best value sports car under 100k? - Page 7

I would recommend karting over taking your own street car to the track.

I agree that taking your own to the track at least once is a good experience. I don`t think it`s something you should do on a regular basis, because most street cars aren`t designed for the track, and you will probably get a better experience from doing it properly.

Well, take into consideration that it needs to meet all modern crash test standards (airbags everywhere, etc...), has an insane amount of electronics and luxuries, including 18 (or more?) way power seats which are heated (and I think they offer air-conditioned seats as an options as well, no?), full retractable metal hardtop, a massive engine (5.4 liter V8 vs. the original 3.0 Liter straight-6), etc...

And you end up with a very heavy car. I mean even the new Jaguar XK is about 1000 lbs lighter thanks to its aluminum body and chassis, plus other weight saving techniques such as a traditional soft-top.

The modern SLR is a true sports car (albeit an insanely expensive one at that), so is the SLK55 AMG, because it is the only MB which can actually take a corner and is small / light enough to slip into the sports car category.

Jon.

Then you are driving the wrong sports car.

Try a Lotus Elise, Dodge Viper, or Corvette Z06. They are made for the track. If you don't think that these cars are "THAT" fun to drive on the track, then you either haven't driven them on a track, or you don't really like to drive sports cars at all.


I guess it depends on your definition of "enjoyment." If comfortable cruising is what you are after, then a GT car is fine, but there really is no substitute for a true sports car when you are focused on driving.



Not as distant as you might think. Saleen and Mosler make sports cars that are not much different than the cars that race in various racing series. Dodge's Competition Coupe shares its suspension and drivetrain (except for the dif) with the street version. There are tons of amateur racing series (SCCA T1 for example) that race relatively stock versions of street cars



Once is not nearly enough. The more you do it, the more you learn, and the more fun it is. It's a challenging sport, and you can spend a lifetime learning and improving and having a really fun time doing it.

I agree


I`ve driven a Viper for a couple of laps. I really don`t have any desire to drive any of those cars on the track though.


I guess it does.

I am not talking about comfortable cruising though. I am saying that on regular streets (mountain or whatever), a sports car or a GT car is not going to make much of a difference. You can`t drive to the full potential of the cars on the streets anyway.


Yes, I agree with you. In some rare models, the gap between street and race cars is minimal. Aside for the 1% of sports cars that you are talking about, the gap is big though.


I agree. I don`t think taking a street car to the track that often is good though. It`s not so good for the driver or the car.

They actually classify the SLR as a Super GT, but I see where your coming from, I'd probably also consider it a sportscar. The catch with the SLR, is the fact it was co-designed with McClaren, and even then they felt it could've been better. I was thinking about the SLK's classification, it be would considered it a sportscar based on the true definition, I just have to wonder why the more powerful AMG version is only optioned with an automatic, if I was driving a small powerful convertible, my first option would be a 5 or 6 speed, auto just seem so wrong for true sportscars.

A track is one of the best environments to learn how to drive better. Given proper instruction and a good attitude, I don't see how a driver can't dramatically improve their awareness and driving skills with a track driving school in a street car.

My car's also spent about 5 percent of its total mileage of 103K miles on racetracks, and the only thing that's done to the car is to accelerate its normal wear items (brakes, tires).

--Andre

Of course, I agree that a track is the best place to learn how to drive. I just think that a proper race car is better than a street car on the track, that`s all.

For some of us the size of a sportscar can be a restriction. Some of these are beauties though.