Oh another thing, most have rear seats, but not all do.
Best 'practical' fun sportscar for 25k or less
- Thread starter Conanius
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Oh another thing, most have rear seats, but not all do.
I remember Gibbo saying there are like night and day apart to drive, though.
Soldato
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I was just thinking along the lines of an all alcantara interior with bucket seats and obviously less toys. So may be practical enough for some (wish it was for me!), but not as practical as a normal M3.
Unless I'm misguided and alcantara is actually very easy to look after? I have it in my head that it's a pain in the bum.
For a little more than £25k you can pick up a new Lotus Elise Club Racer (0-60MPH: 5.6sec). Lotuses are surprisingly practical providing you don't put anything too heavy/sharp in the boot!
Or you could opt for 2nd/3rd hander Exige for that true Track Day monster.
£25k will also nab you a pretty nice TVR - virtually anything aside from the Sagaris (which is still 2nd/3rd hand retailing for £37k++).
Short of those you are restricted to the usual cars:
- BMW 1-series diesel with ECU remap
- Mazda RX-8 (oil and petrol drinking monster)
- Nissan 370Z (expensive running costs + tax + sometimes unstable rear)
- BMW Z4 (fairly nippy but for £25k you'll be stuck to the 23i which has the same performance as your S2000)
The other options are the sportier coupes/hatchbacks: Scirocco R, Golf 2.0 TSI.
You will struggle to get a new Audi or Porsche for £25k and for 2nd hand they will kill you in maintenance and upkeep.
Or you could opt for 2nd/3rd hander Exige
£25k will also nab you a pretty nice TVR - virtually anything aside from the Sagaris (which is still 2nd/3rd hand retailing for £37k++).
Short of those you are restricted to the usual cars:
- BMW 1-series diesel with ECU remap
- Mazda RX-8 (oil and petrol drinking monster)
- Nissan 370Z (expensive running costs + tax + sometimes unstable rear)
- BMW Z4 (fairly nippy but for £25k you'll be stuck to the 23i which has the same performance as your S2000)
The other options are the sportier coupes/hatchbacks: Scirocco R, Golf 2.0 TSI.
You will struggle to get a new Audi or Porsche for £25k and for 2nd hand they will kill you in maintenance and upkeep.
I just spat my drink out.
With the upgrade, it is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I didn't expect it either til I drove one. The figures weren't anything major, but the drive felt better than you would normally expect from a 1-series that wasn't the 135i M.
Please do not fire up the Diesel TORQUEEEES debate in motors again
For reference the OP drives an S2000 now and is looking at the likes of NSXs and M3s. No diesel car is going to step up to the plate and hit anything near long enough!
His S2000 with a real world 6-7sec 0-60 leaves a lot of scope - although it depends just how practical/hardcore he wants to play it and if he wanted the same Front Engined RWD setup or something different.
Scope becomes a bit more focused when you factor in:
Non-lazy driving involvement
2 seater roadster
I'm not saying a 1-Series with the right work is slow but it is most certainly not a sports car and is in no way comparable to an S2000 or his potentials which involve the likes of NSXs, M3s and 911s.
Regardless of his practical or hardcore requirements, a 1-series is not even a candidate for either end of the scale imo. It's pretty stupid to look at a 0-60 time and then decide what cars are applicable from that alone.
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His S2000 is surely quicker than 6-7 seconds to 60?
Chillax, just thought i'd chuck that one in there 
Myself, i'm picking up a Lotus next month as my only car - I go for unique and good handling vehicles with upgradable performance (superchargers, engine transplant). So if anyone needs advice or tips on that front I can help. I have no experience of M3s or 911s though !
Myself, i'm picking up a Lotus next month as my only car - I go for unique and good handling vehicles with upgradable performance (superchargers, engine transplant). So if anyone needs advice or tips on that front I can help. I have no experience of M3s or 911s though !
Honda claimed 6.4sec unmodified - that's with virtually destroying the gearbox. Real world though you won't achieve that if you don't want to wreck it.
Facelifts have a Clutch Delay Valve.
Why exactly would you destroy the box with good shifting?
It's fast enough that 65 and a need for a 3rd gear shift always comes sooner than you expect it. You don't drive a S2000 for traffic light grand prix and dragging though, so it's kind of a moot point.
Given that Autocar managed quite easily to get 0-60 in 6.7 seconds, in the wet, in my car which has 20bhp less power and weighs considerably more than an S2000 I have no doubt that an S2000 is quicker to 60 than 6.4 seconds!
The S from a stand still suffers because it's out of VTEC for most of first gear, after which you will be in VTEC for every other gear on redline shifts. The 0-20 is not that great but it's still not a particularly good measurement of a cars speed.
It's just one of those agree to disagree points! Toyota claimed my MR2 roadster was 7.1sec 0-60 but i'll be damned if I see better than 7.9sec.
Anyhow, as was rightly pointed out, there is more to a sports/performance car than it's 0-60 figures... more relevant would be it's 0-100MPH for performance across the range, roll during cornering, tendancies for under/over steering, handling and reliability.
Anyhow, as was rightly pointed out, there is more to a sports/performance car than it's 0-60 figures... more relevant would be it's 0-100MPH for performance across the range, roll during cornering, tendancies for under/over steering, handling and reliability.
Regardless, a mapped 1-Series Diesel does not belong on this thread
Cheap hot-hatch for when his future TVR needs it's 3000 mile engine rebuild
