Recently we showcased a list of well loved and used cars you can have fun with for $2,500, all while keeping some hard earned money in the bank. This time around, here is a list of appropriate track rats, autocross carvers, and grudge night contenders that will still have life in them, and shiny paint on the hood. Any of these can be used as a reliable daily driver (well, maybe not the 944), and should offer their new owners plenty of service life.
E36 BMW M3
Best steering rack in the world? Check. Reliable drivetrain? Check. One of the best balanced cars BMW has ever made? Check. Reliably putting out 240HP, and sending the power rearward through a slick shifting transmission, the M3 offers the driver the best of everything. A spartan but well designed interior, a surprisingly comfortable ride, and enough grip to distort your passengers faces. This masterpiece is at home on the track, slicing between cones, or leaving your friends in the dust on your favorite back road. Just look out of electrical issues, coolant system leaks, and cracked rear subframes.
Bugeye Subaru WRX
Thanks to the Gran Turismo video game franchise, the WRX exploded into our country offering cheap performance that knew how to handle corners. Years later, they make cheap track toys, and can be easily modded for some very big power. Older 2.0L flat fours are known for having an on/off switch for a turbo (ie turbo lag), but on what track do you find yourself below 3,000 rpms anyway? So what if they look a little goofy, and scream like a pissed off Wookie at redline? They’ll notchy shift ahead of plenty of “better” cars at a track in the right hands. Do watch out for heavily abused multi owner cars that are run through.
C4 Chevrolet Corvette
With massive grip and plenty of torque on hand, the C4 is a very capable car. While they aren’t known for having the most accurate steering racks, or the tightest chassis in the world, they dance through corners at very alarming rates of speed. Large clutches, strong transmissions, and nearly bullet proof engines mean this is a car that can be abused, neglected, and still be expected to run. Search hard, and it’s possible to find some low miles, gently driven examples that will put a huge smile on your face every time you drive. Try to stick to the coupes though, as the convertibles flex like a limp noodle.
B5 Audi S4
The Audi that dethroned the E36 M3 back in the 1990′s, the S4 offers an intoxicating blend of straight line speed, secure AWD handling, and a very well appointed interior. The Quattro drive train does lend itself to resolute understeer, but its forgiving nature makes it an easy car to jump in and explore the limits without getting bitten. Watch out for worn turbos (you were going to do the K04 upgrade anyway weren’t you), abused transmissions from AWD launches, and the gremlins we swear the Germans design into their electronics. Out of the bunch, the S4 is the jack of all trades, and makes a wonderful daily driver.
Z32 Nissan 300ZX Turbo
After creating the sales-chart dominating 240Z, Nissan (Datsun) went through most of the late 70′s and the 80′s with sub-par sports cars. Then in 1989, they unleashed the beast with the Z32 300ZX Turbo. Not only you had one of the best designed cars in the world, but the Z could back up the looks with excellent performance. The Z was comfortable on the highway and was a force on the race tracks. Due to the cult following of these cars, finding one in good condition shouldn’t be too difficult. Watch out for examples with front end collision history, the tight engine bay makes for a nightmarish vehicle to repair properly.
SN-95 Ford Mustang GT
Still riding on the archaic Fox body platform, the SN-95 still appeals to our inner hooligans. Laying down rubber through the first few gears off a stop light is easy, as are forest fire amounts of smoke when doing donuts. The robust drivetrain just screams abuse me, and who knew doing the worst things to a car could be oh so rewarding. Cheap to mod, these are common sights at local legal and illegal drag races, and are tame enough to be driven to and from the track. Handling numbers won’t always impress, but powersliding out of the corner trailing twin lines of rubber is more fun anyway.
EM1 Honda Civic Si
Devouring corners with tenacity, this double wishbone front driver has a playful nature that is not found in modern FWD cars, new Si included. Light accurate steering combined with a brilliant gearbox make this little car a joy to hustle around. With the perfect amount of rotation on corner entry, and an easy ability to meter out power on the exit, the Si rewards the skilled, and helps the hamfisted. Returning great fuel economy, and touting Honda’s reliability, you can scream ‘VTEC just kicked in, yo!’ for hundreds of thousands of miles. Watch out for ricer mods, Pep Boy Intakes, and poorly fitting wire mesh grills and fart can exhausts.
951 Porsche 944 Turbo
The poor mans Porsche might just be one of the most well behaved of that era. While the non turbos are quite a bit more reliable, reliability and 944 aren’t exactly friends. What the 944 is dear friends with though is a challenging road or track. With enough power to pull itself around quickly, and tight body motions that make changing direction effortless, the 944 is a monster in skilled hands. With none of the quirky pendulum characteristics of the older 911, this is a great Porsche for beginners. Just make sure you have a stone cold reliable daily driver, as this car tends to suffer from plenty of little issues.
JZZ30 Lexus SC 300
A leap forward in Toyota’s design interpretation, the Lexus SC coupes were so daring that the Japanese customers complained that the car was too futuristic. The ‘bathtub’ second generation SC 430 is the proof of these said complaints. To compliment the boring LS and the ES sedans, Lexus introduced this luxury cruiser in 1992. The Lexus SC 300 can be had with the manual transmission, but finding one can be very hard. This chassis is flexible enough to accept any drivetrain from the JDM Soarer/Aristo’s 2.5 liter twin turbo engine, Supra’s 3.0 liter twin turbo engine, to the newer Toyota/Lexus V8 engines.
C170 Ford SVT Focus
Someone call down to Hell and see what the temperature is. It’s still hot? That’s odd, because here is a Ford that not only handles well, but trounces most of the competition. Coming out when Ford really turned around their product lineup, this little hatch drove worlds better than any front driver Ford had ever made, and better than almost all of the rivals. Matching a strong engine to a close ratio 6 speed making straight line runs fun, but flying into turns way too hot, sliding to slow down, and powering out is where the real entertainment is at. Plus, it’s cost effective and well designed rear suspension make bumpy sections of track a non issue.
Honorable Mentions:
E38 BMW 740i
What? Tuner car? Come again! With the extremely low purchase price, the VIP tuning scene has been growing steadily. Picking up a clean E38 should be easy to accomplish well under this price cap, and leave you some money in the bank for mods. What’s common? On top of a full detail, lowering it to an almost undriveable height, exhaust, a full host of in car entertainment, and a nice upgrade from the stock wheels. While you wont see many of these barges carving along back roads, they’re becoming a lot more common sight at car shows. Just remember, it was a very expensive car when it was new, and it still costs your first born to maintain.
Y33 Infinti Q45
Keeping in theme with VIP (‘bippu’ in Japanese) tuning, no VIP tuning talk can be complete without having this Q-ship in the discussion. Even though the Infiniti Q45 always played ‘the other Japanese luxury car’ role, when it comes to VIP, the Lexus LS takes the back seat. Because Q45′s ‘statesman’ styling and the low resale value, the Q45 is the VIP tuning crowd’s favorite.
Z16A Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4
Two turbos, AWD, and more gadgets and gizmos than the Apollo Program. These porkers might not love corners as much as a Z32, but are surprisingly fun to drive hard. With more than 300 horsepower on tap, it’s easy to get into trouble quickly if you’re used to driving a commuter car. As a rolling testament to technological excess, these can be a nightmare to maintain, but can be ever so rewarding when working correctly.
-KF
