My brother has one he bought from a guy whose brother had it and got hit by a deer.
Sounds like just what you're looking for as it has about $6k worth of suspension upgrades/wheels done to it. He was looking to sell it recently, if you want I can see if it's still for sale.

BRZ/GR86 is the droid you seek

I have a 2010 with just under 50k on it. Runs great, has aftermarket springs, adjustable sways and strut/shocks. Cat back exhaust, leather interior, full sunroof. OZ Racing wheels. PO hit a deer with it. Needed a hood, left headlight and fender. The plastic front bulkhead that everything mounts to was cracked so the car was totaled. I still have the original bulkhead bro show how it had one minor crack. All damage unbolted from the car. No welding or cutting was done. I wrapped the used hood in CF vinyl that needs to be redone now. Tires have tread but are old. Fun car but I have too many so this one is for sale. $7k.
LMK if interested.

Original owner if a 2006 R53 with 220k + miles. Original supercharger, 15% pulley with tune.

It is a fun car but sure it has its weak spots. Windshields can be prone to cracking from debris impact. Biggest bugger for me is the water pump driven off the supercharger. You also have to watch the belt tensioner. Fluid filled upper motor mounts can fail.

Fuel economy is good, ~30 highway, mid 20s city.

^^^ cracked my windshield when car was 4 days old. Totally paranoid now of who I am following
No experience with the old ones except a test drive in 2002. The suspension on the new JCW which is what I have is supposed to be way softer than prior cars….if that’s true be aware of that. The ride in my car is brutal. I have to watch every little bump, manhole covers etc. very jarring even in non-sport setting. My 911 feels like a Cadillac in comparison

We have a 2004 R53 Cooper S JCW. Had it for 13 years. It has been a great car, strangely reliable. It is now modified for track use, big brakes, suspension, aftermarket ECU, E85, more boost, big intercooler, custom exhaust, big cam etc.... Race seats and welded in roll bar. We drive it 1000 miles a year, and now it really only sees track time with my son behind the wheel.

It is now quite fast, and very capable track car. Before, it was a great fun street car.

Has a total of about 80K miles, and like posted above, windshields..... on our 4th... lol. Much like a G-Wagon, its a wee bit too upright to deflect rocks, it just eats them.

Cheers

These are the stories that I feel like I always hear when I see Minis and BMWs (and somewhat, Audi's too) discussed. Either folks get a dead nuts reliable car or they get what is practically a lemon. There doesn't seem to be much middle of the road, and the split seems to be 50/50. I suspect I'd really enjoy a BMW, Mini, or Audi, but I'm going to stay away.

When it comes to FWD sporty cars, GTI is the only one for me. Maybe a Jetta GLI if you really need the room. VW has engineered more fun and performance into econobox cars than anyone else on the planet, IMO, though several others are right there next to them. Honda and Mazda come to mind.

I'm a big Saab fan and have owned many but I would not call them sporty, especially a non-turbo 900. Weird, quirky, unique and sometimes fun but not really sporty. :cool:

A friend of mine, a former IMSA Trans Am racer, has owned a 910, a 906, Peter Gregg's last RSR, still owns a Trans Am IMSA 911 that he raced, among a flock of other very cool race and street cars. But he uses his Mini the most and really likes and enjoys it. He drives it quite spiritedly, and is very hard to keep up with, but a hell of a lot of fun to ride with.

You just described, uh, me:cool:

What I enjoyed about the 560SL was open air driving, it steered like a Frigate but that works for me!

We'll see. Driving all these different cars has been a blast.

Well, we (son and I) have a fully built MK6 GTI with tons of HP and proper track suspension and big front and rear brakes. It IS more capabe than our Mini, but it is my Son's Daily, so not going to the track anymore....

All of that said, we are European Service Facilitly that is very busy. We see plenty of Mini's of all generations. The most reliable ones are the early cars with the Brazilain motor, full stop. Don't belive me? Buy one and then bring it to our shop for service and repair... :)

I am VW fan. Family always had one when I was growing up. My frist car was an 83 Scirocco and my second car was an almost new 87 16V Scirocco. Sons first car was a MK2 Jetta with an built ABA in it.... We like VW's, Son't MK6 GTI was a car I bought new after selling the MK5 GTI that we had for 4 years.

But our Mini has been an oddly reliable car. Fit and finish nowhere near the VW.....

Cheers

Had 3 GTIs. Traded in my 2021 mk 7.5 GTI for my mini. Much prefer my mini. GTI was better on the highway for sure, and more room. But that’s it….for me.

What do you like better on the mini?

Cant speak to the old ones, but mine is rock solid. It feels like a tank. No rattles, all materials feel nice and has actual real buttons for everything. It feels like a BMW, not a VW. MY VWs never felt like a BMW or Audi, they felt like a VW....which to me means slightly crappy materials everywhere that eventually fall apart. The Mini just gives me a feeling of fun...sounds stupid but it puts a smile on my face. My GTIs never did that. The Mini just has this unusual personality that you might find in an old 911 or VW Bug. Its not really anything objective I can point to. At the end of the day, my GTIs probably could outperform it but they never left me with the same feeling.

The GTIs were way more practical though (can put a roof rack on, way more cargo space and back seat space)...and performed well, just much more compliant and refined. The Mini even in its normal suspension setting is very firm - however, I am on the run flat tires still. I dont think the current GTI has a spare (maybe?) but the Mini does not have a spare tire and this is a bummer. Not sure if they ever did???

I like the small size of the Mini. Even though my generation is probably the largest so far, the car feels tiny to me and I like very small cars. The interior is about the same size as the 911 but with a roof line that allows an adult to sit in the back seat but with the same amount of leg room which is none at all. It is very hard to get back there too, being a 2 door. With the seats down, I was able to get a set of winter wheels/tires in my Mini but I do not think I could get my mountain bike back there and there is no way to mount a roof rack...another ding for the Mini.

But to be blunt, if I lived someplace where it did not snow, I would not own a Mini or a GTI. I do not prefer FWD cars. The GTI and the Mini have been a way for me to have a sporty hatchback all year round where it snows 5 or 6 months out of the year. With winter tires, the Mini did fine. The GTI always did fine with all seasons.

If I lived in a snowless climate, my daily driver would be a Cayman.