What were your "attainable" childhood dream cars?
Discussion
Let off some steam Bennett said:
cmaguire said:
Lancia Delta HF Integrale.
By the time I could buy one I realised it really didn't matter and they were then collectable too.
High priced cars that never sell, they should be 25k topsBy the time I could buy one I realised it really didn't matter and they were then collectable too.
I can see a certain logic to them with our pedestrian attitude towards speed nowadays.
cmaguire said:
Virtually all of those old 'dream cars' are only nostalgia items for posing about in at slow speed anyway. Modern stuff would piss all over them without breaking a sweat.
I can see a certain logic to them with our pedestrian attitude towards speed nowadays.
I agree but the over inflated prices ruin it for the working class man.We all now a sierra cosworth etc isnt worth 100k, its got out of hand nowI can see a certain logic to them with our pedestrian attitude towards speed nowadays.
I always wanted a 205 GTi
unfortunately i was a skint student for 4 years and then when I maybe could have afforded one the insurance prices went through the roof. Even if I could have scraped the funds together I simply wasn't paying £1200+ for 1 year insurance.
Then when I was old enough to get the insurance costs down any I looked at were over 10 year old and very ropey.
My mate took the plunge and bought a 1.9. I was jealous as hell. However the TPF&T insurance and mandatory fitment of a cat 1 alarm cost nearly 50% of a £3.5K motor.
unfortunately i was a skint student for 4 years and then when I maybe could have afforded one the insurance prices went through the roof. Even if I could have scraped the funds together I simply wasn't paying £1200+ for 1 year insurance.
Then when I was old enough to get the insurance costs down any I looked at were over 10 year old and very ropey.
My mate took the plunge and bought a 1.9. I was jealous as hell. However the TPF&T insurance and mandatory fitment of a cat 1 alarm cost nearly 50% of a £3.5K motor.
cmaguire said:
Virtually all of those old 'dream cars' are only nostalgia items for posing about in at slow speed anyway. Modern stuff would piss all over them without breaking a sweat.
I can see a certain logic to them with our pedestrian attitude towards speed nowadays.
I agree about current pricing for these modern "classics" being crazy and that a lot of these cars wouldn't see which way a new Golf R went but isn't that missing the point? The older cars have presence and offer more involvement by not doing everything for you. For me, it's more about how driving a particular car makes you feel rather than outright speed. Not to say that all these "old" dream cars won't disappoint but despite being a "slow" car by modern standards, my 205 GTi had the presence and involvement down in spades! I can see a certain logic to them with our pedestrian attitude towards speed nowadays.
Personally, I would struggle to make a list of 10+ "attainable" dream cars from the new cars on sale today.I wanted a 3.0S Capri and managed to acquire a delightful W plate in Apollo Green with Fishnet Recaros and a Factory Roof. Loved that car and of my six Capris it's the one I still miss. Had a 2.8i after - technically better in every way but somehow just not the same and lacking something. Sold it last year after 20 years of ownership when I realised it would probably be cheaper to run a 911.
Stick Legs said:
Aston Martin V8
See, when I really started getting enthusiastic about cars in my early teens Aston was - for me - the billy b0llocks. They were never going to be attainable (unfortunately, I was right), but the looks, the history, and 5.34 litre V8 engines hand built by Fred Waters at Newport Pagnell were witchcraft and sorcery at the time.^ that pic above reinforces it.
Look at it. Every angle pleases.
I still want one. If I'm picky, one in metallic Oxblood with a light tan interior please.
As a youngster at school I was captivated by photos of Jim Clark three wheeling his MK1 Lotus Cortina around Silverstone . I eventually got one ,albeit an early 1500GT , but the car that really caused me years of aspiration was the BMW E24 when it was launched in it's unadulterated form.
Many interesting cars came and went but due to the E24's propensity to rust at the sight of a damp cloth it took me until recently to sctratch that itch .
Many interesting cars came and went but due to the E24's propensity to rust at the sight of a damp cloth it took me until recently to sctratch that itch .
J4CKO said:
Loyly said:
I always wanted a Lancia Delta Integrale. I played a lot of Sega Rally as a young lad. Of course, they weren't always unattainable. A friend of mine nearly bought one when he left the army for reasonable money.
I harp on about this but, if you look to the right on this picture,
You See a Toyota Celica GT4, equal billing,
A quick shufty at the Classifieds,
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Some others at more ambitious prices but 4/5 grand is still a realistic budget, a sum that would get you an Integrale, only if it was made by Tamiya or was delivered in a dust pan and brush.
