A Yugo. That would screw with all those snootie bastards. Or a Smart Diablo. That is what I would have.
I did a track day with my 95' Miata a few years ago, was a lot of fun. Put sticky Hoosiers on it, Koni shocks and Hawk brake pads which made the thing have more braking power than anything I've ever driven. I had about a dozen or so track days under my belt with the bikes so I was very familiar with Putnam Park. Yup, I got smoked down the straight but I was passing a good majority in the corners, damn those Hoosiers stuck! Car was stock 95ish HP and I was turning 1:26's IIRC. I used to turn 1:20's on my old CBR900RR so that little Miata had to be carrying some decent cornering speed. At the end of the day, honestly, it was about half the adrenaline rush of a bike track day. (IMO) Dare I call it somewhat relaxing? Don't get me wrong, it was a blast just not the rush that I got from a bike track day. (and probably 1/4th the workout) ps: A bunch of local Miata guys have gone the forced induction route on their Miata's. Let's just say it's a huge pain in the ass, expensive and from what I've seen very unreliable for the gains you get. If you want HP in a Miata, drop a 302 in one and call it done. You'll spend some coin going that route though.
A friend of mine uses rental cars. He tips the counter people a bit to get a sporty one, then hammers the crap out of it.
E30 325is, 1994-1999 miata or 1985.5 or later 944. Used to race and autocross these great cars and plenty of support. Series for spec e30 and 944 if u want to race.
i'm surprised by the unreliability since that motor was originally designed for forced-induction in the 323gtx: http://www.roadraceengineering.com/323BuyersGuide.htm
I just picked up a miata super cheap so I could build one of these. Going to use it for track and occasional commute to work. http://exomotive.com/exocet/
Miata. Want to work your ass off, RX8 (or if you can find one, an RX7). Vintage (and tear the guts out of credit card drivers) Datsun 510 (if you can find one).
At the end of the day, honestly, it was about half the adrenaline rush of a bike track day. (IMO) Dare I call it somewhat relaxing? Don't get me wrong, it was a blast just not the rush that I got from a bike track day. (and probably 1/4th the workout) Totally agree.Thought I needed to retire from bikes,went out and bought a 02 911 turbo (these things are in the 40k range for a decent one).Put better suspension,brakes on it,decent tires,bigger turbos,upped the boost.A 500hp,200mph supercar should be enough right ? wrong-its ok but nowhere near as much fun as a bike.Lap times within 10 secounds of bike pace,race rubber would half that.Keeping the car,but bikes for me on the track.Just my experience.Still want a car,probably need a race prepped one to be any fun, miata's are cheap & plentifull,but underpowered.Race prepped mustangs are close as well.Single seaters would be some serious fun,but some trackdays orgs might not allow them,and you would need to make your way to an advanced run group to even get on the the track.Double duty car-vette,911 & 911tt,mustang,evo,gtr,wrx,m3,rx7 to name a few
my brother drove the shit out of an old integra, Now he uses a Honda Civic. He says parts are cheap, tires are cheap, Easy to fix. He ran a miata for a bit, but it was expensive. he could get a Civic around Barber faster than other folks could get mustangs and Vetts. kind of like a SV beating a 1k bike He also runs a Neon. It all just depends on the class you want to run and can afford. He was/ is a driving coach and Co founded the Honda Challenge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Challenge Look around SCCA boards and find the class you want to run and choose from that.
Go with a 94-96 Miata. Engine size went up in 94, cars were lighter, reliable and easy to work on. Some came with a Torsen differential (M edition and some other versions too). The Torsen diff is good but if you get a Miata without one, people swap in the later 6-speed transmissions, rear ends and other stuff too. Bang for the buck, I think the Miata wins out over the bigger engine options being listed.
What about karts? 125 shifters are ALOT of fun and you can roadrace one,but it is a bit hard on the engine.A 250 superkart is even more fun, prob. the cheapest Fast 4 wheeler out there (135-140 mph ICE singles,150+ twins).All under 10k
