I'm just wondering what cars you think have the best cost-to-performance ratio.

I'm thinking the Acura TL A-Spec myself; quality car, great handling and performance, sub $35,000 (if I'm not mistaken) price.

Subaru WRX STI. Performance on par with a Corvette but for a starting price of $32,000.

A Lancer Evolution

One of THE Best performance to cost cars out there.
Holds its own against exotics that cost 2-3 times as much.

If your talking straight line there is no contest with a Mustang GT after a couple grand in upgrades. Sure its not the best quality but its a mean engine on wheels. Then maybe the C6 or a Z06.

Whats this WRX = vette stuff?

Compare the WRX STI and the Corvette.

Arial Atom - UK designed car worth £29k or so... puts out 1000BHP per tonne.

check it out and gear it - and for the idiot who said an Evo can hold its on against an exotic is talking nonsense...a standard evo is NOT that fast...yes the 300BHP rally spec Evo maybe can - but thats not a £27000 [standard evo] priced car.

and WRX STi will also not hold its own against a corevette...where do you people get this nonsense from i mean seriously...wtf...you do not compare a European Car to an American car - cause American cars are just pure horse ****e....you cant name one good fast sexy American Car - the Dodg(y) Viper is a heap even its new SRT-10 is a piece of crap...

03 cobra is probalby your best bang for your buck.

If you are gonna talk shop, lets at least get some facts right!

Firstly - Ariel Atom - 300BHP from its supercharged Civic Type R engine and the car weighs 500KG - so 600BHP per tonne.

Secondly - the Evo's and stuff - well whilst they won't outright destroy exotics on a track, they will give them a bloody good scare. And the standard released ones are sold, under agreement with Japan, at around 280BHP - but literally a new exhaust and air filter will free power up from all kinds of places as the restrictions to keep the Japanese government happy are really really simple and easy to get around. And quite honestly get a good tank of petrol in there (Ultimate, perhaps with some octane booster) and these cars just go even more crazy.

And I dont know what this rant about American cars comes from. Admittely some American cars aren't top whack, but there is a classic saying which holds true for American cars - there is no replacement for displacement. You can take all the turbo's, nitrous and all that other crap you want and stick it on a 2.0 4 cylinder motor, but you just can't beat the kind of muscle (and quite frankly soundtrack) that a big V8 or V10 will give you. If the sound of something like an American V8 just doesn't just make you smile, then I seriously doubt you have a real interest in motoring.

Yeah just because the vette and WRX have similar specs/ times whatever doesn't mean jack. Don't get me wrong, I like some of these small engine cars with 300+ hp but you just can't compare the two. You can't compare an NA to a turbo that has the same hp / tq.

You take a 2.5 - 3 L with a turbo and a 6-8 L and add a turbo or supercharger and then compare.

Definitively a Impreza WRX STi

if you seriously want a performance car, the Ariel Atom. It has no luxuries at all tho, but I think it's fairly cheap.

Only car that beat its time in Top Gear was the enzo.

http://www.kuecker.net/downloads/Videos/To...r_ArielAtom.wmv

There's the video

So is this car mass produced in Europe?

I just watched the beginning of the video. Sorry, thats not a car. Its a go kart. I can take a supercharged small block that makes 800 hp and strap it to the back of a lawn mower and have something similar.

Yeah like sheetmetal and a roof.

Probably the Vette Z06. Its pretty damn fast, doesnt cost much and can keep up with the big boys. Prior to the bad rap of american cars, Vettes have some pretty good traction and acceleration, especially the latest generation vette

That video just reminded me how stupid the Top gear host is. "Its so great because you can see the suspension working."

Has he even driven an Indy car?

Let me guess? That thing is put togethor in the UK?

wrx sti or lancer evo

Sorry bud - UK TV personalities are just different to US TV personalities - Clarkson is just hugely sarcastic and bloody funny.

The Atom uses the engine from a Civic Type R, but is built in a small workshop in the UK, yes. But its UK road legal so you could use it every day.. if you were a bit insane

no way, the 2005 mustang GT!!! starts at 24.5k for 300hp??? No way you could beat that... there is no class even close to that value!

The WRX STi may be fast for a while, until you smashing the pedal at every stop sign blows your turbo. Then you're just like every other I-4 out there.

yea i love the STI, but remember the new vetts have a top speed at 186mph... no way an sti could beat that... but sure yea around corners sti is bad ass

Has nothing to do with him being from the UK. At least I hope not. He's way to condescending to anything but something built in the UK. Seems like to me anyway. Ever since he trashed on the C6 he's seemed like an idiot.

I guess I just don't see how that gokart is so special. It doesn't take a lot to strap a big engine on a small frame and call it a race car.







The C6 could hold its own againt the STi. And destroy it in the straights. The STi and the EVO are just hopped up grocery getters. I don't know about you but I wouldn't really want a small 4 door like that for 35K+. If I'm getting a sedan I'm getting a 300C or a Cadillac or something.

Saleen.

but the Sti will pwn it on corners. Even the Evolution 8, it pwnd a Lambo Murc around corners.

Top Gear have a 'fastest road cars' score board. They have track which was developed by Lotus, and they have the same professional (but anonymous driver) take every decent ROAD LEGAL car they ever have on the show around the track. Now there have been all kinds of cars on there (Porsche Carrera GT, Mercedes McLaren SLR, Koenigsegg, Ferarri Enzo, etc) and when I tell you that the Ariel Atom which you so easily brush off as being a go kart dicked everything except the Ferarri Enzo on that score board. Engineering and handling aren't just a given - sticking a big engine onto a small frame doesn't just work from the off.

pwnd <-- God how I hate that "word". Way overused by people that think it is "cool"...cool to use such a stupid "word".

