Which £10k sports car?

[milb001]

Right, so I’ve decided (after spending a lot of money on Bilsteins, tyres and brakes) that my e31 is never going to be the car I hoped - despite its good looks. So, I’ve decided to sell up and buy something I’ll find more engaging.

I should have around £10k to play with and will be looking for something powerful and manual. It’ll be my daily, so reliability is crucial - but fuel economy is not. The car will be predominantly a B-road blaster, but needs to be bearable on occasional long journeys too.

The cars I’ve currently got in my sights are;
Audi S5 4.2 v8
BMW 335i
BMW Z4 3.0
Nissan 370Z

I’ve purposely avoided the Porsche Boxster S because of the IMS bearing issues which would potentially plague all of those in my price range.

Is there anything else I should be considering? Has anyone driven any of the above and have thoughts?

Cheers

[Joelonghair]

B road blaster? Bit leftfield compared to your preferences but what about a JDM Honda Type-R of some sort or JDM STI forrester?

[FWIW]

Are you sure you want a “sports car”?

[cerb4.5lee]

I'm a big fan of the 370Z but it is more of a cruiser rather than a B road blaster. With a tweak to the exhaust/intake though it will certainly raise a smile for sure(well it does for me).

I do like all of the cars on your list in fairness.

[Pistonheader101]

Audi RS4

[cerb4.5lee]

Pistonheader101 said:

Audi RS4

One of my favourite cars for sure, I'd love one.

[Welshbeef]

There is another thread going at the moment on PH what is a sports car.

But

1. 2 seats only
2. Extremely light
3. Usually soft top
4. Not auto
5 de Dion or double wishbone all round
6. A one off model ie not 316d- M3 only what would be M3 (but M3 isn’t a sports car far too heavy plus more than 2 seats.

[milb001]

FWIW said:

Are you sure you want a “sports car”?

I suppose those that I’ve suggested already are a tad heavy, but I suppose that’s just a reflection of the fact that it’ll be my daily.

I’d consider the Boxster S a sports car, but I’ve discounted that. Any other ideas? A VX220 is in budget, but I’m not sure about that as a daily prospect.

[milb001]

Pistonheader101 said:

Audi RS4

Decent ones are out of budget for me - in fact, any RS model seems to be.

[sawman]

You might find a lotus elan m100 for 10k. Consummate B road blaster.

Edited by sawman on Sunday 13th October 08:59

[FWIW]

milb001 said:

I suppose those that I’ve suggested already are a tad heavy, but I suppose that’s just a reflection of the fact that it’ll be my daily.

I’d consider the Boxster S a sports car, but I’ve discounted that. Any other ideas? A VX220 is in budget, but I’m not sure about that as a daily prospect.

Much as I love VX220 (I’ve had 5), I’m sure you won’t enjoy it as a daily.
That leaves the z4.

[Welshbeef]

sawman said:

You might find a lotus elan m100 for 10k. Consummate B road blaster.

Edited by sawman on Sunday 13th October 08:59

A massive Lotus sales flop though wasn’t it - I forget the reason why so to now simply select it you’d need to appreciate why it failed as a brand new proposition (what was the competitors that destroyed it?)

[cerb4.5lee]

Welshbeef said:

sawman said:

You might find a lotus elan m100 for 10k. Consummate B road blaster.

Edited by sawman on Sunday 13th October 08:59

A massive Lotus sales flop though wasn’t it - I forget the reason why so to now simply select it you’d need to appreciate why it failed as a brand new proposition (what was the competitors that destroyed it?)

Iirc the motoring press actually said that it was really good for a FWD car, but I think that the Lotus purists shunned it because it wasn't RWD.

It is a car that I've always quite liked the look of.

[DoubleD]

A Renault Megane will give you huge smiles per miles.

Its not a sports car though.

[Welshbeef]

S2000
968/944 are possible
Boxster S
Civic Type R EP3
E46 M3
S8 V10
C5 RS6
W211 E55K
W127 Slk55
Z4
Mazda RX8
Fiat Coupe 20 V Turbo
E39 M5
XJR 4.2 V8 supercharged
XKR

[sawman]

cerb4.5lee said:

Welshbeef said:

sawman said:

You might find a lotus elan m100 for 10k. Consummate B road blaster.

Edited by sawman on Sunday 13th October 08:59

A massive Lotus sales flop though wasn’t it - I forget the reason why so to now simply select it you’d need to appreciate why it failed as a brand new proposition (what was the competitors that destroyed it?)

Iirc the motoring press actually said that it was really good for a FWD car, but I think that the Lotus purists shunned it because it wasn't RWD.

It is a car that I've always quite liked the look of.

Probably a timing issue, mx5 and mr2 were around.
I test drove one in about 1993, it was a great steer and coming from an axgt the fwd was reassuring.
Ended up buying a mk1 mr2 which was at the same dealer but cheaper so fitted my budget.
I think lotus were trying to pull sales from hot hatch drivers, but the gamble didnt pay

[ZX10R NIN]

If you want a predominately B Road car then you need to scrap your list & go for cars that suit that type of drive:

Megane RS

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...

Fiesta ST-3

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

Mountune Version

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

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

Clio RS

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

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

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

Peugeot Sport 208 GTI

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

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

[Nerdherder]

Another vote for a Z4 as daily.

[DoubleD]

Nerdherder said:

Another vote for a Z4 as daily.

The Z4 is a nice car, but a Megane is way more fun to drive.

[Nerdherder]

DoubleD said:

Nerdherder said:

Another vote for a Z4 as daily.

The Z4 is a nice car, but a Megane is way more fun to drive.

True. The B road ration you are permitted should sway the favour in of of these two directions.