Both 4C and Supra are a chunk over budget! Cayman is an option, if I can go without a convertible roof. Evora - agreed, like a mini supercar. I genuinely think if they did a drop top version, it would be the best fit for my requirements!

 

Some more....
c6 'vette.. M2. ,. C63,. Unless you're looking for fresh air thrills .

 

Some different ideas there, thanks, although I'm not sure how close they are to my needs/wants. Corvette is laarrge, C63 is a saloon car with a big engine. M2 is a potential, but I just can't get my head around buying what's essentially a small family saloon, even if it is the sporty version. I think I'm looking more for a purebred sports car (although I probably hadn't realised it until you mentioned those).

 

Thinking about more, you're quite a close comparison to Robin, and I'm sure he did his due diligence on his choice after the s2000. He was and still is (I think) a regular at Oulton, and had a selection of track animals over the years but chose the Boxster for it's strengths, and with it being a step up in quality & performance, praised it highly.
Probably the car we all want to hate, but, the later ones like his are closely matched to the 911. The Evora has fit & finish issues, fading headlamps and water pooling in door handles, but these are cosmetics that we accept from Lotus. The Elise hasn't been discussed, but not great for longer trips.
If you are adamant to change, I'd go :
Boxster (same model as Robins,but the S not GTS)
Evora (top of your budget though)
Cayman (after all, its a Boxster)
Supra 3.0 (go and bug Toyota one afternoon)

Try them all and see what's what
then seek out a Tamora and study it's analogue nature. It might just tempt you !

 

Yeh I met Robin once or twice at Oulton. I remember his speedy Polo, that was amusingly superb! Yeh, I'm sure he put a decent amount of thought into his choice.

I don't mind some long term fettling to improve something (done plenty with the S2000), so tweaking the Evora doesn't phase me. And they are available in budget (but not the later 400s etc). There's one Cat N (clams replaced) just come up for £24k, which is a bargain if its got the info about the damage, repair etc.

The new Supra is probably out of budget, I think, and doesn't 'grab' me. I'd probably rather a GR86.

I will try a Boxster and see if it can slap me out of my looks/ubiquity prejudice, and there's a TVR place just north of Bristol, so I'll pop there and see about a Tamora/T350t. Once the weather improves...!

 

If you don't want more speed the newer MX5 (I know) is pretty light

 

It just carries that image unfortunately. Is it hairy chested enough?...

 

To fulfil quite a few of the requirements, a tuned MX-5 isn't actually a bad shout. But it won't fulfil the 'more special' requirement, sadly. I think I'd keep the S2000 over having a newer MX-5.

 

Not a bad shout. Although I could also save up for a another year. We'll see what the test drives bring!

 

I too had the urge to change and funds available, cured this by sending the S off for paint, would seem a waste of cash if I then sold it after a fresh respray, to spend a lot of cash on a car that wouldn’t do much (if anything) the S didn’t seemed change for changes sake in the end.