What are the most fun cars you have driven, and why?

[daepp]

Originally Posted by daepp

First, and the one I always go back in my mind, was a red, 68 912 Soft Window Targa my brother let me borrow from time to time when I was in high school circa 1979. All I had ever driven before were large heavy Fords like Galaxie 500's and LTD's.

Weirdest was a friend's Gogomobil Dart. It has a sideways "H" pattern - that took quite a bit of practice.

He also has sever Isettas. They are easy to get into, but my feat are so big (12W) that I had to take off my shoes so that I only pushed on one pedal at a time.

I just remembered I've got photos:

Gogomobils:





Isetta:

[joe payne]

My car and a Ferrari 458.

[targa911S]

my 1965 Mini Cooper S....put it in gear, put it to the floor...

[Jim deCordova]

1968 Plymouth Police car, very fast, we never got beat

[UncleRay]

Back in the day my second car a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk with 352 Packard,4bbl, 3sp with overdrive, after that a 1964 vette convertible, and now current and most favorite is the 944 turbo. Many other noticeable cars but these stand out for me.

[impactbumper]

997.2 gt3rs and 2004 vw golf r32

[Noah930]

OK, I amend my earlier vote. Took the 930 out today for the first time in a couple weeks. It was a cool and misty SoCal morning. Turbos looooove cool air.

[petrolhead611]

My fun cars have been in chronological order
'59 Berkeley B105 -50bhp, 732 lbs weight front wheel drive- fast for its time but terribly engineered-scuttle shake at its 105 mph top speed so bad that even the instruments could hardly be read;the driveshafts needed greasing every 100 miles because they had just hook joints, no CV joints,and one had to overcome that problem when pulling out of a parking space using the on-off motorcycle clutch and a first gear capable of 50mph and be careful not to pull the chain driven separate gearbox out of line in the process because the chain was stronger than the aluminium gearbox mountings ; great roadholding for its day, blew off a Cosworth 1340 Lotus 7 easily,and set university perimeter road lap record in it.
Triumph GT6 with triple Webered TR6 motor, pulled like a train but lift off oversteer was to be feared;
Reliant Scimitar GT with RS3100 170bhp motor, traction off the line was great with the superbly located rear axle, but the thing was a maintenance hog;
Sylva Leader with a 135bhp Kent engine cornered as if on rails-very solid feeling for a kitcar
Vindicator Vulcan V8,1540 pounds weight with 300bhp Rover engine, theoretical 180mph top speed but at 150mph the airpressure under the front clamshell was theateniing to either burat it or lift the front wheels off the ground so I never took it faster than that:wheelspin in third because no LSD
Renault Clio 172 Cup 172 bhp 2246 pound weight 150 inch long front wheel drive hatchback that is still one of the most chuckable road cars available because of its compactness and power to weight ratio.
and brilliant roadholding and braking. and motor that will rev happily to 7600rpm.

[sand_man]

1961 VW Bus: 23 window deluxe, lowered, Fuchs, 1914cc engine, safari windshields, roof rack, et al. To this date, it is the only "car" that I miss...even more so than the 930. I drove it and my buddies all over FL and the East Coast in search of waves. Oh well, gone but never forgotten. I'd like to have another, but can't afford to restore one, and even decent drivers command bookoo. Maybe a 15 window, panel van, or a dual-cab would be cool!

[nota]

I had a vw bus a 63 hated it slow and broke alot

now any of my post 65 corvairs were fun esp on the blueridge
once cheap corvairs became rare
I got into 60's BMW's 1800ti and 1602 then a 2002
the 4's were more fun rides then the 635 alpina I had

mussel cars, I had a 70 buick sportwagon GS motor in a vista body
only lost one street race to a built 350 malibu who had to use NOS to get me
the 68 goat with a swaped 455ho was about as fast but the buick was unexpected fast

my 70 euro 914 was fun but rusted away everywhere
the 944 was fun but slow [auto]

[javadog]

Assorted 911s, any E30 M3, a modified E36 LWT, a Ferrari 328GTb, an Lp400 when I wasn't worried about cops or gas mileage. Hard to say which was more fun, they all had their good points.

