[Shaolin Crane]

Originally Posted by Vettezuki

Uh, that's pretty much what he said.

Sorta, there are plenty of cars that are labeled as "fast" that were never intended to be as such. And vice versa.

What I was getting at is it seems that Domestics are the benchmark for comparing vehicles. A new car comes out and it's immediately compared to domestic options

[94cobra69ss396]

Originally Posted by Vettezuki

BTW, ever seen an Ariel Atom or Caterham (Lotus 7 knockoff), or any Lotus for that matter? I would think they would all be pretty fast on a track, especially tighter more technical ones.

I haven't seen an Ariel Atom in person but I've run faster times then both a Caterham and a supercharged Lotus Elise at a CSW autocross. I'm not sure about the Caterham but the Elise could have been faster with a different driver. The owner was a really nice guy though and let Phil and I sit in the car. I was surprised how much room there was for such a little car. Even at 6'5" Phil had plenty of room. It was also one of the most beautiful Elises I've ever seen. It looked a lot like this one with a splitter and wing.

[BADDASSC6]

I've seen Atoms at the track they were ok. Disclaimer is that I haven't seen the V8 atom.

Elise's are fast. I have a nice video at the roval with a 211 it was fast. They are faster than I am at the smaller tracks (really only buttonwillow).

Caterhams are fast. They are a dark horse because you never know what you're going to get. At Buttonwillow or the streets they pretty much dominate. They run with the Radicals.

I am not super fast at buttonwillow since I kinda stopped going. I'm planning of making some trips there since it puts a lot less strain on the car.

[Vettezuki]

The V8 Atom looks completely insane. Until very recently it had the fastest ET on Top Gear, which is now held by a Pagani Huyara. The Huyara is only about 1 second slower than the Aston Martin Lemans race car from a few years back!

I've never seen a Radical in the states. Unlike the UK, I think it's impossible for them to be street legal, though I don't know who would want to. The Caterham and Atom look like they'd be ok to drive on the streets at least in small amounts.

What about a Noble? They have all the parameters for being fast. I know you've mentioned GTM as being all around similar to Vettes right?

[BADDASSC6]

Their are actually a lot of radicals in the states. They are a fast and relatively affordable track car. GTM, Nobles, the new superlite are all the same. They are about on par with a track only vette. All of the kit cars vary greatly depending on how much $$$$ was dropped into them. Could be an LS2 COuld be a TT C5R block.

I have seen a noble at the track and the GTM. GTM was faster noble was slower than my car. The GTM was an actual race car though.

[Vettezuki]

So, Carlos shows up to a Phoenix International Raceway and there are

Vettes
GTRs
GT3s
GTMs
Nobles
Atoms
Elises
Caterhams
Evos

Without knowing anymore than makes and models, based on past experience, who would you pick as the likely No. 1 for ET?

[BADDASSC6]

Phoenix International Raceway doesn't have drag racing and it's much tighter than the Roval so:

1) GT3 RS 4.0 / Caterham
2) GTR
3) Regular GT3
4)Vette
5)Atom / Noble / GTM
6) Evo

If this was Drag racing:

1) GTR
2) Vette
3) GTM
4) Everyone else doesn't matter.

You would know who is serious pretty quickly even before the cars hit the track based on mods though.

[Vettezuki]

The GTM really seems like a great total performance value. For well under $50k in you can be stomping around pretty good at the track and strip. Look pretty cool too. Though you can get a C6Z in great condition for well under $50k too.

[BADDASSC6]

I would to with the c6z just because it's a known quantity. I will say that if you want to go racing the GTM is awesome because it comes with a NASA cert cage

[Vettezuki]

are you falling project 818 at all? that looks like it might be an extreme high value track car.