I hate to say it because I drool over the car, but IIRC 4 Ferrari 458 Italia's caught fire when owners tracked them because of the over-heating of some kind of glue from the rear. This is from one of the Top Gear Episodes where James selected a 458, Jeremy selected an SLS, and Hammond selected a GT3RS to take the US to go around a Nascar oval. Not sure what season it is, but it's on Netflix :tup:

Yeah I do remember that, but I don't know if it was specifically from taking them to the track or it just happened during normal street driving.

It's listed on Netflix under Series 15: Episode 7 :tup:

:drama::drama:

You're late with the popcorn. Pretty much everything has been hugged out:roflpuke2:

Is there anyway we can knock this thread down? Its in the way of relevant 370Z threads. Perhaps move it to off topic or somewhere else?

M3 is the only REAL sports car under 100K left..

STRONG second post.

blah blah blah, Prius is the only sports car that can get 50mpg+

Only gets 17mpgs driven hard though!

:roflpuke2:

Ahhh!! Wipes tears from eyes

I needed that

Guess AGAIN!!!! where's that popcorn!!!

You don't need gas to bench race.

Btw, what do you think a M3 and Z gets when driven hard. It's not pretty either.

Just a high speed internet connection and a desire to troll:rofl2:

The M3 is a slow sorry excuse of a "sports" car. What a porker.


:wtf2:

Sports cars are lighter and small. Since the Prius is smaller and lighter by 700lbs, Prius wins. End of bench race

The only real pure sports car is the Ariel Atom :p

:icon18:

Blades has a point...that is a pretty damn pure sports car!! Are those road legal?

I don't think so. At least not in the US.

From their website:

:(

Yet we still see them show up at cars & coffee events and such. :tup:
Illegal....pssssh, who cares.

How do you guys think the 370 compares to a M3 on a road course? Im assuming with a nismo 370, a stock for stock drag race is pretty even.but sports cars are generally regarded for roadcourse , since, well, its what the roads are really like, with turns. And im a fan of drag racing. but to put a car down because it costs more than your car, and offers more than your car, is ridiculous.

have you been in one? im not trolling, it was the first thread that caught my attention, because of the title obviously. And then it turned into a whats a sports car battle. well, as NOT having an M3, i can tell you. For a purpose built car that can tackle any kind of racing right off the floor, its the best bang for the buck

No, the M3 is not the best bang for the buck, it is not even in the top 5 anymore.

so what is? and according to who?

C6 Grand sport - 54k
Boss 302 - 40k
GT500 - 49k

That is just off the top of my head, can throw in some Lotus or a couple other euro cars before I would even consider a M3 for any track purpose. Sorry, you want to go back 6-10 years for the M3 then yes it was probably a top 3 pick, not even close right now.

:iagree:

so, based on your judgement, not actual hard data like #'s, you really believe a GT500 can outperform the M3 in a roadcourse?

I do concur with the new 5.0 though, that thing is rather impressive.

lotus? power and handling. It seems as though your are pickin cars that have A. more power, or B. good handling

but not the COMBINATION of both. hence for the money, the M3 still is a top competitor in the top 5.

Add to that Daily driver duty status, and the margin between M3 taking a lead, and the competition gets even bigger. sure a C6 can do it all well, but have you ridden in one of those? cheap platsic interior is not comfortable.

so I ask again, is this your feelings, or do you have data? Driver and #'s are always going to be different. but if you a budget of less than 100K, and wanted a car that can do EVERYTHING you wanted. and not just do it, but do it better than most. would you still pick those cars you tried to mention?

While I'm up, would anyone else care for some popcorn?

Thank you for adding another to my list, the 5.0 Mustang: 2011 BMW M3 Coupe vs. 2011 Ford Mustang GT Comparison - Motor Trend
The 5.0 is the slowest of the three, 5.0/Boss 302/GT500, all three which can take the M3 and be daily driven.

Lotus has power and handling so not just picking one or the other. Interior on GM is your opinion, you wanted a track ready car for the price. The C6 Grand sport fits that, if you want I can throw in the Z06 and just tear the M3 to shreds.

Honestly, the M3 is a great daily driver but is not a track ready car from the factory for the price you pay. Look at the numbers, the times of any of the cars listed, the M3 is not what it use to be.

Can I get some skittles?

Lightning lap times.

28 3:04.0 FORD MUSTANG SHELBY GT500 LL2 2/11
29 3:04.2 CADILLAC CTS-V COUPE LL3 2/11
30 3:04.5 LOTUS EXIGE S LL3 8/07
31 3:05.4 BMW M3 COUPE LL2 2/10

For sure, diet coke as well?

what about the 5.0?

why is that you guys feel the need to NOT have an actual discussion? because my views differ from yours? If i wanted to troll i would be arguing how MY car is better than others yada yada. put the Ego aside and converse. I could always say something retrded , like, "your 370z wasnt even on yor own list of cars, so why are you even arguing this? but im not that type of guy. besides. I have enough forum wars going on around here with enough 370's as it is..

there we go, some data. where is the 5.0 on that list BTW?

and yes, you did prove me wrong on the GT500

Because the M3 is not in the top list of bang for buck performance cars. Care to discuss the lightning lap times?

You'll note that the Exige still managed to beat the bimmer despite VIR being perhaps the worst track for an Exige.


EDIT: Your reply just showed up

44 3:08.6 ford mustang gt 5.0

got a link to where that data is posted. id like to see it.

id also like to see prices on all those cars, and lap times of all of them. not just the bests