2nd car to track/cheap to maintain

Check out Porsche Boxster spec racing.

 

Or a Porsche 914/6 if you can forego the electronic driving aids.

 

Z06 rocks

 

95-99 (e36) BMW M3s make for very entertaining track-rats. You can scoop one up for less than $10k and start modding to your taste or buy one modded to the hilt (for track use) for ~ $25k. Of course, sky's the limit on mods.

 

e36 M3. Great well balanced, common to see at track days

 

Or you could get an s2000 you could get an AP1 for about 12k these days.

 

Mazda Miata.
Front engine, RWD, Light weight and like a proper tack car cheap enough to be written off several times over. In fact you could buy another one just for spares.

 

+1 for S2000. Super cheap and Hondas last forever w/ zero maintenance.

 

What does cheap mean? Seems like there are different tiers of 'cheap' when it comes to racing.

Miata

S2000/E36 M3

Z06/Viper/NSX

Anything above that is probably labeled as pretty expensive...

 

I have a 360 and a Nissan 350Z for the track. Interior stripped, sparco seats, rollcage + 6 point seatbelts soon. It's RWD, ~280HP and cheap. Great car for the track!

One of my friends has a track e36 325, you can buy one here for around 2500 euros and then you'll maybe spend 5000-7500 euros for seats, rollcage etc and you have a great track car aswell.

 

Interesting that no one has said "Elise" or "Exige".

With the Toyota mill, it should be fairly cheap to maintain.
But with the CF bodywork, probably not cheap to repair.

 

I like this one:
http://www.exocars.net/showthread.php?t=5986

BT

 

E30 or E36 M3 depending on budget.

 

+1 NSX

 

Is it carbon fibre or plastic?

Great car, but either way I think you're right -- easier to pound out a dent than to replace a Lotus clamshell.

 

Bullfighter is right - it is GRP not CF. It is a very cost effective car to track as light weight means brakes and tyres last a lot longer and the engine is pretty tough. Downside is that accident damage is expensive to repair.

The upside to the Elise/Exige is that it is mid-engined and therefore much closer in handling to the V8 Ferraris and if you compare costs this is where the Elise/Exige wins

If want track only though and like the Elise the 2-Eleven is lighter still and has easily replaceable body panels - not road registerable in the US though...
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The one that consistently comes to mind and something I would live to have is the radical sr3. Uses motorcycle parts in the engine and drivetrain. It smokes everything else and you can fnd a used one for less then $50k. There are a couple of guys on here that have them and love them.

 

Depending on how many track days you plan on attending but why wouldnt people take their 360/430's to the track for an occasional track day (say, 3 a year). I did a track day at Spring Mountain last year and a guy with a convertible blew a head gasket and was done. Are f-cars that fragile? I didn't think so as they were "made" for this kind of abuse. Before I get flamed, I do understand that if you want to play, you have to pay. Just sayin as I'm hoping to do a track weekend or two with a CS next year with Chin Motorsports, time permitting.

 

I have an ELISE that I want to supercharge and track, but I also track the Ferrari and Maserati also..

these cars are built for this.. TRACK THEM ALL!

 

Ive been wondering the same thing, You can pick up an STI with upgrades for cheap. There a bit on the heavy side but for something you can drive back and forth to the track it seems like alot of bang for the buck. Thoughts......

 

I have a friend with an evo track car, and while reliable, the drivetrain is extremely expensive to fix if anything goes wrong.

My suggestions:
panoz gtra ex-school car
lotus elise
honda s2000
nissan 350z
Mustang
mazda miata
corvette

The key with the above is not just reliability, but cheap parts and labor when something does break, because if you are tracking it, stuff breaks.
The Boxster spec cars have weak motors and weak gearboxes, and because so many people are racing them, those parts are going up in price.
I bought a Mustang GT that had a bunch of mods on it....so far it's been fantastic. If the motor does go....$1k and I can drop another one in. Parts are everywhere, and really cheap.

 

track every sportscar you own!

how hard are you beating the car anyway? dont beat it too hard when you track the cars they should be ok

 

doesnt sound normal.. maybe poor maintenance or extreme bad luck?

 

i am a big fan of the evo. i had a track evo and it is the only car i miss. that thing was phenominal. as to the post regarding expensive drive terrain parts, that is true, but they are incredibly durable and if someone is breaking drive terrain parts they need to reassess how they drive.