Sports car chat
- Thread starter Whaleblue
- Start date
gez
pfm Member
How would you even know.
Generally only.....
Snufkin
pfm Member
Totally wrong attitude to how it is in my experience.
Whaleblue
Southbound
Much as the picture I took last May gave an impression of what the car looks like, below is a picture that shows it rather closer to how it actually looks. A lot more 3D, as it is, particularly on sunny days.Picked up yesterday in glorious sunshine. It’s something rather special.
gez
pfm Member
Nice. Do you use it daily? or is it a visit the family, weekend blast kind of car?Much as the picture I took last May gave an impression of what the car looks like, below is a picture that shows it rather closer to how it actually looks. A lot more 3D, as it is particularly on sunny days.
CageyH
pfm Member
I used to use my car on track, hence going for a bit more power. 0-60 times are meaningless on the road, or track.
My current everyday car has 218bhp. It does not feel quick to me, but I guess it depends what you are used to. It is powerful enough for daily use. However, when I hop in the Caterham, it is like stepping into another dimension. It is not about top speed either , the car is as aerodynamic as a brick. It is about the (daft) acceleration, the grip, the handling and the feedback. I don’t understand why a car that accelerates really quickly is daft though? You don’t have to accelerate that hard all of the time.
You may think you can go round corners quickly, but drive a well sorted Caterham (or any other lightweight sports car) on a twisty road and it will redefine your idea of cornering quickly, without getting near the limits of what the car is capable of. By the way, taking the car close to the limit is something which I would not advise doing on a public road.
I have also witnessed what happens to people that decide tailgate me on a twisty road, with some interesting results. Some have kept up with me, but when I have an idiot driving in my boot I don’t go that fast, as they normally can’t stop as quickly. They seem happy to have kept up, so while spoil their fun?
I have also seen people make mistakes as their talent runs out quicker than they thought it would, fortunately without injuring themselves too badly. Just to be clear, I don’t encourage racing on the public road, so I tend to try and ignore these people, but a small, lightweight sports car seems to attract them. They are usually fairly young…
Like many cars in this thread, my car will happily break the U.K. speed limit in second gear. I can almost get there in first, but fall just short. More revs required. However, I don’t drive everywhere at 8,500 rpm, so other gears come in quite useful. The overtaking performance is incredible though. The car is also happy being driven normally, and makes driving the twisties a pleasure when in weekend cruise mode.
gez
pfm Member
I use "quickly" as a relative term. Not even close to the limits of the car, which is why it surprises me that so few people keep the same pace. As I say, I'm not (and don't consider myself) to be a skilled driver. I am driving the same roads on a regular basis though so that probably has more to do with it in all honesty.
I wouldn't consider my car quick/fast (whatever the correct term is). It's quicker than the majority of cars on the road (though obviously becoming less so every day), I only meant to say that it's quick enough to get one in to trouble legally without that much effort. I spent 10 years riding motorbikes which were twice as quick, but somehow they didn't feel it (In my experience cars feel faster than they really are, compared to motorbikes I mean).
I only meant daft (did I use that word I don't recall) in the sense that it's all over so quickly (if you're keeping within the speed limits). When I rode bikes, I stuck with middle weight bikes for exactly that reason. The times I rode faster bikes on the road I just found them frustrating once I'd gotten over the "oh wow that's quick" buzz. I'd be on the thottle then having to roll off again almost straight away. At least on my middleweights I'd get a handful of seconds full chat before having to ease off. And as I said above, for some reason a 3s 0-60 bike just doesn't feel all that quick (certainly nowhere near frightening fast at least). The thing is though, you can get away with that kind of acceleration on a motorbike, there is so much less space available on a road to exploit a cars acceleration, on bikes you come up behind another vehicle and are nearly always able to over take it, can't do that so much in a car. Not with any degree of safety anyway.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
-alan-
pfm Member
I believe there's a whole set of behaviours and unwritten protocols around how close people drive to you.
When I used to drive my old E30 325i (which was quite a fast car for its time) I never really had any bother with people getting too close behind. On the other hand, anytime I borrowed my wife (then girlfriends) little Fiat Uno - the fkrs were always all over my back bumper. Same speeds, same driving style on my part, but it was as if the Uno was an affront to their virility: track position/ being in front and not stuck behind a poxy little shopping trolley of a car became all important to them - especially the thrusty aggressive executive types in their Audis and BMWs.
The most interesting one of all was how people reacted to my Exige - confirmed by a friend of mine who also had one. Driving along any road, the first thing that happened when a car appeared behind was it would more often than not close right up to your chuff to get a close look, check it out (read the badge perhaps) and then, invariably back off to a more respectful distance. They definitely seemed to afford you a measure of respect you wouldn't have got in an Uno 45.
The other interesting thing was no matter how much you slowed down, or how big a gap you left between yourself and the cars ahead when you were in the Exige - hardly anybody ever ventured to overtake. It was as if they seemed to take the view - well if that's all the speed he's prepared to risk, I'm not going to be daft enough to try to go harder, or maybe just a case of not having him think I'm having a go
Man I miss that car at times..
Last edited:
-alan-
pfm Member
Came across about 20 Alpines in Sardinia a few months back. Cool things. I had actually started to wonder if they only came in French racing bleu..Much as the picture I took last May gave an impression of what the car looks like, below is a picture that shows it rather closer to how it actually looks. A lot more 3D, as it is, particularly on sunny days.
The Alpines are rare and quirky, that'll do for me. A breath of fresh air amongst the multitude of Audis and BMWs that frankly bore me.
I bet it's a hoot to drive @Whaleblue
I bet it's a hoot to drive @Whaleblue
Whaleblue
Southbound
On the configurator Alpine Blue looked the no-brainer option. I’d guess 80%+ of A110s on the road are that colour. In the metal I wasn’t quite so taken with it. Luckily the dealer had both an Abyss Blue and a Fire Orange car on display, both of which I preferred. The child in me kept coming back to the orange, and I’m glad it’s what I went for.
Absolutely, for me the fact that hardly anyone knows what it is, and likely as not have never seen one before, is a plus. It gets lots of glances, and the occasional thumbs up, presumably from those that do recognise it.
In a word - Yes!
richardg
Admonishtrator
Any colour but blue, white, black or grey for me with the Alpine
Whaleblue
Southbound
So Fire Orange… or £4675 for an Atelier colour!
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Agreed. For the longest time, I thought sports cars had to be RWD, uncomfortable and totally impractical. Then I test-drove the latest Honda Civic Type R. That may not be viewed as a sports car by some, but holding the crown for fastest FWD around the 'Ring must qualify it for me. It doesn't handle like a typical understeering FWD, offers more practicality than other 'affordable' hot-hatches and looks a bit more grown up. I'm seriously tempted.