Discussion
I enjoyed taking my R8 around Brands recently, but of course it’s relatively big and heavy, and not really designed to be a track car.
I’d like something that was designed from the off for the track, but just don’t know where to start. Is there any resource to help?
I’m thinking of an ‘80s F1 car, for example, or a hill-climb special. A 600bhp kart, or a Clio racer, as in the race car that looked like a Clio, but wasn’t.
Any thoughts?
I’d like something that was designed from the off for the track, but just don’t know where to start. Is there any resource to help?
I’m thinking of an ‘80s F1 car, for example, or a hill-climb special. A 600bhp kart, or a Clio racer, as in the race car that looked like a Clio, but wasn’t.
Any thoughts?
ZX10R NIN said:
What an excellent site, thank you.This is just the ticket, exactly the sort of thing that I’ve always wanted.
Car
ZX10R NIN said:
Very nice I knew you'd find what you were looking for there, if I won the Euro millions they'd see a fair bit of Traffic from me. 
There are so many wonderful machines.I love the design of the cars from the 60s and 70s, and don’t mind if something’s a reproduction. A Lotus 49 (or modern copy) is for me about the best thing ever to move on wheels.
I think it depends on what you want - for track days maybe a Caterham which has the advantage you can drive to the circuit or a Radical which are really modern race cars
If you buy an open wheel car there are v few track days for them and you would really be looking at testing or racing and getting an MSA license
As you liked the FF1600 I would have a look at the HSCC website which runs that series plus if the budget is bigger then Formula Junior is hugely popular
Make sure the car you are thinking of buying (if a race car) is eligible for the series you are thinking of
Have fun
If you buy an open wheel car there are v few track days for them and you would really be looking at testing or racing and getting an MSA license
As you liked the FF1600 I would have a look at the HSCC website which runs that series plus if the budget is bigger then Formula Junior is hugely popular
Make sure the car you are thinking of buying (if a race car) is eligible for the series you are thinking of
Have fun
Kent Border Kenny said:
Yes, I have quite a lot.
So, what do you recommend?
It just reads as though you've been once...So, what do you recommend?
For track work purely for track days I'd be looking at Porsche GT cars if you have the budget, Lotus and Caterham lower down. I'd not consider hill climb monsters that are open wheel as it limits seriously the amount of days you can go on, and 80s F1 cars...yeah, not sure when you'd be able to run one of them on a TD.
But overall I'd say Porsche and Lotus are the two marques to drive to the track, otherwise as suggested above Racecarsdirect offers a lot of choice, though keep in mind much of it can't be run on a normal trackday.
Actus Reus said:
It just reads as though you've been once...
For track work purely for track days I'd be looking at Porsche GT cars if you have the budget, Lotus and Caterham lower down. I'd not consider hill climb monsters that are open wheel as it limits seriously the amount of days you can go on, and 80s F1 cars...yeah, not sure when you'd be able to run one of them on a TD.
But overall I'd say Porsche and Lotus are the two marques to drive to the track, otherwise as suggested above Racecarsdirect offers a lot of choice, though keep in mind much of it can't be run on a normal trackday.
Those are nice, thanks, but not really in the performance bracket that I’m thinking of. I’m used to fast bikes, and very fast road cars (even my Range Rover is under 4 seconds 0-60 now), so would like something a proper step up for the track.For track work purely for track days I'd be looking at Porsche GT cars if you have the budget, Lotus and Caterham lower down. I'd not consider hill climb monsters that are open wheel as it limits seriously the amount of days you can go on, and 80s F1 cars...yeah, not sure when you'd be able to run one of them on a TD.
But overall I'd say Porsche and Lotus are the two marques to drive to the track, otherwise as suggested above Racecarsdirect offers a lot of choice, though keep in mind much of it can't be run on a normal trackday.
You do make a good point with open wheel cars, I wonder if something like a Radical SR8 could be the way to go.
This is an interesting post and I’d like to offer a perspective.
I’ve been doing track days for 20 years on and off and I too have got some hot machinery kicking about. I’ve done the Caterham track cars and I also thought I wanted the very quickest track car.
However, a season running this:
Has sort of changed my mind. Firstly - you’re right - no road car, no matter how quick, is the same as a dedicated racing car. The simple fact that a road car must have suspension articulation that a track car doesn’t need, along with so many other things such as sequential gearboxes that don’t need to comply with noise, vibration and harshness tests means that the race car offers a level of immediacy that the road car just can’t quite reach. They can be faster, easily, but they’re still road cars.
