Be good to hear your thoughts.
with everything going electric now with 600bhp and 2 tonnes, the car makers have indeed lost the plot.

Pity that gr86 isn't a convertible, it would t be far the mark for many

 

Yeh, now they've upped the power (from the GT86) it has a bit more appeal. The looks are OKish, but it probably struggles a little on the "specialness' scale, despite being limited in number and apparently good to drive.

 

Some years ago wife and travelled from Scottsdale to San Diego on holiday, an indirect route but a fine drive, unfortunately not in a Porsche, I was surprised to see the Porsche dealer had a huge stock sitting out overnight with no sign of security about.

 

Perhaps the location has proven to be safe.

 

Some engine recall on those

I think it's too compromised for your needs, sort of a bad take on an Evora really, heavier, turbocharged.. might suit me though, if she who complains could cope with it.. where would the dog(s) go though?

 

No turbo on the GR86 AFAIK. It's a 2.4 NA.
However they are working on a Yaris engined version pushing 300bhp out of a 1.6.
not so sure that's sensible - requires more reliability servicing I'd say..and that small block is not going to cope with the stress IMO. Something that has plagued that 3 pot Yaris GR. Might well be a Homo special . But not great for Toyota reliability
I'm sure Elitist Pete would chime in if he was around but alas, probably carked it from COVID.
Or probably still keyboard warrioring ...
​​​​​​

 

For some reason I thought 300bhp turbo. Maybe I read about the one you mentioned.

Surprised it's breaking then

 

Well, I think I have come to a conclusion! Shock horror!

I went to a really lovely Lotus dealer up in Yorkshire (Jon Seal) to view a well-priced, good condition 06 Elise 111R. We chatted at length about them, the S2000 (which even he advised me to keep, if I could!) and various car-related subjects. He's a genuine enthusiast (and was heading to the Nurburgring in his newly-acquired Civic Type R once we finished).

The car was everything I'd hoped it would be, in terms of being unmodified, well cared for and general condition. So, when it came to it..... I didn't buy it.

As with all these decisions, I always walk away and think about it, but there was also something niggling in the back of my head that was holding me back. Having chatted through Lotus ownership with Jon, he made it clear that it needed a garage to prevent the paint osmosis/blistering that they are famed for.

I spent yesterday deliberating the fact that the S2000 would have to live outside, as I only have a large single garage, plus the additional tinkering/faff time I'd need to spend on a 4th car for the household. For context, I also have other hobbies like mountain biking, brewing (built my own brewery), the occasional scuba diving trip and not to mention I'm still recovering from my skull fracture, which is requiring me to properly rest a bit more than I traditionally have. I even got all philosophical in trying to work out 'what would make me happiest'!

So, I have decided to spend some money on the S2000, refreshing the engine to match the refreshed chassis. I'll then have an S2000 that will last my lifetime. I'm also going to improve the engine, like I have with the chassis. So I've initiated contact with Andy at Veysport (haven't heard back yet) and Ian at Clockwise Motion regarding some sort of Normally Aspirated build. I'm not sure whether it'll be a brand new block or boring & honing my block, but I'd like to increase power to the order of 280bhp, with ITBs for epic noise (which has always been an aspiration of mine). I have done some initial research into alternative steering racks too, but there isn't much info out there.

It might cost £10k and, by many objective metrics, be a daft decision, but I'll essentially be left with a brand new S2000, given that it's now virtually new underneath. And this whole process has given me a new appreciation for the S2000 and the spot it occupies on the automotive spectrum.

Anyone know a good engine builder....?!

 

Andy at Veysport prioritises doing not communicating (I met him a time or two when following Mark Bennett's track days). Persist

Looking back I will swear they got in a US imported F22C1 but by time Mark sold his S it was back to F20C.

Probably never homologated by the DVLA engine wise so had to be put back to sell.

edit: I think Mark and Andy had it to 280bhp give or take.

That was one quick low flat S2000

 

Roger that! Have sent a chaser.

TGM have got back to me quite quickly too, they've got a waiting list, but I don't mind waiting till winter.