The best attribute of a "supercar" is not the looks. It is the performance. The fact that it looks good is merely marketing - "if it has to cost this much, it had better look like it's worth it."

Considering what a person would pay in financing costs on a new car, the maintenance of "exotics" like a Lotus Esprit are going to be very reasonable. Really, who would hold a day in the shop against a Ferrari? Just because some people get a lot of mileage out of "reliability" claims doesn't mean they have any relevancy to a discussion of Italian or English car values. I guess if I was buying a bland Japanese sedan, I would not want to deal with any crap. But driving a car you truly like doesn't have anything to do with maintenance costs for most enthusiasts. Those who think a Lotus is a bad car are merely ignorant, taking wry humor as fact. I'd rather drive an early Lotus V8 than any NSX.

 

Old cars drive and perform like old cars. I guess you have to drive one for a while to fully appreciate this. Playing with things like chokes, suffering through odd performance due to weather changes. Leaky seals, strange noises .. it's all part of the game.

Old Ferrari's and Lotus's (Loti?) drive and perform like old cars and can drain your wallet faster than a Las Vegas hooker.

Want something unique? Why not a replica 550 spyder or 356? Cheap parts, still the old style performance and driving experience and more attention than you can shake a stick at.

Your mention of the 930 made me remember what fanstastic track cars they can make, but parts are again expensive. Not sure I understand the interior bit, they were no more or less bland than the S2000 is today -- and came 30 years later. I like it.

 

We like a lot of the same cars. I do remember lusting after the slantnose 930/935 as a piece of pure unobtanium. Same for the BMW M1 and the Group V Panteras.

Steve's right, my memories of my 1972 240Z did not stand up to my driving a decent example a couple of years back. But these would be project cars with serious class.

Replicas don't really have enough class to me. Although the Beck 550 (now from Thunder Ranch, right?) tempted me more than any other copy. He got the details right.

 

[quote name='Penforhire' date='Jan 30 2005, 05:12 PM'] We like a lot of the same cars.

 

Maybe you should look for an Acura NSX ?

 

[quote name='no_really' date='Jan 31 2005, 12:27 AM']The best attribute of a "supercar" is not the looks.

 

I'll add my two cents,

I owned an 89 328, it was one of the sexiest cars ever. However, my ownership experience was not the greatest. It was for the most part fairly reliable, and I drove it quite a bit, but the transmission, man it sucked. I took it to the dealer many times, and they told me it was normal, but on a cold day, waiting for it to warm up for 15 minutes to get into reverse is not my idea of normal. Invariably, I would park nose first against the garage, be late for work the next morning, and have to get my dad to help me push it backwards so I could leave.. But that black sexy body..

I also owned a 90 Esprit. It was very hot, very uncomfortable, and went like stink. My experience with this one was far worse then the Fcar.

Was in the shop once a month, for, lets see if I can remember most of them. Blown turbo, leaky hoses, warped brake rotors ( many times ) dash shorted out once, there were more, I'm sure of it.

Under the right circumstances, I would think about another 328, but acutally probably wouldn't settle for anything less then a 355.

I would never buy another Lotus.

Lastly, I owned an 88 911 wide body carrera, the whale tail did it for me, I tracked that car for a long time, beat the snot out of it, and it ran and ran.. then with in a month or two all hell broke loose, problem after problem and I dumped it. I look back on that one as a bad buy, but when I think about it, I didn't take great care of it, and it was most likely my fault

 

Oh, and I must add, of any of the cars I've had in the past, and there was a couple more in that list, the S2000 is probably the most fun I've ever had in a car

 

I too have evil thoughts of Fcars, etc.

The one great thing about porsches is that, for the most part, they are a well built mass produced car, unlike the 80s Ferraris, which are, at least in terms of build quality, the worst, save for the Lotus's of the same era.

early 80s Ferrari's, even if you could work on one yourself, wouldn't be something you could own as a daily driver, they are simply too high strung and fragile.
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For similar money, you could get an Elise, that at least would have somewhat of a chance of being reliable, and are a ton faster and fun to drive. You'd be amazed how much attention you get in one, too. The one I drove around, in Chrome Orange, people stared and asked questions like it was flying.

 

They are classic yet modern at the same time. The lack of substantial re-design makes them like a time capsule from 1990. You can get mid-engine excitement, exotic looks and a touch of performance. Plus I'd put my money on an Acura being more reliable than a Ferrari.