Whatabout a Smart?

Rob.

:hilarius:

Bit of a contrast to the hairy-chested testosterone-wagons in the list so far.......

Now pardon me a stereotpye moment, but if Rob was a hairdresser or some sort of fashionista/design guru, I could understand the Smart putting in an appearance.........:gay:

Nissan Skyline GTR -ok, ok, it's 4WD and only a Straight Six, but those twin ceramic turbo's and cast iron head do mean practically limitless tuning potential.......UNCONFIRMED reports of an 850bhp one in existence when I went out to the Far East, probably untrue though.shame) Too much body kit?

Nissan 200SX - IIRC, this is a 4 pot, but smooth, rear wheel drive.......

Why a BMW M5? Why not any others from the (only just expired) 5 series range? I hear from an owner that the 530D is especially good in Touring form....

Bit of a contrast to the hairy-chested testosterone-wagons in the list so far.......

Now pardon me a stereotpye moment' date=' but if Rob was a hairdresser or some sort of fashionista/design guru, I could understand the Smart putting in an appearance.........:gay:

[/quote']

But for

you get a hayabusa smart and meet me at anglesey and we shall see which is quickest...

ref the XP zorsts.. if it has them it will be single oval each side rather than twin rounds...

Sounds interesting, but two things count against it IMHO...

1. Only TWO seats......maybe not an issue in reality, given my WIDE circle of friends and non-stop socialising....

2. Size. I feel like i'm sitting ON the Smart, rather than IN it. And, given my size/build, it looks plain ridiculous. If I get in it, no one else can comfortably sit in it with me.......

Sure, the Smart is fine as a city car/town runabout sort of offering, but as a fun driver's car? From my experience, I personally just can't make that leap.

But if Rob considers the Smart a car that fits his purposes, then might I heartily suggest seriously considering the Hayabusa engine?

Aren't they the ones used by Tiger in their Z100 sports car?

Surely the hayabusa engine in the smart roadster would be more appealing?

Surely the hayabusa engine in the smart roadster would be more appealing?

Yes, it would handle a lot nicer...but getting a cheap Roadster is quite tricky at the moment!

Rob.

You get what you pay for?

Surely the hayabusa engine in the smart roadster would be more appealing?

Than a Tiger Z100WR?...........

myabe if you wanted a solid roof.......... but....3 secs...........0-60...drool

The Smart at the handling day looked dangerous enough with the standard engine ... :eek:

nowhere to put the lipstick ?

The Smart at the handling day looked dangerous enough with the standard engine ... :eek:

The higher output engine makes it safer, as it breaks traction rather than rolling...

Rob.

The higher output engine makes it safer' date=' as it breaks traction rather than rolling...

[/quote']

That's right up there with "they all do that sir"

That's right up there with "they all do that sir"

I'm glad you said it before I did

Unless the Hyabusa engine is 3 times as heavy as the standard whatever-it-is, in which case it would have an effect on the centre of gravity. Otherwise, to quote a well known engineer:

"ye cannae change the laws of physics, Jum"

Standard petrol engine is 59kg...diesel is 69kg...so it's quite possible the Hayabusa engine is heavier!

Rob.

Nissan Skyline GTR -ok, ok, it's 4WD and only a Straight Six, but those twin ceramic turbo's and cast iron head do mean practically limitless tuning potential.......UNCONFIRMED reports of an 850bhp one in existence when I went out to the Far East, probably untrue though.shame) Too much body kit?

I wouldn't dare own one near Manchester. It'd be gone within three weeks. That's pretty much why the M5 is off the list.

Nissan 200SX - IIRC, this is a 4 pot, but smooth, rear wheel drive.......

Just not keen on Japanese cars.

Why a BMW M5? Why not any others from the (only just expired) 5 series range? I hear from an owner that the 530D is especially good in Touring form....

As I said, it's pretty much off the list, but it was on there because it's beginning to descend into the affordable price range, and because it's got a whacking great V8. Neither will I satisfy myself with middle-of-the-range cars.

hmm. i second avoiding the volvos. and the BMW.

neighbour has an M5 - he actually runs a specialist automatic's only garage - suffolk automatic transmissions. and he has had a few problems with his bmw. but then him and his wife don't half 'rag it'

as for volvos my brother had V70 R until it got nicked along with his Grand Cherokee off his driveway - police said they were stolen to order..(this is in a small town outside Leeds)

still. he almost had a baby when he found out how much they cost to service!

