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[Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2000 issue of Grassroots Motorsports, before today’s GPS lap-timing software was commonly available–so, sorry, no lap times.]
Picture if you will a place, somewhere between time and space, where your wildest motoring fantasies become reality. Imagine yourself on a desolate stretch of asphalt, a lonely locale betwixt Los Angeles and …
Hot and Affordable New cars
I won’t lie to you. I just had to drive the supercharged Jaguar XKR, Infiniti Q45T, BMW 750iL and the Lexus GC L Sport prototype. The cars are just too tempting to pass up. However, considering that these cars were not really within the demographic matrix of most of our readers, or within my personal budget for that matter, I spent most of my time driving genuine grassroots performance cars.
As it turned out, I was very pleased that I spent most of my time driving the smaller performance cars. They were a ball to drive. Moreover, after having spent almost 20 years racing at Willow Springs, it was fun reeling in some of the big VS supercars with the faster of the little pocket rockets. So, here is a quick-and-dirty analysis of how the more impressive small performance cars performed at the Willow Springs race track.
BMW 323Ci Coupe
In a word, “balance.” Nearly perfect balance. A 170-horsepower engine for power, a slick five-speed to make the power usable, superb brakes and legendary BMW handling.
The 323 has a 2.5-liter engine (not 2.3 liters as the numerical designation might lead one to believe). It puts out 180 f1.-lbs. of torque and it pulled very well up the steep hill between the second and third turns at Willow Springs–and this hill is a monster.
A slight throttle lift at the top of the hill allowed the neutral-handling 323Ci Coupe to rotate predictably arid hit the downhill corner apex with precision. Even through the fast Turn 8 to 9 sweepers, the 323 stayed well balanced and stable. At around 30 grand, this has to be the best deal ever on a new BMW.
VW New Beetle 1.8 Turbo
With the cute VW New Beetle advertisements, it might be easy to dismiss the Beetle Turbo as a fun novelty car. Don’t you believe it. Driven properly, this car flat hauls.
Having just driven the Beetle’s more powerful sibling, the 176-horsepower Jetta VR6 GLS, l was not quite sure what to expect from the 150-horsepower Beetle. I certainly did not expect it to be as fast or as stable at speed as it was.
For a front-wheel-driver, this car took a solid set under high-speed trail braking as I executed turn-in going into the fast first turn at Willow Springs. It stayed neutral through the first turn, needed just a little coaxing to stay on line through the off-camber Turn 2 sweeper, and the Beetle Turbo pulled the hill like it had much more than 150 horsepower. Now, if only the New Beetle 1.8T had a lower e.g. and all-wheel-drive, it would be ideal.
Audi TT Quattro Coupe
Aha! Built on the same chassis as the Beetle, but with a 180-horsepower turbo engine, a lower center of gravity and allwheel-drive, this Audi TT Coupe just might be the ticket.
Okay, so your teenagers will have to tilt their heads a little when mom drives them to school since there’s so little headroom in the back. With a car that looks this cool and handles this well, trust me on this, your kids will make the sacrifice. You can run down quite a few of the VS luxocars with this bad boy, and you won’t even work up a sweat. The Audi TT is the real deal.
But what about that alleged “tail step-out” under trail braking? Hey, all you whining Europeans, I thought you knew how to drive high-performance cars! You want this car to drive itself? Seriously, the Audi TT Coupe felt stable and very predictable, even coming off the infamous fast sweeper-to-decreasing-radius Turn 9 at Willow.
Subaru lmpreza 2.5 RS
Here is an all-wheel-drive car with room for four adults, good suspension and a boy-racer body treatment that will save you the cost of any aftermarket add-ons. While its 165-horsepower engine is not quite as strong as the Audi TT’s, neither is its price. The Impreza 2.5 RS is a hoot to drive and it should appeal to anyone who lives where it rains or snows much of the year.
The perfect rally fantasy street machine, the Impreza 2.5 would have a most impressive grassroots cult following if Subaru would add a “T” to the back side of the “RS” designation-and install the appropriate turbo under the hood to back its play.
Honda Civic Si
With a 160-horsepower baby VTEC engine, this Honda is the perfect entry-level performance car and the dominant car in SCCA’s Showroom Stock C class. A very fast little car, with an engine that winds up like a small-bore formula car. With a slightly larger set of wheels and tires, this Civic would be even more remarkable than it already is.
