Hi there,

I'm glad to start off that I scrapped the van lol.

I'm currently driving a 1.6 Polo and it ain't bad apart from the colour lol. Its a weird red and looks slightly pink at times, good polish should sort it though.

Right, as you should be able to see from topic thread, I'm now about to start my path the be a Motorsport Engineer and moving to Wiltshire to do this. I want a decent car to take up there but one that is cheapish on parts but can modify well in terms of performance as I want a sort of road going track car as everything I learn will be shown in the car. I'll live 5 minutes away from Castle Combe and part of the college is on the circuit. So want a car I can take around the track to drive fast and not on the road.

So whats everyone's suggestions. Please, no going off topic and just actual advice on which car I should get which I can enjoy.

I might sound stupid with what I want, but I'm a lad who likes speed haha.

I'm still thinking of a 1.9 GTI 205 but don't know. Can insure a 2.0 Sport Impreza cheap but they aint cheap cars to run and pointless having in any other form apart from the turbo's. Plus every tom dick and harry have them.

Do you want speed, or fun?

Anything remotely fast is going to cost the earth to insure.

EDIT - Plus the base-spec Impreza's are nothing special in terms of driving.

Quote from Jakg :

Do you want speed, or fun?

Anything remotely fast is going to cost the earth to insure.

Both, a fun drive with some a bit of grunt to keep me happy.

The insurance on a 2.0 non turbo Impreza is £1600 FC and goes to £1300FC when I move to Wiltshire. So thats sort of the cars I can insure and thats Insurance Group 13.

But I don't want to make the wrong mistake in buying a car that is unreliable lol. I'm not bothered about fuel, you don't go hunting for a quick car that is good on fuel as it isn't really going to happen lol.

Edit... I see some people make track day cars out of ZRs. But at the end of the day they apparently crush like a tin can in any sort of accident (small or bad) And they're still a tarted up Rover and Land Rover headgasket needs putting on them to be fair.

Saxo VTR or 106 Rallye (VTS/GTi most likely too much to insure)

Motorsport engineer? Why the hell do you need a track car, you should be learning and then in your spare time working for a driver/team!

Quote from boothy :

Motorsport engineer? Why the hell do you need a track car, you should be learning and then in your spare time working for a driver/team!

Thats what I will be doing. I'll be 100% commited to it, but still want a decent car lol.

They get you in a racing team for experience, so will also be doing that.

Quote from Bean0 :

106 Rallye

this. this. this. and more this.


Only issue will be finding an unmolested one... but in your case I doubt that'd be so hard

Quote from Bean0 :

Saxo VTR or 106 Rallye (VTS/GTi most likely too much to insure)

Better to get a 205 GTI than them tbh :S

Yeah, they're the cars I can afford to insure atm... The VTS/GTI is through the roof.

Quote from Jakg :

this. this. this. and more this.


Only issue will be finding an unmolested one... but in your case I doubt that'd be so hard

Alot of people only really strip, cage them and then TBs and manifolds. So thats all that would be done to one. The S1 or S2 though... Think thats what they call each mark :S

Quote from sam93 :

Alot of people only really strip, cage them and then TBs and manifolds. So thats all that would be done to one. The S1 or S2 though... Think thats what they call each mark :S

Thats what good people do... a lot of people buy Rallye's, but "Halfords special" (heavier) alloys on them, wack in some ICE and ruin it.


My (left field) suggestion. Volvo 340? RWD and cheap to insure. Shouldn't be that hard to modify (...if your willing to get your hands dirty) and cost very very little.

You are correct, the S1 is the 1.3 older shape and the S2 the 1.6 newer shape.
A lot have the GTi engine fitted nowadays.

You do get some standard ones though, one was for sale on the Rallye Register just last month I think.

People do look after them though, they have a bit of a cult following

Quote from Bean0 :

You are correct, the S1 is the 1.3 older shape and the S2 the 1.6 newer shape.
A lot have the GTi engine fitted nowadays.

You do get some standard ones though, one was for sale on the Rallye Register just last month I think.

People do look after them though, they have a bit of a cult following

Hmm... Just done insurance quote on one... A impreza 2.0 sport is a lot cheaper to insure for some reason. VTR/Rallye is £5k :O

Only thing I can think about doing is getting a lower model one and engine transplants (keep all insurance out of this) lol.

A base model would make a good project.
GTi suspension, carbs/bodies etc...

Quote from sam93 :

Hmm... Just done insurance quote on one... A impreza 2.0 sport is a lot cheaper to insure for some reason. VTR/Rallye is £5k :O

The Impreza is rubbish, though - 123 BHP, 0-60 in 9.1 seconds, 1130 KG and 31 MPG. Not ideal.

Rallye shouldn't be that much - Quinn wanted no extra premium to go from the Wira to a Rallye.

Imagine something like this.

Get an old kit car, then you can use your new found knowledge to make it better. Also will be fun on track.

Motorsport Engineering - why not do a proper degree in Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering?

Silly car to chav up - why? You won't have much disposable income, you will have a lot of coursework (40 hour week of lectures, plus ~40 hours per week of 'homework'), modifying a car for the track ALWAYS ruins it for the road, even before it's any good on the track (i.e. at some point you have a car that is awful on the road AND awful on the track), and none of the stuff you'll learn in your degree course will assist you in chavving up a road car (unless you are planning on designing your own uprights or gear selector forks or suspension geometry)...

