Jetpilot

Function over form and nothing more.

Good to hear you thought highly of the Lotus, i would be surprised if anyone didnt

Funny how people view things differently, most of us a single car owners (fun cars) have to carefully scrutinise what is going to tick the most boxes so a lot of times we are making sacrifices, better on track, lack of comfort on the road etc. I am working for a dude at the moment who's three car garage consists of a 911 Turbo S, 458 Spyder and AM DBS (with the reg A V12 DBS) He is a bit younger than me and happy to chat cars, i asked which his favourite was, well it was the DBS which surprised me. The 911 to him was just an engineering marvel, its quicker, comfier and stops better than all the others, but because of that for him its just too competent and lacks the character of the others, he says the 458 is just epic but scares the sh*t out of him as he knows it could bite back any minute. So the DBS to him just is just the most characterful, you dont have to be going at warp speed to revel in the experience, it ouzes character and is an experience just driving down to town for example, it is the one car he would keep if he had to decide, its the cheapest too, go figure, sometimes the "best" car isnt always the "best" car.

Well the Lotus ticks all those boxes by the barrel load but please track it

After spending the last year or so in a Vx you cannot argue the case the Exige will be the most superb driving experience out of anything mentioned, utterly wasted on the road though and not really that pleasant a place to be, spartan at best, so unless you plan on tracking you will really be missing out on all upsides of ownership. Whats is the intention for the car/driving op?

VID-20171208-WA0001.mp4

A mate had one when they were released, really enjoyable, not sure its worth £30k over a normal one mind, but can only see them going up in value so ownership probably wont cost you anything, maybe even make a little.

Great shout on the CSL although you would be at the lower end of the market and unless someone is really in the know, its just going to look like a M3 when it comes to the street presence required.

I am hoping to have a similar budget spring next year and you seem to echo my thoughts. A GTR is/was/maybe on my list but like you i am concerned with costs, i came to the conclusion the only way i would buy a gtr is through a specialist with a comprehensive warranty, just in case. Like you i have absolutely no interest in an R8, its an RS4 in a dress to me, a dull dress at that and although i have a hankering for the A45AMG there is no way i would spend £40k on one and that goes the same for a 718 Gayman, Evora or any M car. My only other 40k option was an Ultima GTR, however, i can totally see that wont appeal to many though. 40k - 50k should get you a hell of a car, no matter what you go for though, enjoy the choice

I had S tune suspension on mine, cant say it was any better than the BC coilovers i ended up getting and if you got it mapped you are up to S tune power, 15k is a lot of mods, in fact i sold my supercharged 350z for less and i know which i would prefer over anything with Nismo on

Anything half fun is going to go hand in glove with the above so fill your boots, you only live once, if you want practical, get a Micra

According to Wiki Nissan imported one S tune, whether any imports have come in is a different question, so yes they would be exceptional rare. The extra cost would in no way be "value for money" in performance terms, so no its not even close to being worth the difference, i guess the question if you could find one, hypothetically would you pay £20k (conservative guess) for a 350z?

Nice one Z, Milteks are good but not available new anymore so you will have to wait for 2nd hand. There is also what they call a pipo mod to a std exhaust, worth looking into.

I guess its just damn fortunate no one wants to nick a Tesla

I didnt say it wasnt a good drive, but it put the final nail in the coffin for the rotary, regardless of whether it was miss sold (which i agree on), but that engine needed to be inline with piston engines (or as near too) with regards to lifespan to have any hope in the future, it was no more reliable than the original 13b and that was pushing out 50bhp more.

20 litres of good old mineral oil doesnt break the bank, probably the same as 5ltrs of decent fully synth that went in the 350z. As a complete off topic, its such a shame they released that catastrophe of an RX8, as if the rotary rep wasnt damaged enough.

One of the very reasons i got into rotaries, so tuneable in std trim and to get big hp all you were really talking was porting because of the way the engine works, no forging required. There were a few upgraded tips available but the actual engine components were std. My last Rx was rebuilt/ported at just over £3k and running a big single from day one from anything from 450 - 501 rwhp. ok it only lasted 20k miles (and that was water seals) but at £3k i dont think thats too bad, to get an rb26 to 500hp and last 20k miles will cost you a fortune.

I think the new Mercs look like they have been in a microwave too long and drooped .

Its very strong in stock form and will take decent hp reliably without the need for forging, thats where it gets its kudos from. Supra is a great looking car, but imho and not surprisingly being 10 years newer, the 350z is an infinitely better drive.

I bought a Fez heater and it was impressive but as you mention there is a group buy for a new unit which seems equally as good. PIA job to do though, but easily achievable to someone handy with the tools.

2Jz is a great motor, but if you were going to all that expense i would just do what Wasso has done and put in a LS V8, i personally think some people get a bit starry eyed about the whole jdm thing.

I dont think i ever had the roof on, a woolly hat did the job, which also adds a good point, std heaters are rubbish but there are now a couple of options for upgrades and well worth it.

Is it where kids still work down t pit, or where they are still on dial up?

I am more surprised you havent got studded tyres, i thought you Scots were prepared??