What's the least expensive yet most reliable track car - Porsche or otherwise?

[LeeH]

I'd like to have a car for track events, but it needs to be reliable, easy to maintain and at the bottom of its depreciation curve.

I've got a tentative deal arranged on a 944 Spec car, but wonder if I'd be better off with an RX7, MR2, Acura, etc.

[Dottore]

Mazda MX-5. Or Miata - as it is sometimes known.

[Noah930]

Miata. They're popular, so there's always someone to race. You can get one for two or three thousand dollars. And parts are significantly cheaper (than over-the-counter) if you sign up with Mazdaspeed, I believe.

[Mulhollanddose]

Miata...hands down...You aint getting no tail in one, but you will rip up the track.

[nostatic]

I was having this discussion with a couple of guys at the track. Miatas are cheap and cheap to fix. But they will not take the abuse that a 911 will. Once you sort a 911 they can be run hard at the track for quite some time. 944 spec cars are running quite impressive times in POC, but they guys seem to work on them more than I do.

[unclebilly]

You guys are waaaaay off, see below...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

MR2. Or Miata. The 944 can get frightfully expensive for spec racing. More expensive than you'd think.

[Nader]

Miss a shift in a 911, you might be looking at a 5-10K repair bill for big engine damage. Miss one in a Miata (rare, they shift beautifully) and not much will happen... it's a non-interference head. Somehow ruin the engine, and it's a $500 junkyard replacement (or 3K new crate engine).

I had a Spec Miata which I raced for 3.5 years. The only maintenance I gave it was changing the tires, brake pads, rotors (they're dirt cheap), and adding gas and occasionally oil. That was it. And I beat the crap out of that thing. Reliable little cars, every bit as good as Porsches in the turns, but slow on the straights.

I sold it to get something faster and more interesting, but thinking back, I should have kept it and put a bigass turbo in it to race in the unlimited classes.

[red-beard]

914 or an older Boxster

[livi]

Volvo 142. But maybe not that easy to find in the US.

If not, then yes - Mazda Miata.

[Porsche virgin]

Miata - no question.

[masraum]

Since no one else has suggested it, let me say....





Mazda Miata.

[stuartj]

Well, there is also a lot to be said for the RX7. Bullet proof, if sorted, simple, well balanced and fast. Also a long racing pedigree, so a vast body of knowledge exists.

Engines,gboxs and panels are in the hundreds not many thous of $$

Ofcourse you have to be able to take the god awful noise they make.

[scottmandue]

Datson 510

If they are any still around.

[sammyg2]

Plymouth neon.
They are 1/4 the price of a miata, there are plenty of go-fast parts available, and they actually go pretty good once they are set up right.
If your masculinity isn't threatened by a miata then it should be able to handle a neon just fine.

[cantdrv55]

Shifter kart?

If you put a turbo in a Miata, wouldn't that up the cost of repair significantly?

[dd74]

I think it depends on more factors than least expensive and reliable.

In the short run, yes, I'd say Miata; the short run being two years or so. I've been in a spec Miata, and they're cool little cars, and certainly inexpensive. But after a while, I would get bored with the lack of speed, and the fact that, at least the time I was in one, you pretty much drive these WOT.

Now, if you're interested in keeping a track car longer than a couple years, and fear getting bored with it, I'd go with another 911. I think 911s are much more entertaining than Miatas in the long run.

Both are very reliable btw, though yes, break something on a 911, and it'll cost. What's fortunate is it takes a lot to break a 911.

Good luck with your choice!

[scottmandue]

I'll second the go-cart idea...
Apparently 510's have gone the way of the dinosaurs.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

E30

[sammyg2]

LOL, BMW and least expensive in the same thread.
Bucks makem work.