Jetpilot

I know you rate your 135i, presuming you have a had a few laps in youre mates E92, what do you think of them?

I think its very safe to say i wont be buying a 335i, no matter what you can or cant get out of them its never going to be as good as the departing VX so why would i take a step back. Thanks for the info on the GTR Graham, i appreciate the running costs are pricey (currently researching) and things could go south very quickly if things start giving up the ghost and on earlier cars i guess they are just hitting that age where these problems will be an issue and its my main concern with that route. If i go down the two car route (unlikely) i would simply get a Westfield (or similar) with a Busa engine. Currently the Ultima is what i am leaning too if funds allow, whilst they may be a "kit car", its a pretty simple concept with pretty simple engineering, the sbc engines have been around years and parts plentiful and i am also under the impression the Ultima factory will give any car a 400+ point health check.

Well, that was quick, deposit taken on the VX, wasnt really expecting it, i replied to a wanted ad and full asking price given So a winter off and see where i end up, plenty of time for research

In fantasy land i would field a MotoGp Team for a couple of years, in reality, probably not much more than i do now, except for myself, property refurb/build

And i bet Chris is furiously dieting to hit the 18 stone weight limit

I meant the name sounds like a pizza, quadrifolgio

20b is the 3 rotor found in the Mazda Cosmo, basically just the the same as a 13b rew with an extra rotor, the race motor was the 26b 4 rotor

Yes and no, there were 12a's, 20b's but in reality all you will be interested in will be the 13b rew if you go down the Rx7 route.

To confuse matters even more they did a 13b-re which was used on the Cosmo, actually the best engine to start with as the side ports were bigger than rew. During the last 6 months of ownership (a long time ago) parts were increasingly difficult to get hold of for the engine as Mazda had or was running out of stock, hence the increase in cost, always best to talk to a specialist if you ever go down that route, you can be sure of what you are getting that way.

Rx7 had a 13b-rew, Rx8 uses a 13b-msp, they look very different. Sorry, my first post is a bit confusing, but they cant be mistaken visually, the Rx8 motor is usually referred to as genesis engine.

I personally think that looks absolutely awesome

A 13b is a 13b dude, you cant confuse them, they even have 13b in embossed letters on the side.

An E92 is a better car in every single way and as above, i had a 350z, vx220, i am not in slightest bit worried about dated looks and as for being slow i disagree and with an ess charger kit, it certainly wouldnt be that at 600+ bhp.

Over an E92, not a chance!

Good lord no

The Alfa looks good, but sounds like you are ordering a pizza.

Sorry as elsewhere in here, i have zero interest in Porshces or Audis. Personally i dont think you can define "fun", yes i enjoy a rwd manual but i cant say i would have less fun in say a Gtr, just a different type of fun, much the same from my fi'd 350 to my Vx220. I also dont share the same definition of rwd, na, manual as being the pinnacle of motoring, if i can change gear quicker with paddles, great in my book, if it was purity i was after, i would just get a Caterham. I do agree though i would probably enjoy the M3 much more on track for those very reason over the A45, but i dont think i would have less fun. 1M is a good shout, but when you can buy what you have for a fraction of the cost with 99% of the performance, i just couldnt justify the outlay. However, sorry to say Sipar there isnt a chance in hell i would spend £40k on an A45, if the budget is at £40k its going to be an Ultima or Nissan but thank you very much for the offer of a pm I do really need to get a drive in one, the problem is, its only ever going to be a dealer car on the road, hopefully that will at least provide some feedback and feeling for what it would be like own and drive on track. I very much like the idea of an Ultima although i think you would tire quickly of using it on the road, lack of windows/power steering etc, there is a dude locally selling one so may make a polite phone call and see is we would have a chat.

Since the 350z (excusing the 370z) there really hasnt been anything to come out of Japan that offers an alternative to ze german marques, so if you want a replacement you are going to be staring down the barrel of bmw, merc, audi, porsche etc but as Ekona says, your next choice may not have to be "better", just different. I have found i jump around a lot and dont really stick to one motoring persuasion, its whatever suits the intended needs at the time. I had no real interest in selling up last year and as like you i couldnt find anything to prize me out of the zed without increasing the budget drastically (which wasnt an option) and then out of nowhere, i stumbled into looking at Vx220's, they really couldnt be any different to a zed and had never been on my radar, within a month i was in one and its been a great car to own and drive and the best of all, if ever i thought i missed the zed, well there are hundreds to choose from. Spread your wings, try some other stuff, the zeds arent going anywhere, you can always come back!

You would be surprised about the Vx, its not a handful at all, the power delivery is so smooth, not at all overwhelming. I think its safe to say none of my choices are lookers, although i know you post a lot about "visuals", but i own a Vx220 i think that tells you all you need to know

Would cost you way more in the long run, the engine and box fetch premium, let alone all the work necessary.

The budget choices are both very different i appreciate that, i personally dont think a Gtr would be dull on track and whilst the Ultima will be very quick i would prefer to have more than less and enjoy the challenge. The only thing that puts me off with the A45 (never driven one) is apparently they are not very happy when pushed beyond the limit being front wheel drive biased. M3 is a solid choice and probably the most sensible option, need to do a bit of research with regards to reliability of being charged

I have about as much in interest in R8's as i do 911's, couldnt be further from my cup of tea and cant help with Evora or Vantage either, unless someone pulls a blinder out the bag, the above are the choices

Yes dude, next spring

TBH, if that was on the menu, i would just go back to the VX, but thanks for the input

Yeah, it has been great to have owned the Vx and on the most part anything will feel a little numb in comparison, hence the Ultima, i appreciate the downsides however, but you cant have your cake and eat it which is extended to the GTR, if used in anger on track, it is going to get pricey, will have do some figures based on intended mileage/usage, would welcome some views/costs besides normal servicing from gtr owners here. I really like c63's, but, i just dont think its going to float my boat on the track, which ideally is where the bias is towards.