What Is The Best Off-The-Showroom-Floor Track Car For The Money?

[jpeyton]

What is your choice for the best new off-the-showroom-floor track car for the money?

Ideally, it would be something you can buy in showrooms in the year 2005, and ideally it would offer a lot of bang-for-your-buck.

Off-The-Showroom-Floor = No Discussion Of Aftermarket Upgrades. That's a whole other can of worms.

My choice: 2005 Evolution RS

Stats (Source: Motortrend)
MSRP: $27,929
0-60MPH: 4.3S
0-100: 12.6S
1/4 Mile: 13.1S @ 102.8MPH
600FT Slalom: 69.3MPH
200FT Skidpad: .95G
Braking 60-0MPH: 112FT

 

[Actaeon]

Good choice.

A bit more expensive, but still a great car, I choose the C6 Z06 Corvette @ $65,000. It would destroy any car under $150k pretty easily, and only a few (if any?) between $150-200k would out perform it. Granted it is a 2006 Model, you can probably pick one up in Fall 2005.

EDIT:
505 HP @ 3150~lbs
0-60 in 3.7seconds
1/4 mile about 11.7 @ 127mph

Unfortunately, I can't get skidpad or braking, but the car will handle exceptionally well.

 

[jpeyton]

The new Z06 is definitely the first Corvette that I would seriously put in "supercar" territory. Bumping it up to 500HP really made it competitive with the Viper, F430 Modena, Gallardo, Ford GT, etc...

 

[deejayshakur]

another vote for the vette.

 

[QuitBanningMe]

Elise or Z06

 

[Actaeon]

Another noteworthy car is the Noble M12 GTO-3R @ $76,400. Again, much like the Corvette, practically no cars will outperform it anywhere near its price range.

360hp @ 2450~lbs (for comparison thats as much as a newer Miata, and nearly 700lbs less than a Carrera GT)
1/4 in 11.8 @ 118mph
Skidpad - 1.00 G
Zero to 60 mph 3.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph 8.1 sec
Zero to 150 mph 26.6 sec

 

[jpeyton]

I'm surprised they don't have a more powerful version of the Noble available; it has a Ford powertrain...I wonder how easy it would be to use the supercharged Ford V8 (from the Ford GT) instead of a Twin-Turbo V6.

 

[Ryan]

Lotus Elise 🙂

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

that noble seems nice, but i vote vette.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: QuitBanningMe
Elise or Z06

On twisty tracks, Elise. Straight away though, vette?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

VW bug!

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
I'm surprised they don't have a more powerful version of the Noble available; it has a Ford powertrain...I wonder how easy it would be to use the supercharged Ford V8 (from the Ford GT) instead of a Twin-Turbo V6.

Not very, I'd imagine. The 5.4L Ford V-8 is quite large, and I'm sure it's significantly bigger than the Mondeo-based V-6 in the Noble.

 

[Connoisseur]

Another vote for the 2005 Elise... druel...