[Mark07]

If you were going to buy a sports car, what would you go for?

It has to be in a semi-realistic price range, I'm thinking upto around £50k.

Personally, I think I'd look at a second hand Lotus - I haven't decided on a model yet. They aren't ultra powerful, but I think their lightness and agility would make them a lot of fun.

I've never driven one though, so maybe someone can change my mind.

[Drivingforfun]

Great question! This is something I think about a lot, I tend to look through dream cars that are attainable with a bit of work as opposed to pipe dream Lamborghinis and the like, although I know the price is subjective to each person

My heart says a Ford Mustang which doesn't need any explanation but living in the UK my head has settled on the Alpine A110 because it's so much smaller and lighter which is better for the UK, does 35mpg which is of benefit in the UK, and it's just as quick as the 5L V8 Mustang despite having a 1.8L engine 👍

[TC1474]

Strangely enough, apart from the Ferrari I mentioned in another post, I have never had any desire, nor do I have any desire currently to buy a sports car of any description.

Being a motorcyclists I have always had the joy of open air motoring, and a sports car has always seemed so impractical for my needs, whereas I have always brought (all be it second hand until my current Jag) top of the range saloon cars which offer comfort, performance, all the extras I could wish for, carrying capacity and style whilst still offering similar levels of performance and can be insured for far less money.

Good example was back in the day, we brought a 1.6 Ford Cr@ppy as a back up car for SWMBO whilst I kept my 2.8i Granada Ghia. The Cr@ppy was a basic 1.6. It was not that comfortable or practical, and we even used to leave the keys in the ignition in the hope that someone would nick it, but it never happened.

But the interesting part was that the 1.6 Capri was 3 times more expensive to insure than the top of the range 2.8i Granada, and I would not even consider the Capri to be sporty until you got to the 2.8i version, but the insurers did.

I did comparisons with other top of the range saloons and reasonable priced sports cars over the years, and got the same result, it was cheaper to insure and in many cases maintain the top of the range saloon.

These days though its more simplistic. If I get into a sports car I really struggle to get out, more to the point the waistline and knackered hips and feet makes it difficult to get in and out of

[olduser]

The thought of a sports car leaves me cold but I am tall.
Tall enough for my head to be above the windscreen.
Right, hold that thought and turn the car over, the thoughts of my scalp scraping along the road is too much for me, no thanks.

But a car to enjoy driving from A to B, must accommodate me, be economical, must work hard to stop me getting into trouble, and be cheap to run.

The original Minis did that very well, and was a tough act to follow.
The nearest I have got to that since would be a Fiesta.

The modern car running under the Mini badge, I found was perfectly happy to get into serious trouble, I must say this was an early version they may have improved since then.

The cars branded as sports cars or super cars may well be OK on a track but I don't see them as cars for the road when the same journey can be done at a much lower cost per mile.

[Rolebama]

Over the years I have lusted over a few sports cars, but they all had their problems. Nothing on the market today leaps out and grabs me and, to be honest, my current car fulfils all my needs, and is fun to drive a bit quick on the lanes, with the added bonuses of being good on consumption and comfort.

[Drivingforfun]

I totally do agree that you shouldn't compromise on usability by getting something that has no practical application, however I think life is all about buying enjoyable things even if these aren't the most economical ones

I own a nice mechanical watch, and I enjoy owning it, but it's well known that the best mechanical watch is far inferior in terms of accuracy than a sub £100 quartz watch

I aspire to own a nice old house one day, ideally with wooden beams which I'd bash my head on every day; this would cost far more to heat and insure, especially if it had a thatched roof, but I'd get enjoyment out of it

I'm saying this as an accountant-y type person, but life isn't all about maximising economy and on-paper value, head sometimes gives way to heart 👍

[olduser]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

I totally do agree that you shouldn't compromise on usability by getting something that has no practical application, however I think life is all about buying enjoyable things even if these aren't the most economical ones

I own a nice mechanical watch, and I enjoy owning it, but it's well known that the best mechanical watch is far inferior in terms of accuracy than a sub £100 quartz watch

I aspire to own a nice old house one day, ideally with wooden beams which I'd bash my head on every day; this would cost far more to heat and insure, especially if it had a thatched roof, but I'd get enjoyment out of it

I'm saying this as an accountant-y type person, but life isn't all about maximising economy and on-paper value, head sometimes gives way to heart 👍

I think the satisfaction in driving is to complete a journey feeling that you and the car have worked together, and completed the journey efficiently, comfortably, and not put anyone at risk.

If I want to take risks by choice then I would find a track.
On a track, I would be willing to take some risk to get the best out of the car but speed as an end in itself I don't think is satisfying.

Having a long straight, say a runway, and flooring the accelerator to see how fast it will go just proves how fast it will go?
Given enough power, and enough space, any car will go fast no matter who is driving, the driver just sits and presses the go pedal.

I think satisfaction comes from working with the machine (a car is just a machine) and together having a better outcome because I understood it's, and my limitations, and was able to drive up to those limitations under the conditions that applied at that time.
Of course on the road, the overriding limitation is the safety of others, and the law.

At one time I regularly visited a local track used for club racing, and helped any of the competitors who needed help.
There were many competitors, usually past middle aged, who spent quite a lot of money on their hobby, who had no chance of winning but they were there for the satisfaction of getting the best out of their 'race' car.
They were happy, unless they let the car down.
Yes even back then, there were other races for sponsored cars, they had to win to retain the sponsorship but I did notice that the car always let them down, and they were rarely happy.

In the past, for me a dream house would be, dry, draught free, convenient, contain the family, and cheap to run but life changes as time passes.

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

Great question! This is something I think about a lot, I tend to look through dream cars that are attainable with a bit of work as opposed to pipe dream Lamborghinis and the like, although I know the price is subjective to each person

My heart says a Ford Mustang which doesn't need any explanation but living in the UK my head has settled on the Alpine A110 because it's so much smaller and lighter which is better for the UK, does 35mpg which is of benefit in the UK, and it's just as quick as the 5L V8 Mustang despite having a 1.8L engine 👍

Ha! I saw the title and I jumped in to mention the Alpine A110 too. I love the lightweight approach. I think they may be discontinuing it soon so you may need to be quick :). Pretty exclusive too - I haven't seem many on the road in the UK.

Eight years ago I bought an RX-8. They are extremely cheap because the only thing most people think of is terrible MPG, oil burning and engine failure. I love it! Amazing handling. I bought it for £3.5k and, over the last couple of years I've done 65k miles. The cost of the car, all servicing (including an engine rebuild) and all fuel (I keep a log using the Fuelly app, sad, I know!) over these 8 years stands at £45k. So, all in, not too bad. The only servicing I do myself regularly is an oil change every 2k miles (usually using a cheap vacuum pump which goes into the dipstick channel for convenience). And there's a very active UK group of enthusiasts here: rx8ownersclub.co.uk. So, if you like the quirkiness of the RX-8 then you may enjoy owning one!