'Ring Weapon of Choice?

[MikeLenoch5]

Hey guys,

hopefully I will be studying abroad this fall and next spring at the Goethe Institut Frankfurt -- only about an hour away from the fabled Nürburgring Nordschleife.

The plan is to choose a Euro-market-only (by that, I mean a car never released in the 'States) car to daily drive while living at Frankfurt and to also use on the 'Ring during weekends. Ultimately, the plan is to bring said car back to my native Chicago.

I want something sporty, light, relatively reliable, affordable to maintain, manual, economical, on the small side -- and most importantly of all, hopefully not another BMW. I've shared an E36 and an E90 and owned three E30s of my own. I'm ready to experience something new!

My maximum price range is roughly 7,000€, so no Lancia Delta Integrale Evos!

Think outside the box -- hopefully this can be fun for you all to play with the idea if you were doing this dream trip yourselves!

Vielen Dank!

[travish325]

By the title I thought for a sec you were talking about a fighting ring, and which weapon you should use. Hahahaha


Flawless victory!

[twolitresix]

There arent many cars that were never for sale in the us, and most of them surely are little fwd-econoboxes... You said no bmw, but the e36 euro M3 still has one hell of an engine ;)

[ELVA164]

Maserati 250F, but you'll have to rent it for that price.

[dannyyisntt]

E30

[Roysneon]

There arent many cars that were never for sale in the us, and most of them surely are little fwd-econoboxes... You said no bmw, but the e36 euro M3 still has one hell of an engine ;)

This. You'd basically be looking at higher performance, rare versions of cars we did get.

I'd be looking more into getting a world market Japanese car like a Celica GT-4 or a Pulsar GTi-R.

[MikeLenoch5]

There arent many cars that were never for sale in the us, and most of them surely are little fwd-econoboxes... You said no bmw, but the e36 euro M3 still has one hell of an engine ;)

What you call "econobox," I call "hot hatch."

Whatever you call 'em, they fit my parameters perfectly. I've been looking at Renault Clio Sports.

[nando]

how much are Euro E36 M3s? the S50B30 and S50B32 are both powerful and very reliable. plus, I bet E36s are pretty damn cheap in Germany.

[pandaboo911]

Euro e36 m3. They are cheap, but insurance and registration are fcking expensive for them. (large displacement, emissions)

[AndrewBird]

Ford Escort Cosworth?

[Wh33lhop]

So you want to get a european-market only car that is impossible to federalize and import it into the US? You may want to rethink this strategy...

Furthermore, how experienced of a driver are you? People crash on the ring. A lot. I might suggest a rental the first few times around, with full walkaway insurance.

[10Toes]

25 yo and you won't have to federalize it.

[2mAn]

I rented a Polo GTi and it was a blast, a little too much understeer but that was my fault

[MikeLenoch5]

25 yo and you won't have to federalize it.

Precisely.

[MikeLenoch5]

So you want to get a european-market only car that is impossible to federalize and import it into the US? You may want to rethink this strategy...

Furthermore, how experienced of a driver are you? People crash on the ring. A lot. I might suggest a rental the first few times around, with full walkaway insurance.

Not especially experienced, but I do TT with NASA.

This is why I'd prefer to get a slower car for low money, then I can modify it as my skills improve.