I have to admit, however, I probably would have been even more impressed with the stock Civic Si if I had not just driven Jackson Racing’s forced-induction Civic Si, which produces about 65 more horsepower. In addition, Jackson’s Civic sported 15-inch wheels, low-profile tires, performance springs, heavier anti-roll bars and sport shocks.
Hey, here’s an idea: For the price of a decent luxury compact, you too could own a Jackson Racing minitouring car that has the potential to embarrass the average Ferrari 348 owner at your local track days. Of course, it is all a question of priorities, and how badly you want to humiliate another human being who has dreamed and saved all his life to buy a Ferrari. Do you really want to burst this person’s bubble? Yeah, baby!
Acura lntegra Type R
A friend of mine has an Acura lntegra GS-R and he calls it his “appliance.” He calls it this because it is dead reliable, handles impeccably and does everything that he asks it to do without effort. Okay, if the 170-horsepower Integra GS-R is an appliance, the 195-horsepower lntegra Type R has to be the “super appliance.”
Deceptively fast and easy to drive, the lntegra Type R is the perfect car to get if you need the endorsement of your spouse. Sales points for your spouse, List A: Acura prestige, Acura reliability, low maintenance costs, four seat practicality, five-speed fuel economy, easy to park at Costco. Sales points for you, List B: Great acceleration, great brakes, great gearbox, great high- and low-speed turn-in, nimble autocross car, an ideal car to set up for SCCA racing once the new-car smell has worn off.
Mazda Miata
The Miata is not new, but it is the perennial king of the SSB road racers, a great autocross car and one of the truly fun roadsters to own. Its excellent balance, good power-to-weight ratio (2200 pounds/140 horsepower), great handling and high cornering speeds make it a wise choice for SCCA competition.
In the sport of horse jumping, they call a well-prepared, easy-to-ride horse “push button.” Honest. Predictable. Almost always certain to win its class. The Miata is as close to a “push button race car” as you will ever find. It can be driven quickly by a wide range of competitors. It has great balance, strong brakes and it maintains momentum through the corners. Historically, the Miata has proven that it is almost certain to win its division in SCCA racing and that it is the best bet to get you to the Runoffs year after year.
However, if many drivers can drive a Miata fast, there are always going to be a few talented drivers who can drive it just a little bit faster. The trick with the Miata is to find the edge on every comer on every lap without stepping over it. Maintaining momentum is the key to winning races with the Miata. You are not likely to come back in the Showroom Stock B “Miata Spec Race” at the Runoffs if you make any early mistakes; however, if you are a fast, smooth and well disciplined driver, the Miata is ideal for you.
Toyota Celica GT-S
With its new 180-horsepower, variablecam-timing-engine and six-speed gear box, the Celica GT-S was the most significant new car I drove at the MPG Track Days. It took Toyota a while to make a car to rival the VTEC Hondas and Acuras, but they did it and then “one upped” Honda by offering the six-speed manual gearbox as standard on the GT-S.
While not as quick at corner turn-in as the Integra R or Miata, the GT-S took a nice set and pulled strongly through all of the corners at Willow Springs. Moreover, the gearbox made the high-end powerband of the engine very usable throughout the entire circuit.
If it weren’t for the fact that Toyota publicly introduced the Celica GT-S the day after the SCCA Runoffs, and thus could not present a GT-S with a competition trunk kit to SCCA, I would have considered the GT-S a serious threat to end the Miata’s reign in SSB at the Runoffs.
Even without a trunk kit, but with its good handling and strong power, the GT-S may still present a real challenge to the Miatas. While it gives up 300 pounds in weight penalties to the Miata, the Celica GT-S has an offsetting horsepower advantage. The questions of tire and brake longevity during competition are also unknowns, but the GT-S looks to be a legitimate contender for SSB honors on many SCCA race tracks.
Honda S2000 Roadster
I had to wait most of the day to get into the S2000 roadster, but it was worth the wait. With its 2.0-liter, 240-horsepower engine, the Honda had some serious power when you kept the revs up properly. The short-throw, five-speed gearbox and the brakes were excellent, as was the handling. Personally, I would have preferred a little stiffer shock absorbers, but that was the singular element I would have changed on the Honda S2000 roadster.
The perfect end to a perfect day: Driving the S2000 around Willow on MPG Track Days. Fantasies just don’t get better than this. Well yes, I guess Claudia Schiffer could have been seated next to me. Okay, you win: Your fantasies are better than mine. Reality for mine, however, is as close as the nearest automobile dealership.
