Sports car, fun on B roads, nice engine sound, a bit special

[stevekoz]

david-j8694 said:

Given you want:

- great drivers car
- premium interior
- special engine and sound
- RWD and manual

I suspect you have a pretty significant budget?

A 987, 981 or 718 GTS 4.0 Cayman ticks every box.

Budget is pretty significant right? I went on the fact the OP was talking about a z4. Which was around the 10-15k mark and then went as high as 25k for a z4m derivative etc.

But for the above you are talking upwards of £50k - more likely £60-80k for a newer cleaner Cayman GTS.

So quite a span OP. What do you have to spend?

[Mr E]

DRVR said:

Thanks gents. But sorry, I thought the talking of nice place to be and low rent interior was enough indication I'm looking for some refinement too. So no Elises and Caterhams and so on please.

That’s not low rent. That’s the alley behind the house that’s been condemned next to the street that’s low rent.

[DRVR]

DodgyGeezer said:

You'll be hard pressed to sound better than a Corvette (though you may dislike LHD and the quality of the interior). They're also quick and handle well

Thought about them. Which one would be your choice?

Interior is a big let down indeed and the newer the generation the heavier. Good thing about the Z4 is the weight.

[DRVR]

LordHaveMurci said:

What puts you off a Cayman?

It is the obvious choice from what you’ve written.

Prior Porsche experience, don't really like the drive, don't really want engine behind.

[Zarco]

Peperami said:

Caterham? Elise?

Well that's a blast from the past.

Hope you're well mate.

[Zarco]

david-j8694 said:

Given you want:

- great drivers car
- premium interior
- special engine and sound
- RWD and manual

I suspect you have a pretty significant budget?

A 987, 981 or 718 GTS 4.0 Cayman ticks every box.

4.0 Cayman is a good call.

Budget would help.

E46 M3? Bonafide modern classic these days.

[DRVR]

SWoll said:

georgeyboy12345 said:

What about a Lotus Evora or even a V6 Exige?

Edit: or a TVR Cerbera/Tuscan/Sagaris?

Edited by georgeyboy12345 on Monday 14th March 09:29

Based on the OP looking at Z4 Coupe and 350Z/370Z I'd suggest they are all well out of budget? I'm guessing £10-15k.

You are an astute individual indeed.

I thought indeed that the mention of what I had looked at would be enough lead on a budget. But if we need a number, I would be ok, if I had to, with paying 20K for a very nice, top condition Z4 coupe. A 3.0si that is.

[DRVR]

LightningBlue said:

Maybe an MX-5 RF with the 180bhp engine? The interiors are nice in the right spec. Just depends how special is special

Do you find the engine any special? Or the sound? Or even the interior? They never did anything for me there. I do like the looks very much though.

[DRVR]

PH User said:

An Elise, Exige or VX220 would be the pick for a fun car, the interiors are far more of a special place to be rather than a car like a Z4 where you could be sat in any sort of normal car. Admittedly the soft touch plastics aren't as good though.

You think? Seating in a 2 seats car which is basically a bubble, and having the rear view you have, and the rear arches and that bonnet in front of you, while seating basically on the rear wheels, feels and looks like any normal car to you? To me it doesn't really. Normal would be an E92 for example.

[PH User]

DRVR said:

PH User said:

An Elise, Exige or VX220 would be the pick for a fun car, the interiors are far more of a special place to be rather than a car like a Z4 where you could be sat in any sort of normal car. Admittedly the soft touch plastics aren't as good though.

You think? Seating in a 2 seats car which is basically a bubble, and having the rear view you have, and the rear arches and that bonnet in front of you, while seating basically on the rear wheels, feels and looks like any normal car to you? To me it doesn't really. Normal would be an E92 for example.

The Z4 has a decent enough interior, but it's nothing special to sit in and isn't that much different to most other cars. Something like a VX220 is far more interesting to sit in as it's so different from almost anything else that you're likely to see very often on the road.

[DRVR]

stevekoz said:

Honestly, with a sports car, unless you go for a very high premium brand, most interiors are going to be on the lower rent side, as its designed for the drive and position and feel than for comfort etc. 911 - fairly low rent, great drivers car, Elise, very low rent, great drivers car, etc.

Would i be putting myself out on a limb to suggest then you are looking for more of a coupe GT car than for a sports car?

Not at all.

Regardless of what it's named, as long as it's on the lightweight side, fun on B roads, nice engine and sound, 2 seats, coupe, RWD and manual, with a nice interior and fits the budget. Obviously nobody wants something painfully unreliable. Might be a sporty GT. Might be a luxury sports car. Who knows, with classifications changing today. We have sport SUV coupes. To me that is just a SUV with a compromised rear seat and a bigger engine. So feel free to suggest anything which might fit the description above regardless of how it is classified.

