If the car fits??

Author
Discussion

brendongill

Original Poster:

4 posts

156 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
Wonder if I can get some help, I am looking for a fun 2 seater sports car (soft top) but the ones I have tried I simply do not fit in! I am 6"5" with most of my height in my legs and find that if I manage to squeeze myself in I can't change gear as legs can't move.

I have tried Honda S2000, BMW Z4 and Z3, Caterham (SV version) and TVR Chimaera.

Any advice or pointers welcome - open to most cars

Cheers

Brendon

ewenm

28,506 posts

246 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
Did the Caterham SV have the lowered floor? A custom seat helps too (bag seat right back against the rear bulkhead). If you're really interested in one, a visit to Caterham themselves to discuss options may be worth while.

Edit: The Corvette suggestion is great!

Edited by ewenm on Tuesday 3rd May 23:27

LuS1fer

41,152 posts

246 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
Corvette?

sebhaque

6,410 posts

182 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
I have a friend who's 6ft4 and he managed to get behind the wheel of my VX220 with no problem. In fact, he mentioned that he struggled to reach the pedals with the seat all the way back! Did look comical though as his eyes were just below the sun visor line thingy on the windscreen.

It might be worth looking at a 4 seater cabrio (BMW 3 series, Audi A4 etc) as they're a bit more accommodating with the vertically blessed smile

(FWIW I'm 5'6" and can't reach the pedals in a Cerb. Donny is bound to read this and laugh at me again).

LukeBird

17,170 posts

210 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
ewenm said:
Did the Caterham SV have the lowered floor?
Optional on all cars I think.

ewenm

28,506 posts

246 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
LukeBird said:
ewenm said:
Did the Caterham SV have the lowered floor?
Optional on all cars I think.
Yes but "was it on the car he tried?" is the question. My taller Caterham mates have the lowered floor and custom bag seat.

greeneggsnsam

617 posts

157 months

Tuesday 3rd May 2011
quotequote all
I'm also very tall and I fit into a Caterham CSR with loads of room to spare, more than enough for someone your height I would say. Not sure if it had the lowered floor you others mention.

ThunderSpook

3,623 posts

212 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
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Boxster?

W00DY

15,501 posts

227 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
The Elise (only tried the S2) is one of very few cars I didn't drive with the seat all the way back at 6'4" so probably worth a look.

thinfourth2

32,414 posts

205 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
Before you discount a caterham try one without a seat.

Sounds bonkers but try it

If you fit get the best and lightest seats that you can get for a 7 made, a bag seat which weighs nothing and costs bugger all

Bill

52,853 posts

256 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
thinfourth2 said:
Before you discount a caterham try one without a seat.

Sounds bonkers but try it

If you fit get the best and lightest seats that you can get for a 7 made, a bag seat which weighs nothing and costs bugger all
yes I know a guy who's 6'5" ish and raced a standard Caterham with a lowered floor and tall cage. The pedals are adjustable too.

It's also worth trying the mk3 MR2 as the cabin is surprisingly spacious, although you'd need the TTE turbo kit to put it into the class of car you're looking at.

brendongill

Original Poster:

4 posts

156 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
Thank you all for help - it is great to get honest knowledgeable advice!

The Caterham I tried had a standard floor, never thought about asking for other fit options. I will give them a call and have a chat at alerations possible.

I have sat in an Elise and it was not a pretty picture - something like square peg and tiny round hole (legs and arms everywhere)

Corvette is an idea...

Again thanks again and some more focused car hunting this weekend :-)

Twincam16

27,646 posts

259 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
You could try a Marcos. One of their unique features was always their adjustable pedals that could be wound back down into the footwell to accommodate any length of leg, mainly because Jem Marsh was quite short and Mike Costin was quite tall (or it could've been the other way round), and they needed to devise a way in which both of them could drive their prototypes.

Big Rod

6,200 posts

217 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
Might not be to your taste, but I'm 6'4" and drive a 2+2 Nissan 300ZX.

The reason I'm suggesting this is that they are available as imports as SWB 2 seaters and come equiped with T-Tops which are cooler than soft-tops IMO.

Just a thought.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

191 months

Wednesday 4th May 2011
quotequote all
Not many about and this ones auto. But I think they are meant to be fairly roomy. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2759201.htm

brendongill

Original Poster:

4 posts

156 months

Thursday 5th May 2011
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Anybody got experience of size in TVR Griffith?

boobles

15,241 posts

216 months

Thursday 5th May 2011
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I think you can comfortably fit in an Elise at 6'6".

garrykiller

5,670 posts

159 months

Thursday 5th May 2011
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mx5? i am 6'4" and comfortably fit in an mk1 mx5 (i own one) and the new mk3.5.

KaraK

13,187 posts

210 months

Thursday 5th May 2011
quotequote all
brendongill said:
Wonder if I can get some help, I am looking for a fun 2 seater sports car (soft top) but the ones I have tried I simply do not fit in! I am 6"5" with most of my height in my legs and find that if I manage to squeeze myself in I can't change gear as legs can't move.

I have tried Honda S2000, BMW Z4 and Z3, Caterham (SV version) and TVR Chimaera.

Any advice or pointers welcome - open to most cars

Cheers

Brendon
Interesting you mention the S2000 - a previous colleague had one and he was 6'9" and seemed to fit ok.

bga

8,134 posts

252 months

Thursday 5th May 2011
quotequote all
brendongill said:
Anybody got experience of size in TVR Griffith?
. It's the same as a Chim from recollection. I'm surprised you didn't fit in the Chim, it's been the only convertible that I have owned that my tall mates (6'4" - 6'6") have been able to fit in OK.