My sister and I recently snagged an invite to the Porsche Driving Experience where they let you take some of the new 911s and 718s out on the track in a lead-follow config and they had a timed auto-x in the Macan GTS.
I have a lot of track day and racing experience, but this was new for my sister, and she really got into it. Her auto-x time was in the top 30% and she's never done an auto-x before. She loved driving out on the real track and has been asking me what it would take to get a track toy out there.
She was partial to a 'M1 or M3 convertible', until she realized that M cars are way more expensive than she expected, and that while Porsche was fine with convertibles for a relatively low-speed lead follow, buying a convertible as a track toy wasn't the best idea without a permanent roll bar. She also says that she wants an automatic (I know, we're working on that). She is looking for a car that is 75% weekend cruiser, 25% track toy. She has a new truck as a daily driver.
So I started looking at some 135is, and went down the rabbit hole of the maintenance nightmare that the N54 is. That said, you can pick up a 135i for pennies, save some cash for inevitable repairs, and from what I recall when I used to do track days - they were very capable cars on the track. I've owned BMWs (e34, e36, e46) so I'm familiar with the upkeep.
Any better choices? I'm trying to keep it to $5k purchase + $2500 in maintenance/trackprep/tires. All of the typical track day beater toys (E36, Miata, WRX, etc) aren't viable track cars unless they have a manual.
I've offered to let her get some seat time in my 944 Chumpcar, but she's not ready to jump out onto the track in a manual car until she's had some street practice.
I have a lot of track day and racing experience, but this was new for my sister, and she really got into it. Her auto-x time was in the top 30% and she's never done an auto-x before. She loved driving out on the real track and has been asking me what it would take to get a track toy out there.
She was partial to a 'M1 or M3 convertible', until she realized that M cars are way more expensive than she expected, and that while Porsche was fine with convertibles for a relatively low-speed lead follow, buying a convertible as a track toy wasn't the best idea without a permanent roll bar. She also says that she wants an automatic (I know, we're working on that). She is looking for a car that is 75% weekend cruiser, 25% track toy. She has a new truck as a daily driver.
So I started looking at some 135is, and went down the rabbit hole of the maintenance nightmare that the N54 is. That said, you can pick up a 135i for pennies, save some cash for inevitable repairs, and from what I recall when I used to do track days - they were very capable cars on the track. I've owned BMWs (e34, e36, e46) so I'm familiar with the upkeep.
Any better choices? I'm trying to keep it to $5k purchase + $2500 in maintenance/trackprep/tires. All of the typical track day beater toys (E36, Miata, WRX, etc) aren't viable track cars unless they have a manual.
I've offered to let her get some seat time in my 944 Chumpcar, but she's not ready to jump out onto the track in a manual car until she's had some street practice.