Ok, the Integrale is prettier (GT4 does have something about it though) and maybe it drives better, I drove one in 1991 and was impressed and haven't driven a GT4 Celica but cant imagine its ten times better, plus I get the impression that the Toyota is possibly a bit more resilient/less temperamental ? (which isnt saying much)
No particular vested interest, not got a warehouse full of them, just cant understand why the Integrale and Escort Cosworth are so highly prized and the GT4 comparatively cheap ?
Still an iconic car in its own right.
https://youtu.be/FoH4OXsj5pw
You could have all 3 in your garage for under 80k
Elise for me. The S1 waslaunched when I was at junior school-I was the weird kid who got bullied for wanting something other than a McLaren F1 or Ferrari F50. They say never meet your heroes but I still remember the first drive when I bought one thinking “Wow...it’s mine!”.
I’ve been through four of them, culminating in my S3 I have now.
Nowadays, I strangely lust after a GT86. There’s just something about the ethos of the car and the way they drive that really attracts me to them.
I’ve been through four of them, culminating in my S3 I have now.
Nowadays, I strangely lust after a GT86. There’s just something about the ethos of the car and the way they drive that really attracts me to them.
Edited by itcaptainslow on Tuesday 19th June 01:05
From an athena poster it was the 964 911. In the 90s it was the c43 amg. Now the 911 have gone into orbit with prices that plan went out the window. A 996 or 997 911 didn't tickle me as 300 to 350 brake didn't really blow me away enough, nor does the optional bore score /rms issues. I managed to get an amg though which I'm chuffed to bits with.
cologne2792 said:
I wanted a 3.0S Capri and managed to acquire a delightful W plate in Apollo Green with Fishnet Recaros and a Factory Roof. Loved that car and of my six Capris it's the one I still miss. Had a 2.8i after - technically better in every way but somehow just not the same and lacking something. Sold it last year after 20 years of ownership when I realised it would probably be cheaper to run a 911.
Oops, I missed this earlier! I had a MK2 RS2000, then a Capri 2.8 Injection in Strato silver that I had to sell for the deposit on my 1st house!
But a couple of years later I got another one in Caspian Blue over Strato Silver - unfinished business!
Never had a 3.0 though.
J4CKO said:
I harp on about this but, if you look to the right on this picture,
You See a Toyota Celica GT4, equal billing,
A quick shufty at the Classifieds,
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Some others at more ambitious prices but 4/5 grand is still a realistic budget, a sum that would get you an Integrale, only if it was made by Tamiya or was delivered in a dust pan and brush.
Ok, the Integrale is prettier (GT4 does have something about it though) and maybe it drives better, I drove one in 1991 and was impressed and haven't driven a GT4 Celica but cant imagine its ten times better, plus I get the impression that the Toyota is possibly a bit more resilient/less temperamental ? (which isnt saying much)
No particular vested interest, not got a warehouse full of them, just cant understand why the Integrale and Escort Cosworth are so highly prized and the GT4 comparatively cheap ?
Still an iconic car in its own right.
You make a good point and I should note that,am a few years ago I bought an MR2 Turbo but in close running was a ST185 and ST205 Celica. ST185's in great nick were getting hard to find but ST205's were still plentiful and a strong contender. You See a Toyota Celica GT4, equal billing,
A quick shufty at the Classifieds,
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...
Some others at more ambitious prices but 4/5 grand is still a realistic budget, a sum that would get you an Integrale, only if it was made by Tamiya or was delivered in a dust pan and brush.
Ok, the Integrale is prettier (GT4 does have something about it though) and maybe it drives better, I drove one in 1991 and was impressed and haven't driven a GT4 Celica but cant imagine its ten times better, plus I get the impression that the Toyota is possibly a bit more resilient/less temperamental ? (which isnt saying much)
No particular vested interest, not got a warehouse full of them, just cant understand why the Integrale and Escort Cosworth are so highly prized and the GT4 comparatively cheap ?
Still an iconic car in its own right.
Are they as romanticised in my mind as the Integrale and the Escort Cosworth? No, but I'm sure they're every bit as good to drive. One does not forget that when the Japanese took an interest in rallying, they turned up, took podiums quickly and dominated the sport for a decade and then left in a hurry.
https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-h...
405 Mi16. There's 4 left, apparently, so this almost certainly will never happen.
405 Mi16. There's 4 left, apparently, so this almost certainly will never happen.
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