Best driver's car for twisty roads

Hey all,

I am currently looking for the best driver's car to mainly tackle twisty roads in the sun with, and have occasional circuit use (1-2x a year). Due to the main focus being twisty roads in the sun, cabrio is an absolute must. My research so far has brought me to 4 main competitors that I consider:

- Ferrari 458 Spider
- Porsche 718 Spyder RS
- Porsche 991 Speedster (Heritage edition)
- Mclaren 600LT Spider

Price:
The cars have different price points thus a direct comparison might not be ideal, but if the ROI is good this is not an issue for me. For instance, the Spyder RS is probably going to become a future classic (due to GT3 motor, mid-engine chassis and it being the last non-electrical 718). At the same time, the 600LT and Speedster have limited production and thus should hold value. The 458 is already a classic being the last N/A V8 however, it is currently at a high point and thus may be not the perfect buy right now? While this may be true, the 458 is 50-100k less than the competitors and thus a bargain in comparison?

Driving engagement:
I feel like there is no wrong choice with the 4 cars listed above with the main difference being that the speedster is a manual. I always enjoyed driving manual, but does this justify the speedster's higher price? Will this make the day and night difference in driver engagement? I am also a big fan of DCT having both the ease of use in regular traffic and the paddle shifts in sporty driving.

Question:
Are there people with experience or ownership of these cars that can give a real-life comparison? I am going to test drive them all in February which should help with deciding which one to get, that being said any experience/suggestions that can help me decide are very welcome. Thanks in advance!

Kind regards,
Dylan

 

The best all-rounder in your list, in my opinion, is the Porsche 718. Having owned a Boxster RS60 I found it to be an outstanding performer, dead reliable and easily serviced/maintained. I prefer manual but for the best track performance I guess the PDK would be superior. And I agree with the future value of the car. Having owned many 911s and other Porsches I believe the Speedster to be over valued compared with the Spyder.

 

Not on your list, but an e36 BMW M3 is hard to beat. New enough to have modern amenities like climate control and ABS, old enough not to have the rest of the bs. It is truly a driver's car. It is perhaps the best driver's car I have ever owned, and I have owned a few. It is not much fun on super slabs, but twisty mountain roads are great!

 

Lotus 7

 

Texas Forever and Rifledriver have it right: you're looking for a car that has a wonderful chassis and limited power. Everything you list above will be positively asleep at anything like the speed limit on twisty roads. Less, in this case, is definitely more. Following that mantra, a manual transmission will also yield dividends when it comes to keeping the driver engaged and making lower speeds feel like fun.

 

Driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car slow.

 

I can’t comment on the 458 or McLaren, but Jack is spot on about the Boxsters. A friend with the GTS 4.0 does track days and mountain road drives, and loves her car. My experience was with a Boxster S, and it’s robust, lightweight and agile. Best open sports car I’ve driven, and that was just the S.

The 991 Speedster is a gorgeous car but my impression is that they command a huge premium and few will have any miles.


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have you driven any of these? i suggest getting some seat time

 

I currently have a 718 Spyder from 2023 as a weekend driver so I can commend this . I got a good offer for the car, combined with the need for that touch of more power/aggressiveness is what drives me to look for one of the 4 options above.

 

I am currently busy but in February I will, just curious about what opinions others have on these 4 cars.

 

Not a big BMW fan and in my opinion a step down from the 718 Spyder I currently have, however I have heard many good things about them!

 

This is an ‘ah ha’ moment/statement for me. Thank you.


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Lotus Elan. The car I would most like to have again if I lived in the less populated part of the country. Perfect size for normal size people. NG for TF.
Malcolm

 

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Caterham 7, What Brian referred to as Lotus 7.

 

One of those with a 200hp Ford Rally motor in it will seriously embarrass any of the cars spoken of on a windy road and cost a fraction of it.
Once your nerves regain control and you quit shaking you can drive it back home.

 

Also Brian what I consider the new tire technology and suspension geometry make it almost untouchable,
I had a Lancia Stratos for a weekend in the 70’s that came close.

 

We had one once at Ferrari Los Gatos. One of the younger guys asked WTF it was. I told him it was the fastest car here over the mountain to Santa Cruz.

 

From that list I would only consider the Speedster.

The 600LT really needs a track to shine, driving the 600LT on public roads is sort of like using A5 Wagyu to make meatloaf.

The 458 Spider has too much cowl shake, and it's not old enough to be analog cool but not new enough to be modern tech.

The SRS, well time will tell, as it's so new but if the cabin noise is anything like the GT4RS, not sure it would make for a good canyon carver. Time will tell as more reviewers get their hands on these.

But for now, and maybe even later, my vote goes to the Speedster as the best canyon carver of the bunch.

 

Looks like you already have the perfect canyon carver if your 718 spyder is 6mt! Aside from its beauty and performance, it’s a financial, maintenance and reliability no brainer. However I fully understand the dream of something MORE, but in reality, it may not be better, just different, often at a vastly increased price.

I started with a 981 gts, and added a gated 575 and gated 430. I love both f cars, but would not say they are “better” than the cayman. Partially Porsche is
more enjoyable to drive since I don’t worry about parking, scratches and resale. I have tried not to think about those with the fcars but have failed miserably

 

Buy a Ferrari 328, its a pure drivers car , its takes work but the rewards in return are priceless . I know the Caymans are faster and they handle better as they are much newer. I have driven them and compared to my Ferrari, they are boring. I test drove one at a local Porsche dealer and had the salesman ****ting in his pants by the time we got through.

Big G

 

600lt is a differeent league than anything there for twisty driving / circuits etc imo

458 probs most fun though!

 

- Ferrari 458 Spider
- Porsche 718 Spyder RS
- Porsche 991 Speedster (Heritage edition)
- Mclaren 600LT Spider

The problem with these cars is they start coming alive at speeds over 90 mph. Big, fat tires give excellent grip. You have to push em to wake them up. The problem is 90+ mph on public roads is not a good idea for your health or your wallet.

 

Miata Is Always The Answer as long as you're secure enough to be seen driving a Miata and your legs aren't too long for one. They fit this mission 100%, even better than the Boxster. Don't rule it out just because it has a humble marque and there are millions of them on the road. If driving an exclusive or rare car is important to you, be honest about that criteria with yourself. Nothing wrong with that, but it clouds the decision making.

I like the "slow car, fast" aphorism but it doesn't tell the whole story, really. What makes a car fun is good handling and good feedback to the driver. You need both and there are plenty of slow cars that aren't fun at all to drive slow or fast.

There are fast cars that aren't fun to drive slow or fast either. Fun cars are fun and they can be slow or fast.

 

For me I would rule out the 600lt because I feel tight twisty roads are more fun with high rev NA engines and not having to deal with turbo boost in the middle of a curve. The other three are all in the running- the SRS mostly for the right amount of power and balance and ROI outlook the best of the three IMHO


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I bought my wife a Miata to both autocross and use as a fun secondary commuter car and it's been terrific. Every time I get to drive it I wonder why I bother with my other sports cars. I can't honestly say I'm having more fun in them on public roads.

For anyone who prefers coupes, both first and second generations of the Toyota GR86/Subaru BRZ sports cars are excellent too. I challenge anyone to drive one down a twisty road and not come back with a smile on their face.