CodeRed

I currently have a GT2 but have the itch for a focused car that I can drive to the track. Modena prices have dropped to a good point of entry, the new lotus rocks and the noble is awesome. All come with plates. Any opinions on which one would be the right choice. BTW, I have enough daily drivers already, so it is intended to be a fun car. Always wanted to ferrari, but have ever taken the plunge.

Moogle

modena is not nearly as focused as the GT2, and not as good a 'focused' track car as a GT3.

neither is the stradale for that matter, but the stradale is a good choice.

the new lotus is about 40k, compared to the otheres, and thusly, is in a different league, but it is an excellent and focused track car.

noble is hard to get in the USA, i believe one can buy the car without the engine, and then install your own? don't know how it works, but its not an out of the box solution. safety / reliability is suspect, similar to other small production British companies, ala TVR.

best bet:

cheap thrills: Lotus Federalized Elise
new mistress: Challenge Stradale

vannila 360 modena is not as focused as any of the GT porsches, and thusly the GT3 is a better choice for the track.

GT2 is about as focused as it gets already, try putting it on a diet/tuning it, or getting a caterham/lotus.

or if you like the GT2 as it is, get a GT3 and start taking weight off of it.

prg

My only experience with a noble is seeing one with its engine compartment on fire at a DE. One data point for your consideration.

offroadr35

i am absolutely loving my Elise. I can't imagine how you could have more fun in a car. Others may be faster, but the Lotus is just brilliant. Plus if you wreck it you can buy another one and still be less than the cost of any of your other choices.

A few guys on here got rides in my car at Buttonwillow the other day. They can give you a less biased assessment of the car.

CodeRed

I was one of those that you gave a ride to, that is why I am interested in the car. I have the blu GT2

offroadr35

AH gotcha. The "red" in the username threw me off.

Here are my thoughts:

Ferrari: too soft for the track. you will be dissappointed with it coming from the GT2. It's a great street car but not up to snuff on the track. I have driven one a fair amount on the street but never on the track so you can take that with a grain of salt i suppose.

Noble: awesome car. probably the fastest of the bunch on the track. Where do you get it serviced though? I also think it's pretty ugly. They're not cheap either, figure on about $85k before tax to get one in your garage i think. I have never seen one in person but seriously considered buying one.

Lotus: you'll miss the straight line speed of the GT2. For me this is totally compensated for by the fact that i know i can brake later than any car on the track and carry unbelievable speeds through the turns. The car is great for a novice driver like me because it gives great feedback. The steering feel is unparallelled. The jury is still out on the build quality. Lotus is famous for making cars that all but fall apart. They seem to have done much better with this one but if rattles and other weird noises bother you it may not be the right car. Otherwise i think it's brilliant.


There's only so much fun that can be had in a car and I think you can reach that maximum in the Lotus. For me that made it the clear choice when you figure in how much cheaper it is. Anyway, that was my thought process when i was in the market.

macfly

Richard, Coby gave me a couple of wonderful flying laps in the Elise, which I really enjoyed. It is everything you want it to be, but the one thing that I was aware of was that if you wreck you'll get pretty mashed up youself. Our bigger heavier cars do have more stuff between us and the stationary world. I have also read on Elisechat that several owners in Europe have torn the suspension mounts away from the aluminum tub during offs. If you do that you need a whole new tub, you can't just weld them back on, that's going to be about a year's wait, and a hefty repair bill.

I'd stay stay with the GT2 untill Pahrump, and see what you think about the Radical, as I hope we'll get some time in those when we head up there. It is the most brilliant machine I have ever driven in my life, it's in a completely different league to any of our road cars. If I wanted to go any faster I'd move up to one of those, but the GT3 is still plenty fast enough for me, it'll take me years to even match Kevin's pace in it!

The only other logical roadcar choices out there are a 360CS (you should see if Watt will let you have his one, he's had it long enough to be getting ready to sell by now) or the Ford GT, which I have not heard one bad thing about. It's meant to eat everything else out there for breakfast, our cars included. I haven't been in one as yet, but I think it will be a bit of a classic, as they can only build it up till '06MY because of emmissions, health & safety etc.

CodeRed

Thanks Mac good advise. I still think that the ferrari has me.

offroadr35

i totally agree about the Radical. If you are prepared to trailer a car then it is in a totally different league. For me, the inconvenience of not being able to drive to the track eliminated it from contention but i have no doubt that i will own one at some point.

20C4S

rich,
don't forget ur F-40

wch

If you are bitten by the Ferrari bug, I assure you the 360 Modena is wonderful on track, especially when fitted with slicks. If you want hardcore "focus," that is, the punishment a track oriented car dishes out when you drive it on the street, then you might prefer a 355 Challenge or a Stradale. The 355 series, I believe, will be relatively less expensive to maintain than the 360, less expensive to repair should you have a mishap - and the 355 sound is magnificent! The Stradale IMO is a superb track day toy waiting for grippier tires.

The Radical IMO is a beautiful, wickedly fast car - and in its class there are other constructors to consider, most notably Stohr. Radical has done a good job reaching out to the marque clubs, so one finds both Ferrari and Porsche club guys who swear by them - though I wonder how many have owned and raced them, let alone have experience in a variety of purpose built formula or sports racing cars. I guess I prefer an auto to a motorcycle engine, and I don't get buying say, an SR3, and not racing it - but to each, his own.

Mr. RS

The Noble is tacked togeather with 9" nails....

macfly

wch, the secret of the Radical's success is they do indeed reach out very well out here in the west. I have been on track with them many times this year at different private track days. The guys who own/run Radical West offer an excellent array of ways to get into one, from renting one for a day, to arrive and drive, arrive and race, etc, etc. They are also very keen to demonstrate the little beasties, thus they're perfect 'pushers' for us speed junkies, it's always there when you need it!

However I do agree with you about the sillyness of owning one and not racing it, but once one leaves the GT3, and wanders up the speed chart the mph pre dollar value starts looking pretty scary to me. A CS might be a wonderful machine, but there is no way I could afford to own and run one. I will probrably end up with a part share in a Radical at some point as I have a couple of faster pals who are thinking about it. I'll do it just so I can drive it around once in a while on open practice days, since I have no ambitions to race.

(ps, having done 20 years on sportbikes I have nothing but respect and understanding for those incredible lightweight motors that put out 250+hp while weighting in at around 250lbs!)

wch

"the mph pre dollar value starts looking pretty scary to me"

Me, too. When you think of the lap times you could turn in a used high $20kish Formula Mazda, or any number of other cars - heck, a Spec Racer Ford - it's hard to justify tracking a street car.

I think that, for a street & track day car with sex appeal that is out of the box fast, the GT3 is very hard, maybe impossible to beat.

20 years on sportbikes? I want to buy a Ducati Monster just to look at everyday in my garage, but I don't have the cojones to actually ride it in DC area traffic.

tdf360

Hi Richard -

I think you rode in my car at BW with my son driving, right? Stock 360 on street tires...would you say it is "unfocused" as Moogle is claiming? I'd like to hear your opinion. BTW, thanks for the ride in your GT2, that is one awesome machine!

Gary