So where I’m left now is considering a move to something a bit quicker - the Peugeot is 200hp or whatever and about the same speed around the track as a flat out Cayman GT4 - but I’ve found that having to find the speed through through quality driving rather than outright power has offered a huge amount of fun this year and I need to be careful not to just replace this with a point and squirt car where I’m the quickest on the track by an absolute mile.
Whilst there are some total clowns on circuit every time there are also some really great guys too, and trying to keep up with them in cars matched around a lap but not matched along the straights has proved fascinating and a lot of fun. A swap to a Radical V8 would mean dominance but I’m not sure it would mean more fun.
I’ve tested the new Ginetta GT4 car which is about 300hp and an absolute blast to drive - but I’m not totally convinced it’s as exciting as something more historic.
I’m thinking about maybe a Mercedes 190 shell with a 6.3 V8? Or maybe the original 2.5 motor rebuilt to 300hp or so? Or a mk1 escort with a duratec or even a BD”A” crossed my mind. 911 cup car?
I’m not sure, but I agree with you it’s got to be a race car!
I’ve been doing track days for 20 years on and off and I too have got some hot machinery kicking about. I’ve done the Caterham track cars and I also thought I wanted the very quickest track car.
However, a season running this:
Has sort of changed my mind. Firstly - you’re right - no road car, no matter how quick, is the same as a dedicated racing car. The simple fact that a road car must have suspension articulation that a track car doesn’t need, along with so many other things such as sequential gearboxes that don’t need to comply with noise, vibration and harshness tests means that the race car offers a level of immediacy that the road car just can’t quite reach. They can be faster, easily, but they’re still road cars.
So where I’m left now is considering a move to something a bit quicker - the Peugeot is 200hp or whatever and about the same speed around the track as a flat out Cayman GT4 - but I’ve found that having to find the speed through through quality driving rather than outright power has offered a huge amount of fun this year and I need to be careful not to just replace this with a point and squirt car where I’m the quickest on the track by an absolute mile.
Whilst there are some total clowns on circuit every time there are also some really great guys too, and trying to keep up with them in cars matched around a lap but not matched along the straights has proved fascinating and a lot of fun. A swap to a Radical V8 would mean dominance but I’m not sure it would mean more fun.
I’ve tested the new Ginetta GT4 car which is about 300hp and an absolute blast to drive - but I’m not totally convinced it’s as exciting as something more historic.
I’m thinking about maybe a Mercedes 190 shell with a 6.3 V8? Or maybe the original 2.5 motor rebuilt to 300hp or so? Or a mk1 escort with a duratec or even a BD”A” crossed my mind. 911 cup car?
I’m not sure, but I agree with you it’s got to be a race car!
PS the thing for me that has offered the best fun has been giving the car to a company to look after for me. I just arrive and the car is there, prepped and ready to go. It means a nice evening in a hotel the night before and arrive at the track in great shape. Afterwards just zip your helmet up (oo that sounds bad) and drive home in comfort - no cocking about. I would 100% factor this in to your plan and I won’t be messing about with trailers again or worrying if I can get home if I make a mistake and damage something.
Kent Border Kenny said:
ZX10R NIN said:
What an excellent site, thank you.This is just the ticket, exactly the sort of thing that I’ve always wanted.
Car
Julian Thompson said:
PS the thing for me that has offered the best fun has been giving the car to a company to look after for me. I just arrive and the car is there, prepped and ready to go. It means a nice evening in a hotel the night before and arrive at the track in great shape. Afterwards just zip your helmet up (oo that sounds bad) and drive home in comfort - no cocking about. I would 100% factor this in to your plan and I won’t be messing about with trailers again or worrying if I can get home if I make a mistake and damage something.
i've reached the same conclusion. well, been forced into it really.i tracked an mx5 for years, modding and eventually s'charging it. light and quite powerful it really was an enjoyable track tool.
engine died (SNC for the 5ers reading) so i sold it for parts. once you've heavily modded a car an engine swap is no longer that easy. what started as a cheap car naturally grew to be quite costly, as all proper track cars are. suddenly Caterham hire looked sensible! and you drive there and back in comfort - because any decent track car is never comfortable. i've driven GT4s and M3s on track, not enough thrill and a little too easy.
my current thought is to invest in a simple track car (reliable, not chasing records) and do a few days hiring cars too. There's lots of interesting machinery to experience beyond Caterhams, but they are the obvious, cost-effective choice.
Track days, easy to start and then the bug grabs you and it gets complicated!
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff