Motors Seen anything cool on the road lately?

I saw my first ever red GT86 yesterday. The more of them I see, the more I feel like I should can the plans for the GT4 and get one of them instead. I'm not there yet though. It takes more than that to rid you of a lifelong obsession

Not on the road, but in the driveway of one of my clients this morning;



Anyone care to guess what's under there? Should be obvious really...

 

I'll put a fiver on it being a car






What the hell double down on it being an Audi

 

An RS6 by the looks of it. I'd like one of them.

 

I'd hzard that's an R8. Between the little spoiler and the curvature of the tail...

 

That's definitely a 1.8T Audio TT

 

I don't think its wide enough.

I'd agree with a TT.

 

Flame696 was closest; It's a gunmetal grey 2010 Audi TT Roadster. 2.0L, a hair over 200 BHP, S-Tronic transmission, quite heavily optioned with gorgeous Audi alloys, leather interior etc... And he pulled the cover off it and let me take it for a spin before I left! Talk about something putting a smile on your face! It handles like it's on rails and that's the first convertible I've ever driven, much less been in with the top down. What a machine

 

I wouldn't bother yet, as they are not good enough value yet.

 

Of course I feel the need to comment on this.

... and this.
I would say that for sports car fans, the GT86 is probably the best value for money you can get right now, unless you find a good, used Porsche Cayman S. (We don't even have a Porsche dealership in Namibia - so go figure).

It's not FAST, but it's plenty quick for every day use, and it's a fiercely competent platform car, even without going into forced induction. More than anything, it's massive fun and good looking (both of those being subjective - Clarkson, for example, disagreeing with me on the latter).

Having owned mine since September, driving it every day, I can say the following:
It's only once you switch to a different car (any car will do. I recently tested an F-Type and had the same experience) and switching back, you realise how tight and precise the 86 is. From the seating position to the steering feel and how you ALWAYS know what's going on - it's actualyl surprising to me every time.

I still (many months after first driving one) get asked to take mates for a hoon. I still take the long road home quite regularly, simply because they have more fun corners, more "active driving" bits.

It's a tad bumpy in town. Not horrible, thanks to brilliant seats (even the fabric ones in my base-spec one). But it really does become better at highway speeds. I have done 700km in one stint in it, no problems.

You tend to drive other cars a bit on the high-rev side once you got used to the 86. 3000RPM shifts? Not even on a calm drive to the shop. 4-5K is much more like it. When you feel spirited, the redline is at 7400, and you WILL hit the rev limiter at times.

It's surprisingly useable. With the USELESS rear seats down, I can put two guitars (in hard cases) and a Mashall MG100 amp in the back no problems. Getting in and out can be a bit of an annoyance to the passenger (you sit low), and the long doors mean that you are careful about where you park, but visibility is good all around, it's practical enough for most things.

In short - I adore mine. I love it to bits, and every little ding annoys the crap out of me. I hoon it (mildly) regularly, and it STILL surprises me (positively - not the "OMG! i lost it and now I am in my neighbours fence!" kind) regularly.
My wife-to-be loves driving it.
I have dream cars (very expensive ones, mostly), and NO, I would not chose a GT86 over one of them, BUT - if you can afford a GT86 as an every day car, do it.

*here ends the swooning*

 

The problem with the GT86 is they cost £18k, you can buy a BMW e46 M3, Porsche cayman, Lotus elise, Audi RS4, BMW Z3M coupe, Honda s2000, Monaro and chevy corvette c5. Those cars are all alot faster than a GT86. The other problem with the GT86 is it needs more power and wider wheels to get the most out of its chassis. Which all costs £££, I think you have to wait until its costs £10k-£12k, then it is worth it.

 

New vs Second hand, firstly.
Let's quickly entertain some options, though:

Z3 - girly as hell.
Honda S2000 - I tried an older one (same with the MX5), and, being 6'4", I'd rather not repeat that. I miss headroom and legroom, and I don't like looking like Noddy.
Lotus Elise: MUCH more hardcore than a GT86. Hardly what I would call every day cars.
The Cayman is a SERIOUS option, provided you can get your hands on one - not an option her, as I mentioned.
E46 M3 - Very nice car as well. Mostly driven to CRAP though (the ones I have seen, which were not many - good buy if careful, I'd say)
Audi RS4 - If I wanted boring, I'd buy a polo. I seriously dislike Audi and the general German "oh - safe and sound > fun" mentality. That's a personal choice, though.
C5 'vette - not available here. Also - American power - good in a straight line. too much power to put feet down in corners. Also - better be ready for that petrol bill.

Secondly: Faster != better.

Even journos that kept crying about the lack of power have gone back on their word by now.
Sure, 350-400bhp are fun. No doubt. But there's something to be said for ACCESSIBLE power, and that's where the GT86 excels.

Wider tyres - again - arguable. There's PLENTY of grip in the eco tyres it comes with (and I have the skinnier 16"ers on the). Just don't be an idiot and floor the throttle in the corners.
The tyre choice is GREAT IMHO. It lets you play without overcooking it too heavily.

If I had to criticise, I'd suggest better sounding exhausts and ditch the "sound tube", and I'd suggest bigger, more confident brakes. Not that the normal ones are bad, but I'd prefer more confidence - the higher specced 17" wheeled 86 in this part of the world comes stock with bigger brakes.

