I know a guy 6'4" who races the Lotus with the top off...heh

Another car to consider is the Ariel Atom....they are starting a Spec series in Socal where the car is around $40k and they are starting an arrive and drive program.....
Ariel Atoms are road legal in the US as they are considered "kit" cars....

 

There are two answers to your question, as far as I'm concerned (seeing where you live). If you lived in England, there'd be several. But then again, England's car choices>>>>> NA's car choices. Actually, England on the whole is a lot cooler than NA in most things, but hey. (I live in NA, Canada actually)

Lotus and Porsche. Exige's can be had well within your budget, but they're not the greatest form of non-track transport. You'll have to do acrobatics to get over that side sill. If you're looking for something a little less compromised, but still awesome fun, the GT3 is for you. You can get a very tidy '07 for your range.

 

I would have to agree with Maroli although as hard as is it is for me to say a Z06 is a pretty great track car. Another important question is what track do you spend most of your time on? If you are in Toronto and spend a lot of time on Mosport (greatest track in North America) the answer is probably different than if you are running a small twisty club track.

 

Thanks for the info. What do you mean by 15/16's?

 

I assume he means 15 or 16 inch wheels.

 

Ok, thought as much.

 

The Elise/Exige are like driving a gokart and are a ton of fun. My only complaint about the car is it has no top end. It's amazing in the turns but once you hit the straight prepare to wave by the STI, Evos, and pretty much everyone else.

Caveat: This is a stock Elise/Exige. If you modify one with an aftermarket supercharger (there are a few great options) it will definitely help narrow the gap.


My recommendation would be to find a well sorted Noble M400. What you get for the price is unreal. The car is out to kill you. No ABS, no TC. If you are ok with that the Noble is street legal and will cause your face to hurt from smiling so much

 

I was lucky enough to go round Ascari + some passenger laps driven by one of the instructors (2003 British Champ...) It was the one and only time I got out of a car and was ready to be sick!!!

 

My friend has 2 of these in the UK (one with sequential one with manual - I like to tell him he has the world's largest collection of Ascaris!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascari_Ecosse

Very, very similar, and there is actually an AM driving 6speeder I know of who has one Stateside!!!

 

Good stuff! I loved my Noble and really hated selling it. I'll most likely get another one day but for now I stay civilized in my V8V

 

Mosport is the track I have been to and will likely be going to. I would like to try out some other tracks but for the most part will be at Mosport.

 

Plastique 999, would the lotus be okay for a relatively inexperienced driver? I know you race it but did it take long for you to get used to it? I wouldn't call myself a race car driver by any stretch of the imagination but want to continue to improve. Based on what I am hearing, I would say that I am leaning towards the Lotus or the GT3 but wonder if maybe the Porsche is a little more driver friendly, although I don't know if that is a good thing or not.

 

Believe it or not, I bought my Elise initially for its gas mileage lol. I had no track experience whatsoever. The very next day I took it to the track because I heard it was a great track car - I of course, hired an instructor. From that point on, I was hooked. It doesn't take too long to learn the car, especially if you have a good instructor as well.

You have two good choices, and the Porsche is of course a great track car. But I have a friend who has a GT3 and a Lotus Elise - guess which one he always takes to the track....also, there was one time that he did wad up the GT3 into a tire wall - that hurt his wallet a ton.

Remember, tracking has little to do with power of the car. The power to weight distribution and the handling is what is key. To be a great track driver, it is these cars that would teach you best. Don't get me wrong, I always thirst for power to (want to S/C my m5 , but on the track too much hp can be worthless if your car can't handle, or you can't drive.

The Noble is an awesome car, but I just wouldn't be able to handle wrecking it. If you take your car to the track, you have to be of the mindset that the car could be totalled...it can happen to anyone, and I've seen it happen frequently, especially amongst novice and amateur drivers.

 

In some ways the Elise/Exige are good if you are new to the track. The handling is so adjustable and the balance is beautiful (mid engine!), and as pointed out above they are momentum cars. So if you learn to drive them properly I would argue you have honed your track skills more than with many other cars. But they can bite you with their mid engine layout and short wheelbase, too - certainly not as friendly as your V8 Vantage!

The GT3 is a great car, in a different league from the Elise/Exige in performance but also in price. I'm not sure it's more driver friendly, either: 911's demand a particular driving style and the rear engine layout can also cause problems at the limit for the inexperienced.

I say go for the Lotus - it's cheaper, lighter and easier on consumables, and IMO better balanced overall.

BTW, for the poster above, I'm just over 6'2" and I fit just fine in my Exige with a helmet, seat lowered courtesy Sector 111.

And may I suggest you Mosport junkies make the drive to Calabogie one day? A GREAT track, not as high speed but challenging enough, in great condition, and in a beautiful setting!

 

I have been having the same discussion regarding a dedicated track car. I got up to almost 30 track days on my 2007 Vantage and enjoyed it thoroughly, yet I also realized that I was starting to push the envelope and that sooner or later I was going to make a very expensive mistake. At that point I switched to SCCA Spec Miata racing and did 10 races this last summer. I enjoyed it yet the time commitment was too much and since I was renting cars to race in it was costing too much for a limited amount of track time. While I loved the wheel to wheel racing, I discovered that I was not aggressive enough to be competitive in the large fields that Spec Miata racing has. Having done that racing I decided that I wanted a relatively cheap car to buy and maintain, that is still street legal so that I can drive it to the track rather than have the expense of a truck and trailer. If I throw it into a wall someday it will not be a big deal. (One rule of racing is that you have to be prepared to throw the car away, because sooner or later you probably will.) With that in mind I started considering cars like a Honda S2000, BMW E36 or E46, where they can be race prepped for approximately 20K and easy to repair when broken. I have driven a well sorted out street legal E36 M3 and it is pretty incredible how fast that car can get around tracks like Infineon and Laguna Seca--definitely faster in that vs the Vantage. I have also considered the Lotus, yet when I go to the open track days, there are far more BMW's and S2000's and only a few Lotuses, and it is always nice to have some friendly competition on the track. All things being equal, light weight and good handling will win over power on technical tracks.