Best sports car on the road today

[snowman]

Whats the best, I mean BEST, overall sports car on the road today? I think the best sports car must include value for the dollar. You can spend 100 million bucks and have the most kick ass car in the world, but, it dosen't have Value, return on the buck.

To me a good sports car can be run on the track, as is, at almost race conditions, and not break. I exclude race conditions because they are the fighter jet, no bucks spared, kind of cars. Whats the difference? Well if you have raced you know, if not, you do not and cannot know the difference. But in any case most everyone knows if they really RACE, or do not.

I vote for two cars, the BMW M series, the M3, M5 or M6. and the Porsche 6 cylinder S cars. I cannot personally tell which is better. I don't think Lexus, or MB or any other car can come close.

I know the BMW cars are 4 and 6 and now 8 cylinder cars, but any M car from BMW is escentially the same. They are all built alike, using the best materials, methods avaliable and are designed to work at a continuous rpm that woud bury any chevy on the planet.
Porsche sticks with the opposed 6 cylinder design, a good choice.

[96740]

Porsche Cayman/S or Lotus Exige S/ Elise.

[Hawktel]

As you included Money as a factor, I have to say that chances are a Vette Z06 would have to be considered.

Possibly the best performance bang for you buck in my uneducated opinion.

[911pcars]

I"m pretty partial toward a Bugatti Veyron.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h8mMVOWvwGQ

Sherwood

[JavaBrewer]

What's the venue?

[Jeff Higgins]

Why, the one you happen to be driving at the moment, of course.

That's a paraphrase of ol' Colonal Cooper's response to the question of "what's the 'best' defensive handgun?" "Why, the one you have in your hand."

All kidding aside, I still say an early 911. Regardless of the stupid prices they now command, there is nothing else that "connects" you to the road you are on in the same way. There is no better "fun ticket" for the money. Out and out speed is irrelevant...

[450knotOffice]

stock for stock, imo, if value is included, then the Lotus Exige wins. It is similar in weight to the early 911, but handles better, is more predictable, and is quicker and faster. However, hands down, the early 911 looks so much better. Beauty is not exactly the Exige's strong point, imo. My other choice would be the "S" version of the car we already have - the Cayman.

Money no object - I'd say the Ferrari Enzo.

[Pingo]

911 Gt3 / Rs

[Mule]

Ford GT?

[Milu]

A well maointained aircooled 911, a 105 series Alfa Romeo. I'm not sure if I would include the M series BMWs as pure sports cars but I would certainly be have one.

[The Gaijin]

Best value is a used 996. They are getting cheaper than 993s....

[Rot 911]

Another vote for the Vette. Great power to weight ratio and monte carlo interior aside, the best bang for the buck.

[rammstein]

Originally Posted by dmoolenaar

What's the venue?

This is an awesome question! Definitely makes a difference.

[TheMentat]

If I were to go out and spend big bucks on a car that I had to use at DEs, and as a daily driver, it'd most likely be the Audi R8...

[HardDrive]

The corvette is pretty obvious. Amazing car for the money.

What about the Nissian 350Z? Very tight car that can be had in the low to mid $30's.

[sketchers356]

I am confused, is this a question of what is the best car to drive on a track for the money or best car to drive on the road for the money, because I believe those are two distinctly different questions and people seem to be answering the former.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

I"m pretty partial toward a Bugatti Veyron.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=h8mMVOWvwGQ

Sherwood

That's not as stupid as it sounds. From what I understand these cost a lot more to make than they cost to buy.

In terms of low cost and a good car I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned the Miata. Sure it isn't super fast but it doesn't cost much to buy, I'd guess it's fairly cheap to run, and it holds it's value.

I suppose it all comes down to the definition of 'best'.

[snowman]

I like cars that you can use for a daily driver and also race on the race track. Only problem is all the safety equipment gets in the way of daily driving, but you have to sacrifice something. Certainly not the AC or radio.

I asked about "on the road" which I think excludes pure race cars.

[turbocarrera]

If the best sportscar:
- looks great
- sounds great
- handles well
- has great brakes
- is quick and fast
- is comfortable commuting, on a long trip, or at the track
- is ruggedly engineered and reliable
- has a racing pedigree and loads of character, etc.

It's nigh on impossible to beat the Porsche 911. Then and maybe now.

[Seric]

911 for the coupe, and Elise for the open-top end of the spectrum.