At the end of the day, this is a niche car which appeals to people to whom more than just speed matters.
On a reacetrack it's a "momentum car" more than something that accelerates like a train, and will out-turn MANY other cars.
It's easy to mod and shed another 30-40kg, and achieving more power is done with 2 grand (GBP) - http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/SUBARU/GT86-BRZ (a bit more if you want to go forced induction).

It's a car that doesn't appeal to everyone, and if anyone is serious about getting one, a test drive is required, and ALL of Chris Harris' drives of the GT86 are required viewing.

 

The TT does look nice in dark grey. I just couldn't find a TT-S in that colour otherwise I would've gone with it in a heartbeat.

Imagine that with about another 150bhp and roughly 2x the torque, quattro and slightly better handling and you've basically got my car.

I mostly agree with you here on the Audi side of things, but the B7 RS4 - which is the one you'd find for around 20k - is regarded as one of the best saloons/estates ever made. Right up there with the E46 M3. It's not as fast as an E90 M3, but it's a remarkable machine in any weather. Drive one if you can, because it is not a boring machine - I looked into it before I bought my TT-S, but couldn't get comfortable with the fuel/insurance/parts costs - you're buying an expensive car cheaply at the end of the day and expensive cars have expensive parts.

The same can be said about the E46 M3 - it's still an expensive car, so when they go wrong they cost $$$ to fix.

However, right now I'd go with one in a heartbeat if I had a spare 20k gathering dust. I recently had a new clutch on my TT-S (it's done 75k now) and I didn't have much change from 1500 quid.

That said, a lot of Audis are quite boring - I've driven a few as courtesy cars when mine has been in for work. I wasn't that impressed with the A3 Sportback, A4 and A5 TFSI, but the A4 Avant TDI pulled nicely on the motorway - its brakes seemed a bit less spongy than the A4 Saloon TFSI's too. I also quite enjoyed test driving the new S1 and S3 Saloon.

 

Haha, don't worry... Like I said, I'm nowhere near there yet.

And of course I would expect nothing less!

As I said, I am nowhere near ready to give up a lifelong obsession and pursuing what has basically been a lifelong dream, but the GT86 is so beautiful that it's made me consider it! I meant to post this at the time but forgot; I saw this white one up close and personal a couple of months ago and it's such a stunning colour! Sorry the photos are dull phone pictures.



The white Astra GTC across the street is Dad's

If and when I do buy one, it won't be left stock and it definitely won't be until it devalues enough for me to get one at less than £12K. It'll definitely be getting turbo'd

Lots of drool is coming out! I'd love to drive that

I shot a couple of quick pics of it when I was back there this afternoon. Again, sorry they're crappy dull portrait phone pics.

 

I know that I generalise like an idiot when I say Audis are boring. RS Audis are SUPER rare here. The shops don't have demos, and the only way to get to drive one is by finding an owner and asking. Most people with cars like that treat them as prized possessions (understandably) and get twitchy when you ask.
I have driven an S3, and had a spin in an RS3. The S3 felt like a hot Mk5 Golf GTI to me (a car I owned, which bored me to tears - good at 9/10, but you're never going to take it there, so the argument quickly becomes irrelevant, the car starts to annoy in stiffness and rattles).
Thee RS3 felt much the same, but I couldn't get over the ~50k (roughly converted to GBP) price tag...

That's a TRD front bumper AND wheels AND skirts. Not sure I like the wheels (Volk TE37s would be my choice), but the TRD bumper is nice.
Those headlights are only available on the High-Spec model here (together with Alcantara seats - the only reason to buy High-spec). For the money they cost, I prefer the Subie's headlights.

 

excuse my finger

 

They're just stunning... All the subtle differences on this make it stand out from the stock ones I've seen in showrooms. I would definitely put these on if I was getting one. I agree with you on the TE37s though, because I have a set on my 1/10th S15

This just popped up in my TapaTalk feed this morning. Such a beautiful example of a tasteful OEM+ and sensible performance upgrades car. DO WANT.

 

On Topic:
Seen the Ferrari FF that's running around town again. That guy BOTTLES it. Seen it this time with smoking tyres and braking hard enough for the "ABS-Flicker" to show...

 

On a similar note: I just caught 12-15 Ferraris (in town for an expo - most of them South African registered) going down the road with police escort, every V12 model making a LOT of noise. <3 eargasm.
Bunch of 458s, 458 Spiders, FFs (one in white - stunning), an F12, a 430 Scuderia and what looked like a 308/328 convertible of sorts (my 80s Ferrari fu is not great).
I was too captivated by those engines to actually take photos.

Edit: Found a (crappy) vid someone else posted (on Facebook).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=747554525294983&set=vb.344754408908332&type=2&theater

THAT is how much uproar a few fancy cars cause in this part of the world.

EDIT MUCH LATER:
Looks like that "308" is actually a much more exclusive 288 GTO... NICE!

 

A colleague brought his V12 Vantage in to the office today and made me a very jealous boy...



There's no other vaguely realistic car that I would want more in my garage.

 

Phwoar.

I'd love one of those, the only bad thing about it are the stupid backwards needles on the speedo / rev counter.