Yeah, the Elise would be cool as would a Miata or a 944 or a 911SC. They are all nimble, capable cars. Given your obvious buying power, these would be a drop in the bucket and if you don't like them or want to move up quickly you can sell them pretty easily. I suggest finding a Spec Miata, or a PCA Club Race ready 944/911SC/911 3.2. This way it will already have the safety mods complete.

One other option for learning is Karting. You may not have 500hp sitting under you, but it will feel like it. Look into doing a spec series for karting for a season or two. This is much cheaper than a car and your learning curve will love it.

Oh and if you get an Exige/Elise, I would love to see it...and maybe drove it!

Max

 

Viper with snow tires.

 

One of these
www.russmarshall.com/cmc7

Should be reasonably fast, safe and cheap to run.
hrk

 

My god Z-man, have some pride...don't admit to getting schooled by a Neon! Lucky for you, I was able to keep up the Porsche pride by beating him like a red-headed step child.

CC, most of the suggestions on this thread have a common theme. If you go out and buy some absurdly fast racer, the only thing that will be fast is your ability to write the check. DAS or not, you need seat time to build up feel of how fast you can really go...and more importantly, the skills to save yourself when you do something boneheaded. Do yourself a favor and go get a "normal" track car. I really liked the G stock idea. Heck, even a 993 would be fine.

 

This will only mask your driving development needs because you won't know what a fast time will be in that car unless a really good driver has the same car at the same track. At least I know what guys with similar hardware are doing at all the tracks I go to. I guess you could ask a really good driver to flog your car around the track - that'll give you something to grow towards.

Like you said, you'll be passing everything out there in this car so at least you'll be able to learn without your doors being blown off.

Also, with all these high hp / high tech cars you are lusting over don't allow you to polish your momentum management (by getting the line and transitions down perfectly). This is because you can always mop up inadequate driving ability with high hp and great brakes. I'd rather take a nap.

Lefty

 

Good point, Lefty. With enough hp, road racing becomes just a series of short drag races. Yawn.

It doesn't take much skill to push really hard on the go-pedal in a car that handles "really well on the straights".

 

Well, I was having coolant loss and oil pressure issues....and I think one of my spark plug wires may have been loose...

 

Nothing makes a racer in a $700 car laugh harder than 'picking on' some schmoe in a fast car. Almost got thrown out of an open track test day at Watkins Glen over a decade ago, because we (me = VW Golf, buddy1 = Volvo 142, buddy2 = VW Scirocco) spent the first part of the day picking on race cars (in particular, a 5.0 Mustang race car and a Ferrari 308 race car). Our little 3-car freight train could steam-roller just about anything on the track back then.

Got scolded heavily by event organizer, even though he was laughing pretty hard. Mustang and Ferrari guys were pissed and humiliated. Mustang guy loaded up and went home after lunch, as he thought we were crazy. We're weren't trying to **** them off, but we were trying to humilate them. It worked.

 

Loved that story! Having a 944-spec car with spray can paint job is very similar experience. Picking on "faster cars" is so much fun! I remember the time I QUALFIED right behind a Ferrai 355 Challenge car .2 off his pace. And that was when I was running slow laps. Now I am at least 1-1.5 seconds faster.

 

Yeah, nothing was more fun than chasing down much faster cars in my 200 hp Carrera. Nothing that is until I got my GT3, and starting driving it the way I drove my Carrera. Now I get to chase down & pass the 500 hp guys!