What car for endurance road rallies, serious help needed.

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:12

Berger said:
Ill call poppycock on this.

Too far fetched and stupid to be asking the question on an internet forum.

Call Poppy what you like. I've already said I'll be posting the build thread. There are hundreds of these types of Rallies organised every year, some by 3 or 4 friends off on a road trip, some like the Carbon Black or Torpedo run which are well known and have up to 70 cars taking part.

Its only a 25k budget and hardly a ball breaker. You're more than welcome to come and see the car as the build goes on, and even attend some of the starts if you like? No need to go calling someone a liar just because I happen to ask the question on what seems to be quite an active Motoring section of a forum?

mikeh501 said:
Some kind of jag? Xjr/Xkr ?

XKR couldn't fit the 3 of us in and a XJR would be nice, don't know much about their engines but I would imagine it could be quite hard to get fixed if there were problems out in the sticks.

The Evo I had last year blew a rad in Bulgaria and I managed to get that fixed in 4 hours, but if it had been anything more complex I could have been stuck there for weeks. Don't want to go through that again!

Stinky said:
Fun car, looks good, quick, will cruise at 100!

Never driven one so wouldn't know, but some of the roads in Easter Europe can get a bit nasty, how do they hold up over potholes etc?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:13

AMG black edition!

Disco Boy · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:15

Avionyx said:
XKR couldn't fit the 3 of us in and a XJR would be nice, don't know much about their engines but I would imagine it could be quite hard to get fixed if there were problems out in the sticks.

Never driven one so wouldn't know, but some of the roads in Easter Europe can get a bit nasty, how do they hold up over potholes etc?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

You mention that it needs to carry 3 people, then are considering a caterfield... You wonder why people call shenanigans?

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:18

Cayenne turbo. :cool:

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:18

Disco Boy said:
You mention that it needs to carry 3 people, then are considering a caterfield...

Not at all, hadn't done my research before I posted on that one, I had just assumed that there must be a version capable of carrying 3 people as it was suggested. Simply don't know the brand!

mr tommo · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:20

Sounds awesome! How do you put up with your MG after driving these kind of cars?

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:20

Supercharged M6?

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:22

mr tommo said:
Sounds awesome! How do you put up with your MG after driving these kind of cars?!

That's a family love affair, and my main car for the other rallies is an MG anyway. I think I put up pictures of it in the My Car thread. A Dusty Blue MG SV-R

My girlfriend, on the other hand, refuses to even get in anything with an MG badge.

Stinky · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:24

We drove on some pretty awful loads on our way to Croatia and well it didn't hold up to bad at all. Obviously speeding over potholes wouldn't be a good idea.

It prob wouldn't be any good for what you wanted but for fun factor and blow your face off acceloration they are awesome!

But like others said maybe a larger more excutive car would be ideal.

Out of interest where are u building the car and where do some of these rallies start? I wish I had 25k to do some the one I did was £250

mr tommo · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:26

Is there any sort of winnings for the events? Always been fascinated by events like the Gumball.

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:32

8 series?

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:32

mr tommo said:
Is there any sort of winnings for the events? Always been fascinated by events like the Gumball.

No winnings. Some events have categories like best teamwork or something like that but certainly no cash or anything of value

Stinky said:
Out of interest where are u building the car and where do some of these rallies start? I wish I had 25k to do some the one I did was £250

Its going to be built in a spare unit I've got thats being used for storage at the moment and will be empty for the most of the year, its just off the A259 near Eastbourne, if you are handy with a spanner I could always use a help prepping the car! More than welcome to look around.

It depends what the route is as to where it starts, generally we meet at the port we're going from, or Central London is a popular one.

They are generally quite professional, the larger rallies normally include a night in a hotel before the start so all the paperwork can be checked and info sheets given out etc. There's normally one who forgets their passport or insurance documents.

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 13:36

Lexus LS?

mikeh501 · 20 Mar 2011 at 14:50

There's not a chance any of the cars in this thread your going to be able to fix at the roadside which you listed as a requirement. Just find this requirement daft especially as you a say everyone else is in M5's which would be impossible to fix too. Just get RAC euro recovery and buy something reliable.

sigma · 20 Mar 2011 at 14:53

Bowler Wildcat tbh.

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 14:55

I perhaps should have worded that better. The things that go most often are fuel pumps, that kind of thing, filters get clogged up, fans get smashed with debris on nasty roads. Good access to pumps, filters and things like that is my main requirement.

There are a few teams who do these things in Bentley Continental GT's which are amazing cars because of the comfort, power and 4WD system, but open the bonnet on that and you can top up the water and oil and thats about it.

Joshy · 20 Mar 2011 at 14:56

Going by what you're saying, surely it'd make sense to buy an older, cheaper, simpler car then?

Avionyx · 20 Mar 2011 at 15:05

Joshy said:
Going by what you're saying, surely it'd make sense to buy an older, cheaper, simpler car then?

It probably would Josh, and I certainly don't have to spend the full budget on the car. I don't have to spend half of it on the car. Which Is why I came here. Is there anything anyone can think of that fits the bill?

But like I did mention, out of the average 15 - 20 car run. 35% of those will be M Powered BMW's A couple of Continental GT's, normally a Cosworth/Overfinch Range Rover, Newer Skyline's, Evo's etc. If I was to turn up in a Vauxhall or something I might be a bit out of place.

The 8 series BMW might be interesting, does anyone have one, or any experience of working on one?

tom_nieto · 20 Mar 2011 at 15:11

500 or 560 SEC with an AMG kit would fit the bill nicely. Otherwise what about a S class with a v8?

robj20 · 20 Mar 2011 at 15:11

Something running on carbs, like a 3 litre maybe and petrol, with even very basic tools you could repair anything, but not much can go wrong if you give it a good service before you go.

My choice would be something like a RWD Ford Seirra with a 3litre v6 on carbs.
Cheap to buy and fix.