN]

For me the obvious answer is the 350Z:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Z4 Coupe (I'd still take the 350 as imo it has the better chassis & will respond well to upgrades)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Leftfield Option:

Chrysler Crossfire these are are stupidly cheap, also being based on the SLK & there's a decent tuning scene behind this

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

SLK350

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[designforlife]

Scruffy DC5 all day long.

[Pistonheader101]

Up your budget and you’ll get some tasty jap motors

[FWIW]

Jamescrs said:

TheAlastair34 said:

vx220

I haven't seen a VX220 anywhere near 7k, there's one on Autotrader at the moment just under 10k in a very undesirable shade of red but that's nearest there is.

I think it is possible to find one in or close to budget with patience and research. There isn’t a car that better fits the brief.

(Sorry ZX, but @ slk and crossfire)

[coldel]

You will be getting a money pit VX220 at £7k. I sold my good one for £8.5k four years ago, worth around £12k now I would think. If you find one for £7k you are getting either a very leggy 2.2 which will no doubt need suspension work and a lot of other smaller perishable fixes - I found the cheapest one on ebay just now at £8.5k and a quick look at its MOT history looks somewhat patchy.

I agree though they are epic cars but the price entry point for a sorted 2.2L is around £9.5k-£10k I would say.

[FWIW]

coldel said:

I agree though they are epic cars but the price entry point for a sorted 2.2L is around £9.5k-£10k I would say.

Agreed. But prices have softened over the last few months and there have been some bargains recently.

[coldel]

FWIW said:

coldel said:

I agree though they are epic cars but the price entry point for a sorted 2.2L is around £9.5k-£10k I would say.

Agreed. But prices have softened over the last few months and there have been some bargains recently.

Any examples? (genuinely!) I am probably going to sell my Celica this year and considering getting back into a VX, but cheapest I can see is around £10k for a 2.2L Turbos around £12k and upwards. I remember a few years ago the supercharger conversions selling for around £11k...seems a long way off now...