Best used record-setters, £15k hot hatches...
... and would you dare own an ex-press car?
Once in a blue moon, a car comes along that’s so far ahead of anything that comes before it that it takes years, sometimes decades, for a challenger to emerge. One such car, the Bugatti Veyron, snatched the record from the McLaren F1 at 253mph in 2005, and then stretched its advantage with a 267mph run five years later with the Super Sport. And it’d hold on to that record for the next seven years, which is mighty impressive given the many attempts from manufacturers big and small to overthrow it. So when one of just five World Record Editions comes up for sale, finished in the same carbon and orange colour scheme as the record-setter and with its limiter removed, it’s at least worthy of a segment on The Gassing Station podcast.
Yes, it really is an incredible thing - with an incredible price tag to go with it. You’ll need £3.5 million to drive away in it, and that got us thinking about what other record-breaking cars you could find on PH for, ideally, not quite as much money. We’ve got the usual suspects like an FL5 Honda Civic Type R (front-wheel drive Nurburgring lap record holder) and a Jaguar XJ220 (briefly the world’s fastest production car), but there are some proper oddballs chucked in too like an Ariel Atom (fastest speed set indoors) and even a diesel VW Passat. So no matter what budget you’re working with, we’ve got a record setter for you.
If, however, you’ve got around £15,000 to spend on a hot hatch, then this week’s challenge will be right up your street. PHer bigals is on the lookout to replace their Mercedes C-Class Coupe with something a bit more fun, and has their eye on several hot hatches. We’ve got a few more to chuck onto their shortlist, with Sam electing this very smart Mk8 Ford Fiesta ST in full-fat ST-3 trim £12,750. A very sensible choice indeed, but perhaps not quite as sensible as the Mk7.5 VW Golf GTI I found for £11,450. Both would make fantastic daily drivers, and they should be relatively kind on the wallet, too. But if it were my money, I’d be placing a bid on this Alfa Romeo 147 GTA that’s currently under auction. Of course, if you think you can do better, you can drop your suggestions into the topic here.
To top it all off, PHer rix wants to know whether anyone would be open to buying an old press car. As you’ll know, it’s generally believed that ex-pressers should be treated like victims of the plague because, supposedly, they’ve been ragged by ham-fisted journalists. But there’s a surprising amount of support for old press cars in rix’s topic, with a number of owners saying that’d happily buy another. Have a dig through the replies here, and stick our pod on while you’re at it.
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