Anyway...I would have to go with the Corvette (higher end) and the Mustang (lower end). Screw those little 4 cylinders with turbo. A grin comes over my face every time I see one of those cars with smoke coming out of its exhaust.

Sure they have some R&D into balancing the frame and making the car neutral. I just don't compare that "car" to anything else on the board. Even the Lotus. They were closer to being on track putting it up against the CBR. I'm not saying it isn't cool. But it , despite what they say, is just a toy. It's not a real car. It's half of one. Being street legal and practical are different things entirely. I think they should make the reviewers drive it to work for a month and see how they like it then.

a VTeC Mini/Clubman and if possible add a turbo to it (although it struggles to keep the tires on the road with just the VTeC conversion), that would be under £10,000.

What's with American's fancination with how many cylinders a car has?? I noticed this when I was in the states this summer, a friend had just bought a new Honda and I asked him what size the engine was, all he said was that "oh I don't know, it isn't a V6 as that was quite a lot more". It's almost as if you've accepted the marketing crap as truth, that more cylinders must mean a better car. Pfft.

More cylinders always mean more power when you're in reference to a sports car there chap. While the Accord V6 isn't really a sports car, it is much faster than any stock I-4 that Honda offers [other than the S2000].

Seriously

Anyways, the Ariel Atom is street legal in the UK. It's also damn fast. We were talking about performance cars, and this is exactly what he was asking for. I personally think Clarkson is funny. He's biased, but I still find him funny.

And why are we comparing a $45000 car to a $30000 car? I'd rather have the STI either way

the most bang for the buck and power car that is available right now, is mitsubishi lancer evolution, it has extremely good value ,performance & handeling.



or you can go for Nissan 240sx(i think you know what this car can do) , i heard that nissan is going to start producing it, next year. so im saving my money for 240sx.

holy crap, i just watched the video, the ariel is crazy!

Woah, they are going to make it again? Interesting. This should be a peppy turbo 4 cylinder rwd or a nice NA V6 3.5 L similar to a 350Z.

I'd see this as being sub 30K (maybe sub 25K.) with one of the above engines. Most likely a 3.5L in the top end. That should keep it from competing against the Z.


Those were cool cars with the turbo I4. Or did the Silvia have a 6 cylinder? Pretty sure not.

you can't be serious right? They discontinued after the S15.



The SR20DE(T) for S13/4/5's are I believe are 4 Bangers.

Yes it will. Not in a drag race, but with good drivers it would be pretty close on a windy track.




Hey, smartguy, the STi doesn't have an I4



Uh ... no. May I point out the old 4 cylinder F1 cars that produced what ... 700-800 hp?

The best bang for the buck cars are the Neon SRT-4, the WRX, and the Miata. There's a good reason so many club racers use those cars. Used ... there's tons of stuff out there. My vote would be for a Focus with a 5.0

You are kidding me right? We can't even measure the power of a top fuel engine. They break the 5000 hp limit that the best dynos go up too. They can get your 700hp wimp ass 4 bangers power out of one cylinder!

We are all more stupid for having read your post.

Uh.. yeah. Lets calm down. Since your new here it will probably be a good idea to read our ruleset: http://www.neowin.net/forum/rules.htm

Next time its a warn.

way to come into the forum gameth.

a used mitsu gt3000 is the finest build up if you do it right

For the American's a Pontiac GTO. For the Brits, a Vauxhall Monaro.

The car differs slightly between it's various editions (Pontiac GTO in the U.S.A., Vauxhall Monaro in the UK, Chevrolet Lumina Coupe in the Middle East, and Holden Monaro in Australia) but for the most part it's the same. One of the fastest stock cars available, it's an American muscle car that can actually turn corners.

Not necessarily the best performance for it's price, but probably one of the best all round sports cars.

well all i can say.. is that i love cars from all countries... Ferrari's are amazing(been in many), subaru's WRX STI is just a little beast on the road, Camaro's beat mustangs hands down(sorry to all you ford fans).. i own an acura EL and love it.. hoping to replace it with an A-Spec TL..

but in my opinion.. the car is only as good as the driver.. you can have an enzo.. but if you drive like sh!t.. the car is useless...

one thing i think is hilarious by acura/honda.. is the new CSX/Civic with the paddle shift's.. the car has around 150hp.. now if they beefed up the RSX and put a v6 in it(say around 270+hp) with a 6spd paddle shift.. that car would sell like crazy.. just my idea..

A Supra with 1 big turbo + money = quick quick.

That's one hell of a mean machine. But in today's world with rocketing gas prices, American cars are . I used to be a die-hard muscle car fan, but with gas prices I like imports.

if it will smog

is that a prob anymore?

You forgot gas consumption too.

Mustang = Ugly as sin.

WRX/Lancer = Not as hot as everyone says.

Acura TL = Hot car for a 4door

But Ferrari trumps almost all in terms of consistant quality damn good looking design.

See the F430 and tell me im wrong.

Dodge SRT-4 0-60 in 5.6 seconds for about $20,000 Pretty damn good IMO

Ariel Atom

Acura TL/Honda Accord v6

I would think a focus hatchback :-|

Acura TL = 270HP, $42'000CAD
Corvette = 400HP, $67'805CAD

I dislike both of these cars, but their specs talk for them.

if you want budget then neon srt4 is pretty decent for the price