Far far better to save your money, get a shite car that is reliable and cheap to run, and join (or tag along with) the Formula Student team (they do have one, right?) and learn about motorsport and not road car modifying (which is for morons). Okay, so Formula Student teams are often filled by people who 'like cars, but don't actually have the first idea about what makes them work, even after a degree course and two years on the team' (so ideal for you then), but it is hands on experience with a rubbish racing car, and club level motorsport teams love that.

If you want to get into professional motorsport, you'll be better off ignoring Formula Student, chavved up cars or Motorsport Engineering.

Very true it would.

Sounds stupid but there was a Micra in the workshop up in the College when I went for interview tour, was a pocket rocket of a rally car and won the championship in its class. So just shows these hot hatches can be just as quick as a Saloon.

What would your thoughts be on doing a ZR track day car? :S

What base model would you think is best? Base model with a different engine bodied etc would be good.

Just deciding on the best car to start a project on. Stick all this modified crap, performance and function of form any day lol.

Quote from Jakg :

The Impreza is rubbish, though - 123 BHP, 0-60 in 9.1 seconds, 1130 KG and 31 MPG. Not ideal.

Not far off an 1991 MX-5 1.6 in those specs, and the MX-5 is one of the greatest drivers cars of all time. So your specs mean nothing. Besides, you drive a Rover that is much, much worse than any Impreza.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Not far off an 1991 MX-5 1.6 in those specs, and the MX-5 is one of the greatest drivers cars of all time. So your specs mean nothing. Besides, you drive a Rover that is much, much worse than any Impreza.

The MX5 is a well balanced RWD car, and 100 KG lighter - both of which will make it more fun.

And yes, my car probably is slower than an Impreza... but thats not why I bought it.

You didn't specify the drivetrain layout in your specs, and 100kg is less than 10% of the Impreza... I'm just saying that quoting specs as you did is utterly pointless. There are 1100kg, 120hp, 30mpg cars around that are brilliant to drive (MX-5) and some that are awful to drive (Korean or East European probably).

You bought yours to look like an old man in an excessively expensive and boring car. And that's fine.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Motorsport Engineering - why not do a proper degree in Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering?

Silly car to chav up - why? You won't have much disposable income, you will have a lot of coursework (40 hour week of lectures, plus ~40 hours per week of 'homework'), modifying a car for the track ALWAYS ruins it for the road, even before it's any good on the track (i.e. at some point you have a car that is awful on the road AND awful on the track), and none of the stuff you'll learn in your degree course will assist you in chavving up a road car (unless you are planning on designing your own uprights or gear selector forks or suspension geometry)...

Far far better to save your money, get a shite car that is reliable and cheap to run, and join (or tag along with) the Formula Student team (they do have one, right?) and learn about motorsport and not road car modifying (which is for morons). Okay, so Formula Student teams are often filled by people who 'like cars, but don't actually have the first idea about what makes them work, even after a degree course and two years on the team' (so ideal for you then), but it is hands on experience with a rubbish racing car, and club level motorsport teams love that.

If you want to get into professional motorsport, you'll be better off ignoring Formula Student, chavved up cars or Motorsport Engineering.

Not really pointless. I want a career in motorsport designing/building race cars. 6yrs to get fully qualified. When I do my degree a lot of it is work based. So they put you into a team. Yes, they do the student Formula Ford teams and win the championship in it every year.

I want to do this course as its more aimed at what I want to do.

I'm not chavving it up at all... No exterior mods, want to build a performance car.

Quote from tristancliffe :

You didn't specify the drivetrain layout in your specs, and 100kg is less than 10% of the Impreza... I'm just saying that quoting specs as you did is utterly pointless. There are 1100kg, 120hp, 30mpg cars around that are brilliant to drive (MX-5) and some that are awful to drive (Korean or East European probably).

You bought yours to look like an old man in an excessively expensive and boring car. And that's fine.

So what would you think about a 2.0 non turbo Impreza then? I reckon a MX5 is a lot better than one but I wouldn't own one lol... Wouldn't suit me at all.

It is pointless, because Motorsport Eng is a cop out - you study some aspects of both Mech and Aero, but get none of the detail. Motorsport teams don't want that. The Adrian Newey's of the future (apart from the fact that it's all about management now) will study specific areas in detail, not lots of areas vaguely.

It'll take more than 6 years to be fully qualified, even if everything goes to plan. Most degrees are work based; you have to do lots of work - lectures, homework, placements...

I'm pretty sure Bath University (it is this one?) doesn't win FS every year.

You want to do this course because it has the word Motorsport in the title, not because it'll help you get a brilliant career afterwards.

A road/track car based on a hatchback is essentially chavving it up. Nothing on your degree will be useful (except maybe if you specialise in turbocharging you could be the first Max Power Moron to specify a sensible turbo on their upgrade) to 'track prepping' a hatchback on a student budget.

If you want to build a performance car using your degree, start designing one, order some 25x25x18SWG box section and a MIG welder, and get cracking......

Quote from sam93 :

So what would you think about a 2.0 non turbo Impreza then? I reckon a MX5 is a lot better than one but I wouldn't own one lol... Wouldn't suit me at all.

Depends on the age. Which version of the Impreza is that one that can't do corners (understeer)? Avoid that version.

Wouldn't suit you? Who cares; an MX-5 isn't a fashion statement, it's a driving experience. Who cares what you look like in it!!! Maybe, if you do, you should be doing a fashion degree or a hairdressing diploma?