Go for the octy or the mg...while rover's do have top servicing (cheap) costs and parts are relatively easy to get...my sisters was hardly 'reliable' past 60,000

i know..

not only will your family love you for it...but the noise...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18301&item=2491103060&rd=1

or..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18301&item=2490943631&rd=1

or...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18301&item=2491129155&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

if american isn't your thing...http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18238&item=2492205397&rd=1 'beast' springs to mind..

Must admit having a slight envy streak for Pauls ZT260...goes well, sounds brilliant, feels nice inside, stops well...does not cost the earth.

If it's still around in two years at dealers I might go for one.

That said I said I'd have a caterham style car for my 30th...just forgot to save up the cash...

I know what you mean re nice car and theft...one of my main reasons for not going down the STi route...could not afford the replacment doors on the house.

Whilst down at StuartJ's one of there friends arrived in a 74, or 71 , dam forgotten what it was, StingraY? Anyway, point being it looked brilliant, sounded great and tugged at the old "wasn't motoring great" strings of the heart. Todays motoring is slighlty sanitised and boring compared to those links

there aint no subsitute for cubic inches......

relaxed... reliable.... tuneable... and the sound is awesome... fuel consumption hurts... but being hit head on doesnt.... so you take your pick.....

There has been done a Roadster / Hyabusa

0-60 less than 6 sec in the wet, havent seen a dry run time.

it is just under 10k to convert. Thats everything.

a company called z cars does them.

e bay were selling smart cars wothout engines a while ago for between 2500 & 4000, depending on the bidding ( colour of panels ).

Steve

I love Yank iron, but I don't think I could afford to run a 'stang. It would have to be for weekends only, and then I'd end up having to drive around every day in a cheapo car. I want something I can use every day. Not certain I'd like to drive around Manchester on leaf-springs either!

Paul, is it hard finding tuning and tuning parts for the 4.6 V8? While it's pretty ubiquitous in the States, I can't imagine it being in demand here in the UK.

The revised list is looking shorter, with the V6 S4 and the M5 removed. The 996 is also out unless I can get a 3.6 at the right price (nightmare stores of the RMS going don't inspire confidence.)

Revised list looks like this:

Volvo V70 R (strong contender) - servicing cost is a bit of a worry

MKII Octavia vRS (strong contender) - will it be any good, and will there be an estate?

Porshe 993 C2/C2S (strong contender) - finding a good one at the right price will be hard.

Audi S4 Avant - V8 (attractive, but not favourite) - worrying running costs and questionable engine reliability

MG ZT-T 260 (strong contender) - fuel costs, depreciation and OUCH! How much to insure?

Whatabout Jag's offerings?

Or going for a bit more old-skool, like a nice 3.0 V6 Peugeot 407 Coupe?

Rob.

ps. Is the beard officially back?

No car with more than 3L of capacity is going to be cheap to run or insure. Sorry.

It's a nice list, but a strange mixture - 993 at one end, full-on super car with no room for a family to Volvo and Audi estates at the other. What are you looking for, transport or a toy? (if you'll pardon the rather blunt question :P)

And you can afford to run a Porsche but not a Mustang. Huh?? :confused:

here you go....

Pls note they are MP4 files and require quicktime to be installed...

http://www.ffelan.densleighdesigns.co.uk/driveby.mp4

http://www.ffelan.densleighdesigns.co.uk/parkupnrev.mp4

http://www.ffelan.densleighdesigns.co.uk/setoff.mp4

No car with more than 3L of capacity is going to be cheap to run or insure. Sorry.

It's all about degrees though. The quotes I've had on the ZT are far higher than those I've had on the Volvo, and that's with Tracker Monitor fitted. We're talking the difference between

most ZT owners are paying sub 1k for insurance.......

think you need to phone around....

porsches are significantly more expensive to run/insure than either a ZT or a Yank... as for parts.. thats easy... the tinterweb is full of yank parts/tuners...