What's the best "bang for the buck" sportscar??

[Kabob]

Curious to see what everyone considers the best bargain for the dollar sportscar. I'm sure I've left a few off, these are just the cars that popped into my mind.

 

[senseamp]

For fun, the MX-5. For racing, probably the Corvette Z06.

 

[LucJoe]

For the price you can't beat the raw power of an 05/06 GTO.

 

[f1r3s1d3]

Mustang GT

 

[MiataNC]

Depends on what you mean by "sportscar"...

To me it means...
Light
Agile
Rear Wheel Drive
Fully independent suspension (front and rear)
Manual gearbox
Limited Slip Diff (optional or aftermarket)
Balanced (as close as possible to 50/50 weight balance front to back)
*Pure of purpose (designed from the ground up to be a sports car not an upgraded econo-box)

Since the thread asks for "best bang for the buck", the cheapest car covers all of the things I think define a sports car is the MX-5 Miata.

*I am not ragging on the WRX/STi or Evo...They are great cars. I just do not consider them pure sportscars.

PS despite my screen name, I currently own an '08 RX-8

 

[bananapeel42]

ummmm..... that's a no brainer. 03/04 Cobra.

That + 2000 in mods and you have Z06 speeds.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: bananapeel42
ummmm..... that's a no brainer. 03/04 Cobra.

That + 2000 in mods and you have Z06 speeds.

But not Z06 handling Not even base C5 handling.

The 'Vette is the clear winner. Miatas are really fun, but far too weak to compete against Vettes.

 

[fbrdphreak]

What is your price range? New or used?

Miata and V8-powered car don't belong the in the same category. Wholly different beasts.

Used, sub-$20K? 04-06 GTO.
Used, sub-$30K? C5 Z06 Corvette.
New, sub-$50K? C6 Corvette.
New, sub-$80K? C6 Z06 Corvette or Nissan GT-R.
New, sub-$120K? C6 ZR1 Corvette.

JMO

EDIT Am I biased? Nooooooooooooooo

 

[MiataNC]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
What is your price range? New or used?

Miata and V8-powered car don't belong the in the same category. Wholly different beasts.

Used, sub-$20K? 04-06 GTO.
Used, sub-$30K? C5 Z06 Corvette.
New, sub-$50K? C6 Corvette.
New, sub-$80K? C6 Z06 Corvette or Nissan GT-R.
New, sub-$120K? C6 ZR1 Corvette.

JMO

EDIT Am I biased? Nooooooooooooooo

Used, sub-$5K? 90-97 MX-5 Miata.
Used, sub-$10K? 98-2000 MX-5 Miata.
Used, sub-$15K? 01-06 MX-5 Miata.

You can have a ridiculous amount of fun picking up a MX-5 beater for @$2500 and driving the snot out of it. I don't think there is another car on the list that can do that any cheaper.

 

[JJ650]

Pontiac G8 GT seems to be a killer bargain right now.
Priced under 30k BUT it's 4-dr, and no manual until '09

 

[bananapeel42]

everyone trying to bring "handling" into the factor. The vast majority of people don't care much about ring times.


Sure a C5 is going to handle better than an 03 Cobra, but with 200 more rwhp it'll still beat it around most tracks. Of course there are tons of Cobra R upgrades available too if you want to make it a track car, then see where that leads...

 

[exdeath]

It's not like the 03 Cobra is exactly a slouch in the handling department...

It was praised for "Corvette like handling" when it came out. SVT spent more time tuning the suspension and handling than any other aspect of the car, even one of the reference cars they used was a then current M3. Any faults can be blamed squarely on the bean counters worried about NVH that mandated SVT use squishy bushings in case your grandmother wanted to drive it.

If .92g on the stock F1s isn't enough to float your boat, you can always go to a Griggs or Agent47 SLA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh-4MSDbwFY

Stock suspension down to the bushings, interestingly it was the straights he was lacking in with the stock upper pulley. Notice lack of body roll and how the front end is always parallel with the horizon through the S curves. Not your typical Mustang.

