You should never meet your heroes

Dades

unkel wrote: »

If you haven't seen it before, you are going to enjoy this

That is manic.

That Lotus is like a wasp to the Beemer that just won't go away. Better straight line speed just not enough in the end to keep the Lotus behind (spoiler ).

Wibbs

I was thinking more like a Terrier yapping at the paws of an Alsatian. Getoutameway!!!

But if you ever get the chance to pedal one, take it with both hands. A well sorted example is kinda like an MX5 with more "soul". Real go kart stuff. IIRC 0-60 was around the 6-7 seconds so not supercar stuff, but sparky enough.

steinbock123

Anyone know what track that was ??

unkel

Rijeka (Croatia)

I can never re-find that clip until I remember that. Google Rijeka and Elan and it comes right up top

Just 130BHP in the Elan too (from memory), but I can imagine it is extremely light

RobAMerc

what a cracking clip.

just goes to show where handling vs grip is so important on a track like that.

If it was BTCC he'd have had lots of chances to "help the BMW round the corners" yet they never seemed to touch, superb!

Wibbs

unkel wrote: »

Just 130BHP in the Elan too (from memory), but I can imagine it is extremely light

In race trim with webers and a lairy on/off cam that at idle runs like a three legged horse probably more like 160 odd I'd imagine? Weight wise IIRC in standard road going roadster trim they were around 700 kilos, so that one could shave some off that. Good oul Colin Chapman; simplify and add lightness. Something that is almost impossible to do these days for manufacturers, what with safety and the comfort and toys that people have naturally come to expect. Back when the Elan was around your average family car wouldn't have been much quieter.

tedpan

My dad loved cars when he was younger and I lived in England until I was 13 which allowed me to be a passenger and I got to visit the nec motor show every year.

Here's a list of some of the cars my dad owned while I grew up, all purchased new.

Lotus Elite
Renault 5 GT turbo
Lotus esprit turbo
Porsche 928 S4 - my favourite
BMW 735i

He used to drive so fast and it gave me my passion for cars.

My dream car is an F355, I drove one years ago and the sound and handling was breathtaking. I'd love to own one..

Anyway, now I'm in my mid 30s I drive a Nissan leaf and dad has a Mazda cx5, how times change..

unkel

tedpan wrote: »

Porsche 928 S4 - my favourite

Have you a son? Early 928 S4 is vintage €56 motor tax since last year. Only sayin'

tedpan

unkel wrote:

Have you a son? Early 928 S4 is vintage €56 motor tax since last year. Only sayin'

Nope, just a house full of animals

It was an 86 in dark maroon, wish he still had it. He sold it privately in Jan 89 and ordered the 735i I still remember the V8 power, what a beast..

unkel

tedpan wrote: »

It was an 86 in dark maroon, wish he still had it. He sold it privately in Jan 89 and ordered the 735i I still remember the V8 power, what a beast..

I had an '86 S2 myself. Not the 32v of the S4 and a few less horsies, but of course that wonderful V8 engine

galwaytt

.....87 911 3.2, with the G50 'box. Great car.............unless you were stepping out of a 1 yr old Audi TT........boy how things move on.....

StereoSound

I drove a black 1995 Porsche' 911 a few years back from a guy I worked with. Nice car but I wasn't left blown away by it like I thought I would. It was not a turbo model...

I also drove an early generation 99' Porsche Boxster 2.5. I thought it was slow for what it was. Maybe the 3.2 would have blown me away. Older Boxsters can be bought for F all these days. 7k will buy you an early 97' to 00' model.

unkel

StereoSound wrote: »

I also drove an early generation 99' Porsche Boxster 2.5. I thought it was slow for what it was.

An automatic by chance? The manual is not slow for what it is. Sure it's an old skool N/A 2.5l engine with only a bit over 200BHP but keep it on song and slow is the last word I'd use

Brilliant drivers car with the RWD and mid-rear engine setup. And with the roof down and a sports exhaust that roaring horizontally opposing 6 pot engine just behind your back it feels even quicker than it already is

But you're right, the S 3.2 is a lot faster and has much better hardware. It is almost a 996 clone made smaller. Tax is €1808 vs €1080 though. That's a big difference for a weekend car doing just a few thousand km a year...

Andrewf20

Maybe not so much a hero car but a car that I aspired to buying when my E36 falls for the final time (which it nearly did recently with mega NCT fails, restoration work and more in progress) - the E92 325i. It turned out a real disappointment - it just felt heavy, numb and not particularly fast. On paper its quicker than my 323i but didnt feel it. Maybe id get used to it, but it lacked alot of feedback that i am used to in the E36.

I drove an E92 330i and that also felt heavy and numb but that 3.0L N52 engine. Wow. I wonder if the E46 M3 is similar in feel as on paper its quite heavy also.

Im really going to miss the n/a 6 cylinders in the future.

unkel

Andrewf20 wrote: »

Maybe not so much a hero car but a car that I aspired to buying when my E36 falls for the final time (which it nearly did recently with mega NCT fails, restoration work and more in progress) - the E92 325i. It turned out a real disappointment - it just felt heavy, numb and not particularly fast. On paper its quicker than my 323i but didnt feel it. Maybe id get used to it, but it lacked alot of feedback that i am used to in the E36.

Why the hell go from E36 to E92?

It seems you like BMW cars. Why on earth do you want to drive a E36 or a E92 when you can own and drive the most brilliant affordable BMW of recent times, the E46?

Andrewf20

unkel wrote: »

Why the hell go from E36 to E92?

It seems you like BMW cars. Why on earth do you want to drive a E36 or a E92 when you can own and drive the most brilliant affordable BMW of recent times, the E46?

Because the e46 is getting on a bit and it's hard to find decent examples. For example, there were only 2 330ci's (e46) for sale when I checked a few weeks back but I couldn't get through to either seller. Also there's the issue with insurance on cars >15 years old that seems to plague alot of people. My brother also found the e46 disappointing to drive and rated the e36 a much better car. He has an e30. Another petrol head (ex touring car driver) I know said similar.

The e92 is the last of the non turbo 6 cylinders so if I got one I'd plan to keep it as long as possible.

unkel

I see where you are coming from, particularly in relation to insurance. I'm lucky myself that I have an old classic car policy that still lets me add 15 year old cars as classics for next to nothing

Never mind your brother, did you drive an E46 coupe (any really, even a 318ci) in anger yourself? Brilliant cars they all are. E92 is lame in comparison.

Andrewf20

unkel wrote: »

I see where you are coming from, particularly in relation to insurance. I'm lucky myself that I have an old classic car policy that still lets me add 15 year old cars as classics for next to nothing

Never mind your brother, did you drive an E46 coupe (any really, even a 318ci) in anger yourself? Brilliant cars they all are. E92 is lame in comparison.

I havent driven any but looking at the weight figures on parkers.co.uk, the e46 is heavier than the e92 equivalents. For example, the e46 325Ci comes in at 1485kg vs 1420kg for the e92 325i and weight in my experience seems to be a big factor in car handling.

If I get a chance to drive one, ill definitely take it.