JR

[J P Stein]

Years ago,(about 40) I built an L-88 for a buddy. Got all the bits from Fielder Chevy in West Seattle...except for a few aftermarket widgets....total cost was under a thousand bucks.

I fired that thing up and the earth moved. It went into a 67 ElCamino.....probably the worst choice possible. I drove it twice & it scared the s**t out of me......twice.

That was one gnarly SOB of a motor.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

'65 bug, 60 horsepower, bias ply tires. I was 19 years old.

The old adage that it's fun to drive a slow car fast is absolutely true. This thing was a blast.

Never really scared myself, but had a great time trying....

Did you ever get it up on two wheels? I did in my brothers 58... scared the dooky out of me!

I should add my 1994 Miata, once I got the suspension tuned in you could throw it into a corner so hard it felt like your brains were going to squirt out your ear.

[Cdnone1]

991 GT3RS in the canyons outside of LA, because Oh My God what a car!

[flipper35]

My Cobra replica. Brute force acceleration, 47/53 rear weight balance lets it turn in like a mongoose and the sticky tires keeps it in the turn. There are some times it can get hairy with trail braking...

[Don Ro]

I have always liked smallish cars...bought a Fiat Abarth a couple of years ago...I really like it...back to fun times again.
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This Renault Alpina was nifty...
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I'd have to say that my Renault R5-Turbo 2 was the cat's ass, however.
210 hp, 2,100 lbs. Quickest I'd ever experienced from 20 mph to 100+ mph. Almost alarmingly so.
And she cornered like a snake down a rat hole.
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[MauleM5-235]

TR-6 with a slightly massaged Chevy 350 and a 5 speed out of a Camaro transplanted in it. That flexible body was never designed for that much torque. The torque was enough I could hold the steering wheel steady and change lanes on the freeway just by nailing the throttle. The stock brakes were definitely not adequate for the increased power and speed. Way too much fun to drive, but it really needed chassis bracing and increased brakes. Wish I still had it.

[Sunroof]

Saved up money while in Vietnam to return to the states (1969) and purchase this low mileage 1967 TR-4A IRS (exactly same as photo). At the time this British car ranked with the Austin Healy 3000, MGB, etc. Most fun I have had since getting into Porsche. British cars ruled back then!

Bob
73.5T

[epbrown]

Another vote for the 944. Not just fun but practical in terms of cargo and passsenger space. I almost bought an '83 back in '87 and let my brother talk me out of it; I bought one about 20 years later. It still ticks me off, as the car would have been perfect for me back then.

[Tobra]

1.'74 914 2.0- The sounds, the smells are all familiar, but it has double the power at about the same weight as #2. Driving it feels like the entire world is rotating around the wallet in my right back pocket.

2-'79 Super Beetle Convertible- First car, slow as maple syrup on a freezing cold day, but was just fun. Sounded and smelled like a car should. Handled incredibly well for something on bicycle tires, yes, I did have it on two wheels more than once. Like a 4 seat go cart. Someone tried to buy it about every other time I drove it.

3.'72 XKE V-12 roadster- Steering feel was too light, power steering was cranked up a notch or two too much was about the only thing pushing it so far down the list. So pretty that police officers would pull you over just to get a closer look at it, people would stare slack jawed as you drove by. Enzo was right, prettiest car to turn a wheel. The sound it made going through the gears was indescribable, something is just right about a 12 cylinder motor's engine note.

4.'84 911 Carrera Cab. You guys know all about this one. Only downside to driving a 911 convertible is somehow it makes the head of all the drivers around you fly up their ass.

5.2012 SRT 8 Challenger- My brother's car Holy straight line acceleration Batman! It stops and turns too, c'est incroyable. I guess having brakes as big as the wheels on the bug must help some, along with the implausibly large front calipers. The marriage to the three pointed star must have rubbed off on the Dodge boys, car does not feel like the behemoth it is. Makes that groovy V-8 thunder too.