I know a lot of you take your Ferrari to the track. Did you any of consider getting a old racing car for this purpose. Look at this nice article comparing a modern car against race cars from the past: http://automobilemag.com/reviews/0412_put_to_the_test/index.html The Porsche GT3 was pitted against a 1964 Brabham BT11A, 1959 Lotus 16, and a 1935 ERA R4D. From a lap time this is how it stacked up beginning with the fastest: Brabham --> Lotus = GT3 --> ERA. So it would seem that single seaters after 1960 would be quicker than say a CS. I think the older cars are lot cooler to look at and more realistic than any road based hyper car. So hypothetically speaking if you had $200K to spend would you get: a) 360CS and a set of slicks or b) F360 for $110K for road use, a Brabham BT21 for 40-50K (http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/brabham/1116304053/1116304053ss.htm) and leave the rest for spares I dont know if you can make some modifications to make these older cars a little more safer - HANS device, rollover hoop?
I believe it was a recent issue of Octane that did a similar story and the findings were equal: A sixties F1 car is as fast/faster than a modern sports car. If I had the money I would always go for the more vintage car, ideally a F1 from the seventies. Get some "lowly" Shadow, ATS or Copersucar with a Cossie V8 and drive the heck out of it. Let's face it: We're never going to be good enough where the difference in the F1 equipment matters.
I'm going to agree with Andreas. The only caveat being safety on a mid 1970s car. Yes fuel cells have gotten a lot safer but they still are sitting right out there beside you. A Late 70s to early 80s Cosworth ground-effect car would be my choice. Or why not just go Formula Atlantic racing? I've been out of the loop for quite a while but they're dammed fast! I tested a Ralt (the last of the ground effect cars) and it was just brilliant. My choice would be a 93-95 Ralt. http://race-cars.com/carsales/ralt/1098802801/1098802801ss.htm
How deep are your pockets? Even in the Historic/Vintage racing world, you're talking some serious dollars. I've driven Historic cars and felt they were far more "drivable". That is, they gave more feedback. The modern aero cars don't handle all that well until you start generating enough downforce. Then, you can go faster than you ever thought possible. You can easily experience throttle-on oversteer with the older stuff. Not that that's the game, but let me tell you that coming out of a fast turn at 130+ and having your tail break loose can be exciting. The current production stuff has limits so high you'd have to really do something wrong to do the same. Also, I prefer the good old, standard transmission. Competent heel-and-toe shifting is rewarded and rewarding. Paddles aren't much excitement to me. Sorry. Alas, the historic/vintage game is, as all racing is I suppose, a spending game. If you want to go faster, just spend more. Motors, transmissions, suspensions, brakes, bodyparts, and you-name-it. And, don't forget the spares. Today's vintage and historic racers have enough equipment to basically run GrandAm support efforts. Not quite ALMS, but still, impressive. But some of these cars are no longer historically "accurate". Some upgrades are legitimate for safety, reliability and the simple fact that parts may no longer be available. By upgrades, I mean they could be using titanium rods as opposed to the original spec'd material. However, some cars are over the top, and it would be really hard to find parts that were on the original car when built. Save for the chassis plate, that is! In fact, it's rumored that there are a few stamping kits around so you could stamp a replacement engine as if it were the original block. Internally, these engines are far more advanced. I've witnessed guys coming to the track with over $50MM of cars in their trailers in 250 GTOs alone. And, some owners/drivers show up with their own army of mechanics, chefs and masseuses (yes, really). It's no longer a laidback affair. But, I have to say that there is still a sense of camaraderie. If you break a part, there's always someone willing to loan you a spare, if they have it. So, in the end, it's still about putting on a show and having a good time even if sometimes it gets a little out of hand. CW
I raced two Brabhams-a BT-38 and a BT-40. These were designed as FB/F2 cars with 4-cylinder engines of 180 to 290HP. They are very, very fast, handle better than almost anything, and are not too expensive (IMO) to operate. The vintage was early 70's. Later Formula Atlantics would be even better with ground effects and more refined engines. It all depends on how many cubic dollars you have to play with...(seems like fitting a HANS would be a good move in any comp car).
If you're concerned about how fast an x-formula car is V. modern day x-car, buy a shifter kart. Great way to learn how to drive really fast with an unreal power to weight ratio. Seriously.