[Tye Green]

OP: 6 months ago I sold my Merc r171 slk300 2010 auto which I'd owned from new. I'd never formed a relationship with it so there was no love there and therefore it only had 22k on it - close to mint really. when the sun came out the kit car always got the use but regret selling merc now.

still enjoy the full attention required of the kit car but there's recently been many sunny days (and this will only increase as summer comes) when I've thought a gentle ride out with the roof down would be nice without 100% attention.


[edit] - they eat front springs...

Edited by Tye Green on Monday 14th March 19:26

[Zarco]

For 15k I'd get an Elise or possibly a Boxster.

[ZX10R NIN]

It sounds like you want a Z4 but be aware that down a B road the short suspension travel becomes an issue & it's not the greatest of steer out of the box & the manual change is average but all of it can be improved.

Mr Tidy is very happy with his suspension upgrade on this Z4M.

With your budget you could just start with a Z4M:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202112...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202201091...

[DodgyGeezer]

DRVR said:

DodgyGeezer said:

You'll be hard pressed to sound better than a Corvette (though you may dislike LHD and the quality of the interior). They're also quick and handle well

Thought about them. Which one would be your choice?

Interior is a big let down indeed and the newer the generation the heavier. Good thing about the Z4 is the weight.

I like my slush-boxes but I've heard good things about the below as being a good choice (as well as lighter than a Z4):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108015...


though having since seen your budget something like this might also work (though it is a slushy, also lighter than a Z4),

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154754692571?hash=item2...e4AAOSwEOtiKaTT


there's a good chance that both have H.u.D. (which is a great toy to have)

[mike9009]

Lotus Europa??

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2021112198...

A more refined Elise. I didn't appreciate how much they had appreciated though, but with no budget forthcoming.......

[cerb4.5lee]

I've had a TVR Cerbera 4.5/E92 M3/Z4M, and I currently have a 370Z/F82 M4. For me the Z4M is easily the worst of the lot to throw down a B road.

The ride/suspension/chassis/gearbox were all weak links with the Z4M in my opinion. The interior didn't live up to the £43k new price either to me(I didn't buy mine new though).

In saying that...if you want an exciting car to drive from a fear factor point of view then I can definitely recommend the Z4M. I personally never felt confident to push it really hard though, because the suspension didn't have any travel at all down a bumpy B road for me.

[DRVR]

PH User said:

DRVR said:

PH User said:

An Elise, Exige or VX220 would be the pick for a fun car, the interiors are far more of a special place to be rather than a car like a Z4 where you could be sat in any sort of normal car. Admittedly the soft touch plastics aren't as good though.

You think? Seating in a 2 seats car which is basically a bubble, and having the rear view you have, and the rear arches and that bonnet in front of you, while seating basically on the rear wheels, feels and looks like any normal car to you? To me it doesn't really. Normal would be an E92 for example.

The Z4 has a decent enough interior, but it's nothing special to sit in and isn't that much different to most other cars. Something like a VX220 is far more interesting to sit in as it's so different from almost anything else that you're likely to see very often on the road.

Ok you must be talking about dash, seats and door cards. While I'm talking about the whole experience.

The Z4 coupe is an unique car in many ways. Definitely special within the BMW fleet and special as a whole. What else out there like it? In that shape and package? Definitely not in the mass produced market. We would need to look at something like a TVR. Anything similar to it has either an inline 4, or an auto box, or is a convertible or is FWD. Definitely special. Aston doesn't offer anything like it. Mercedes doesn't offer anything like it. Audi doesn't offer anything like it. Nobody does really. Latest Supra is larger, porkier and auto only. F-type V6, same. What else? Very unique car really. It has many faults. But not being special is not one of them. Arguably the most special or unique car made by BMW in the last 20 years.


The VX220 for being rear mid engine of course it's special. The majority of cars being front engine. But there is nothing special about the engine or the sound. The interior has just enough in it to be considered road legal and not a race car. Totally different type of car than what I'm looking for.

[DRVR]

ZX10R NIN said:

It sounds like you want a Z4 but be aware that down a B road the short suspension travel becomes an issue & it's not the greatest of steer out of the box & the manual change is average but all of it can be improved.

In your view, how much would cost to get it to be a great steer?

I found it better than a 350Z and if I would have to choose one to live with stock, I would still choose the Z4 coupe.

[DRVR]

DodgyGeezer said:

I like my slush-boxes but I've heard good things about the below as being a good choice (as well as lighter than a Z4):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202108015...


though having since seen your budget something like this might also work (though it is a slushy, also lighter than a Z4),

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154754692571?hash=item2...e4AAOSwEOtiKaTT


there's a good chance that both have H.u.D. (which is a great toy to have)

But a C6 is not really lighter than a Z4 Coupe right? Not even the Z06. As far as I know the Z06 is above 1300Kg and Z4 coupe is bellow 1300kg.

It's also a larger car with a bigger footprint than the Z4. The problem also are the premium the manual ones carry and I wouldn't have an auto. This is if I could live with the interior, which I don't think I can.