What drivers car ~£130k

[Shabs]

I am hoping you guys can suggest some potential cars that I could research.

I am quite disappointed with myself in that after owning my new R8 V10 plus for a year, I am already mentally shopping around.

Strangely enough, the unsettling urge to get something else what triggered by my pensioner spec, light blue with cream cloth interior, 90,000 mile, 1.8ltr Volvo V50. bd thing is a manual and while the 0-60 takes 2.8 minutes instead of seconds with the R8, I can thrash the crap out of it and still hold up traffic. It also has the added benefit that, being pensioner spec, other road users and even cyclists see me coming and get out of my way in fear of being careered off the road in a senior moment.

So back to the R8. I love it for everything it does, which is pretty much anything you could expect from a road car. It has “drive like golf mode”, “race car spit fire mode” and everything in-between. It sounds awesome, or not, depending on mode. It rides hard, or not. You can park it because it has all sorts of cameras and even drive over speed bumps without stuff falling off. The electronics are amazing - you can draw the postcode with your finger into the satnav cockpit thing and it understands!

But it is quite digital and synthetic. I don’t think it is possible to be so good at everything without being a bit synthetic in the process. This is a long way of saying I want a real driver’s car.

So far I think my choices look like:
- GT3 (997.2 or 991.1)
- GT4
- Boxter Spyder 3.8
- V12Vs manual
- Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera
- Gallardo LP550-2
- Exige 380 Sport

I really would like to keep this for more than a year, so I think I need a car that no only scratches an itch, but is really special. I have a friend who had a CSL for several years until it was stolen and stripped for parts. He still mourns it and has a model version on his desk that he gazes longingly at. I want this sort of car (but not a CSL)

My budget is up to 130k.

Ideal cars are always somehow out of reach, my hero cars that I would keep forever and probably move my bed into the garage for are 997.1 GT3 RS in Viper Green, Gallardo 550-2 Singapore Edition, 458 Speciale. None of these would be remotely in budget.

The other info I can think of giving is some kind of history:

- TVR: sold because it caught fire, three times
- Lotus Elise 111R: sold because too slow to effectively overtake
- Lotus Europa S: sold because kids came along and wife wouldn’t let me take my son in it as it was heavily modified
- 997.1 Turbo: sold because maintenance became scary, but I did keep it for 4 years and still love them
- R8 V10 plus: synthetic but awesome

What I loved about my old cars that I would love to somehow replicate in this new car:

- TVR: community is top notch, I love TVR people
- Lotus: chuckable, handling feel and communication, small, genuinely hoonable, fun at low speed, buzzed in a fun kind of way like a little race car
- 997 Turbo: Boooost, the way it launched, small, felt indestructible
- R8: noise, speed, attention it gets

Are there other options besides the ones listed above?

It is a weekend fun car, I have my mighty V50 for station car, shopping and getting Xmas trees

[Shabs]

Thank you for the comments

I didn’t mean offence regarding the 111R. It is a great little car and one that I really enjoyed owning. Sure, it is a quick and fun car for the money, however I don’t think you could call it fast?

The corvette z06 is an amazing thing but I don’t want LHD. I seriously wish they made them in RHD though.

Regarding the Huracan, far too similar to my R8. It’s a bit of a strange prospect, the good bits are no different to the R8, just they made it more inconvenient and difficult to use in an attempt to engineer in character. I don’t get it. What I get even less is people will to pay such a premium for it over the R8 just because it is a Lambo.

The Gallardo SL2 on the other hand, I need to drive one of these. Likewise the 458, although I am scared I will love it and then it will ruin me dead through falling apart :-)

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I really should add the Evora to the list. I have always liked them but driving the non S version was a bit dull. I think the newer versions could be vastly improved though.

One thing I love about Lotus is how kind they are on consumables vs heavier more powerful cars. I would never take my R8 on a track because discs, pads and tyres would cost circa £15-16k to replace. With a Lotus, it really isn’t a problem.

[Shabs]

So if I had to rephrase, overtakes had to be well timed and at times, were very frustrating. Sitting just off second cam behind some pensioner on a twisty B road waiting for a chance wasn’t fun. In more powerful cars, it is easier and takes a lot less planning / frustration

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I just don’t think the 570 would be that special, keep forever type of car.

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It’s a good question re track, I don’t know. Let’s say I would want to and I miss doing car specific stuff like I used to when I owned a Lotus, which is a lot the appeal of that brand.

Usage of the car will be only on weekends (I have a car for kids - Cayenne, and a car for stations - the mighty V50) and only for fun. So summer hoons (four or five a year), trips to wales for climbing and driving (may twice a year) and god willing some track time. Now that my kids (aged 18 months and 6) are getting older track time may be possible

MC Stradale - that and the Aston DB9 GT where what I wanted instead of the R8, but I couldn’t get on with either of them. It was a terrible feeling, recalling wanting to love something, but it just not being right. The MC Stradale I felt was an awesome concept but it didn’t work. Making a track car out of a fantastic GT, it is still big, heavy, etc. Maybe if the gearbox was slightly better it would work, I am not sure. Aston was the same, an amazing GT, but didn’t feel that chuckable if that makes sense

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Will the 458 ruin me? Porsche and audi maintenance and warranty schedules, repairs are ok as well unless you run up big man hours.

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570 spider looks amazing, out of bracket though, potentially I could get a 570s. I love the idea of an Elise with 5x the power.

Are consumables stupidly expensive? If I had to track one 4 times a year, is that 15k worth of breaks and tyres?