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How fast is fast enough?


hugh

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The classic quote; "It's not how FAST you drive, but how you drive FAST."

Vin Serento - Superfast - It's not the car you drive. It's the driver who's driving the car that's doing the driving.

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No it isn't, it's actually about driver enjoyment.  At individual ability and risk levels.

You said it wasn't, then you said it was....:blink:

The original question posed was have modern sports cars surpassed driving ability. My point is that this happened long ago before all the advancements in technology, driving ability or lack there of, is the main ingredient!

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Great word, challenging , alluring , complicated , conjurs up excitement and more and sometimes just damn right deflating if you have just washed your car..

986 Moist factor review.. Is it still crowned the car of enougness!!

 

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I keep saying it but no one believes me...

Grantmr's view of the Boxster indeed being the pick of the litter may indeed be correct.

Exhibit A - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Car_International#Top_sports_cars 

One will note the position of the Boxster in the 90s and 00s, the exact period many argue is peak car.

The pro GT3 club may also wish to note the relative position of the boxster and GT3 ?!?!?!

 

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Grantmr's view of the Boxster indeed being the pick of the litter may indeed be correct.

Exhibit A - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Car_International#Top_sports_cars 

One will note the position of the Boxster in the 90s and 00s, the exact period many argue is peak car.

The pro GT3 club may also wish to note the relative position of the boxster and GT3 ?!?!?!

The inconsistencies in those lists either demonstrate how much perceptions change about cars over time or how poorly that list is put together.

In the 60's the 250 GTO is 8th but all time 1st and in the 90's the F1 is 4th but all time 2nd.

1960s

1. Jaguar E-Type
2. Shelby AC Cobra
3. Porsche 911
4. Lamborghini Miura
5. Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
6. Lotus Elan
7. Ferrari 250 GT SWB
7. Ferrari 275 GTB/4
8. Ferrari 250 GTO

1990s

1. Mazda MX-5/Mazda Miata
2. Porsche Boxster
3. Ferrari 550
4. McLaren F1
5. Porsche 911

All Time

1. Ferrari 250 GTO
2. McLaren F1
3. Jaguar E-Type
4. Lamborghini Miura SV
5. Mercedes-Benz 300SL
 
 
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My 2c from someone that recently spent 12 months pedalling a bike, walking lots, and spending about $3000 on Ubers...after 4 seconds of foot down fun...in something fast-ish (996.2 C) but not even super-fast (late GT3) is....

The 986 base spec 2.5 is a ripper!  

Lots of fun to be had on the roads at non-ludicrous speeds.  Through the twisties you really can pedal hard without hitting warp speed on the short straights.

It's crazy but I have more fun fanging this around on the road than the 911

If I were to get caught being "engaged" in a GT3 on the road it would likely end up crushed, and so would I by my new cell mate.

At the track it can run with modern hot hatches like focus RS's, 80's race cars and early 911's, all at a fifth to a tenth of the price of them.

201hp and 1250kg is not a bad start.   The 73 RS was only 207hp and maybe 200kg lighter...

It's pretty easy and cheap to unlock an extra 25hp, and then you can "clubsport" it and shed some weight too so not hard or expensive to have it at a similar formula to the RS.

Performance and handling improvements on them is pretty tried and tested by the guys racing these in the Spec Boxster series in the US.

Hell my $10K track day cover almost covers the purchase price should I stack it!

 

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So you'd take a 2.5 over 2.7 or 3.2 you reckon?  did you get steelies for it in the end?  i assume there's a catalogue of suspension, brakes and other go fast bits available off the shelf?  If you could make one of these or a similar base Cayman look tough and sound good, I could see how,it would be a sensible weekend blaster with no financial burden or risk........?

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I have the 3.2 with 245s front and 265s rear. To me it has a great balance of power, grip and handling. Actually I did like the old tyres on the back for tail feel.

High speeds don't turn me on but the car is capable. Also I'm part of a country community so it won't go unnoticed. 

I've not driven the 2.5 or 2.7 nor any other Porsche for that matter, but I am considering the 2.5 for my daughter in a couple of years so don't you guys start some hot rod revolution raising prices. ?

I'd love to hear what you think after driving one or two.

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Lots of fun to be had on the roads at non-ludicrous speeds.  Through the twisties you really can pedal hard without hitting warp speed on the short straights.

It's crazy but I have more fun fanging this around on the road than the 911

Wise words ?

There's something very satisfying about rowing along a low powered decent handling car through the twisties, using the momentum to worry faster cars. Mk2 Escort with 175bhp would be about perfect in the cheap fun stakes, throw a Millington in there and it'll become ludicrous ?

Mind you, that ridiculously priced Alfaholics 290R thing that Chris Harris put out on the interweb this week, oh my life. Induction hammer tastic....

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Mind you, that ridiculously priced Alfaholics 290R thing that Chris Harris put out on the interweb this week, oh my life. Induction hammer tastic....

At least not all of it would dissolve into a pile of rust ?

 How good is that thing!! Though $400kAUS is a tad rich 

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At least not all of it would dissolve into a pile of rust ?

 How good is that thing!! Though $400kAUS is a tad rich 

If you can find a decent Giulia Sprint GT/GTV, you can build up something not a world away for significantly less money. The chap who had the cheap(ish) high(ish) k's silver mk1 996GT3 that caused a stir on here recently was doing just that. He managed to talk me out of selling my Sprint GTV project to fund buying his GT3, what a guy!

Or find a cheap(ish) 996 C2 and do this  https://www.facebook.com/CarreraLightweightRacing/

Or do both!

Or buy a Clio 182 for 5K and retire 10 years earlier.

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So you'd take a 2.5 over 2.7 or 3.2 you reckon?  did you get steelies for it in the end?  i assume there's a catalogue of suspension, brakes and other go fast bits available off the shelf?  If you could make one of these or a similar base Cayman look tough and sound good, I could see how,it would be a sensible weekend blaster with no financial burden or risk........?

How tough do you want it?

Porsche-Boxster-38-1200x800.jpg

Here's the formula

boxster-diagram-2015spb.jpg

Steelies are being custom made so I got to be patient... But will have them and a set of track wheels/tyres for it.

I wanted the basic-ness of the 2.5.  Minimal interior, no side airbags - I'll likely do an RS style door card, no driver aids other than ABS.

The goal is make it handle very well, increase hp 10-15%, and lose some weight. 

 

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 and spending about $3000 on Ubers...after 4 seconds of foot down fun...

C'mon, that's a year's rego, insurance (esp for speedster crims), and a decent 996 service.  You're actually ahead!

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Anything "fast" I reckon is 120+mph down the quarter.  Fun is >130

Enjoyment of driving is different, I get heaps of kicks out of running around in the 356 or BMW E30 turbo I've got on the street.   If you want to punt well over the posted speed limit, thats what race tracks and drag strips are for. 

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