Regardless, the 03 Cobra is a reminder of what bang for the buck is all about. With all it's successors (GT500, Charger, Challenger, Camaro, etc) all weighing in over at 4,000+ lbs and costing $40,000+ while not being faster, and less mod friendly, and some even taking a step backwards (eg: solid axle in the GT500), it's safe to say the Terminator's position won't be threatened for a long time.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: LucJoe
For the price you can't beat the raw power of an 05/06 GTO.

It's not a sportscar IMO.

How come the Lotus Elise/Exige isn't on this list? It is a true sportscar.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: LucJoe
For the price you can't beat the raw power of an 05/06 GTO.

It's not a sportscar IMO.

How come the Lotus Elise/Exige isn't on this list? It is a true sportscar.

Likewise with the Atom.

Though these cars are just bang, not necessarily for the buck, but then the same could be said for several of the choices that made the list.

Bang for the buck would be a $25k car that can at least give a $50k car a run for it's money.

 

[Kabob]

True, I forgot the Lotus.

 

[GTaudiophile]

NM

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: MiataNC
Used, sub-$5K? 90-97 MX-5 Miata.
Used, sub-$10K? 98-2000 MX-5 Miata.
Used, sub-$15K? 01-06 MX-5 Miata.

You can have a ridiculous amount of fun picking up a MX-5 beater for @$2500 and driving the snot out of it. I don't think there is another car on the list that can do that any cheaper.

Miatas seem a bit overpriced. They hold resale value well due to high demand, and a top-of-the-line brand new MX-5 is around $30K--a tiny car with questionable interior material quality. I came close to splurging on a PRHT GT, but still cannot pull the trigger.

 

[bruceb]

MX5 is not bad. Would be better if you swap a rotary engine into it. Since it is a Mazda, you could do it with not too many mods.
Then it will really be fast and handle very well.

 

[Kromis]

No love for the 350Z? I'm the only who voted for it?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Kromis
No love for the 350Z? I'm the only who voted for it?

The 350Z isn't too bad, but in current form it's a bit overweight/underwhelming. Sits right around Mustang GT performance, which is disturbingly close to Acura TL, Camry V6, etc.

The upcoming 370Z, with the 200lb weight drop + 50hp/tq power boost should return the Z-Car to a sports car instead of a generic 'Grand Tourer' status.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: exdeath
It's not like the 03 Cobra is exactly a slouch in the handling department...

It was praised for "Corvette like handling" when it came out. SVT spent more time tuning the suspension and handling than any other aspect of the car, even one of the reference cars they used was a then current M3. Any faults can be blamed squarely on the bean counters worried about NVH that mandated SVT use squishy bushings in case your grandmother wanted to drive it.

If .92g on the stock F1s isn't enough to float your boat, you can always go to a Griggs or Agent47 SLA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh-4MSDbwFY

Stock suspension down to the bushings, interestingly it was the straights he was lacking in with the stock upper pulley. Notice lack of body roll and how the front end is always parallel with the horizon through the S curves. Not your typical Mustang.

Regardless, the 03 Cobra is a reminder of what bang for the buck is all about. With all it's successors (GT500, Charger, Challenger, Camaro, etc) all weighing in over at 4,000+ lbs and costing $40,000+ while not being faster, and less mod friendly, and some even taking a step backwards (eg: solid axle in the GT500), it's safe to say the Terminator's position won't be threatened for a long time.

^^ Truth, those are some damned mean cars

It's really too bad they didn't continue making them in the same class.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

C6 base model with Z51 package wins.

 

[zerocool84]

What about cars like the MS3 or SRT-4??? It really depends what you mean by sports car cus some of those choices aren't sports cars.

 

[thomsbrain]

I'm thinking about "total package" and fun here, rather than just which car is the best in some performance catagory...

Base model Corvette for a daily driver, with the Honda S2000 being the runner up if you can't afford the Vette.

For a weekend car, the Lotus Elise provides amazing performance for the dollar. Used examples that are barely broken in go for the low to mid $30K range. If you've got more money, the Ariel Atom provides nearly untouchable hypercar performance for base model Corvette prices.

 

[Riverhound777]

How about the Factory Five GTM? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.../7/74/Factory_Five.jpg