Ferrari or BMW i8 or Lotus Evora

I have a '15 NC Miata. I switched the floaty stock suspension for Flyin' Miata's Fox coilover package, and it was a transformative change. It's available for the ND chassis/Fiat as well.

 

Excellent taste As for your mods, I'm sure they made a huge difference. Obviously, in stock form the NC suspension had some roll (though it didn't feel as pronounced as the ND), nonetheless, it was absurdly fun to drive. It reminded me of my MGB with the added benefit that it's emergency handling wasn't entirely unpredictable. With my MGB, once you load up those leaf springs mid corner and have to make a sudden course correction...you find G@d real quick

Of all the cars I have ever owned, I still think the Miata was the only car that did EXACTLY what I wanted it to do every time all the time. I felt superhuman driving that thing on the backroads. Despite being down hundreds of horsepower to some of my buddies cars, it hung tight and always gave them a serious run for their money. I really loved that car. Unfortunately, my back did not, so the love affair lasted less than a year. However, I did sell it for a very small profit...which generally does not happen with modern cars, so I even remember our parting well!

Everyone should own a Miata at some point, its a good way to properly calibrate what you should be able to expect from a sports car. One row through a Miata gearbox, for example, and you will not accept some of the crap offered in cars costing three times as much.

 

FWIW, I wouldn't be too concerned about parts availability in the foreseeable future. Under federal law, manufacturers are required to provide ample parts to support vehicles for a minimum of 8 years after production. A large company like BMW will likely hold inventory well beyond that. As for future repairs, I have a general rule that I NEVER own a german car out of warranty. So, if I were looking at an i8, I would look at a CPO only and keep it only as long as BMW is paying the bill. I have had Audis, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche...and that rule has served me well!

As for cabin reverberation, I honestly don't know what you are referring to, but in the end, all the matters is that you find the car that is right for you. I agree it is a great time to be a car guy...

 

I am not surprised you liked the Corvette, it is a great car. You can get 14% fairly easily (even more depending on time of year at stock situation) I bought mine from Kerbeck in Atlantic City, they are the largest Corvette dealer and always have a lot of cars in stock. Though I also do not know what reverberation you talking about in the i8, mine is too quiet for my tastes most of the time. I have had one issue with mine and it was fixed in less than a day. BMW has a special I team in customer service and they are very responsive to i8 owners. I think you probably owe it to yourself to at least test drive an Evora 400, others are right it is a very nice car. I just bought my girlfriend a 718 Cayman S and it is quite a drivers car, not quite a raw as my 4C but still much more than 99% of people will ever need. According to the car mags it can also hit 60 in anywhere from 3.6 to 3.8 sec, which it not exactly slow either (not that my girlfriend will be trying that ever). Yesterday I drove it and my Miata RF (as I said my RF has coil overs, new lighter wheels and tires, headers, exhaust, tune, short shift kit, custom made steering wheel), and I could have bought 3 of them for the price of the Porsche. That RF gets more looks than a Porsche or a Corvette around here, I think people are still trying to figure out what it is. I still think the Cali is a nice car for your needs or the AMG GT would be another car to drive. I admire your mission to go drive all these cars, dumb me just buys them (many times without driving them) figuring I can fix whatever is wrong after I get it home.

 

New & Used cars in the same general market:
comparison with Cali/i8: V12 Vantage (manual available); AMG GTS; MP4-12C; 911 turbo(s); NSX
comparison with Evora 911 GT3; Viper; GTR; GT350R; ZL1

From what I've read, the Evora 400 is supposed to be a great car and nothing like the previous generation.

 

I expect a new car to start and the dealer to honor the warranty. I talked to the sales manager and the GM. He just would not come get my car or fix it. He said his hands were tied with a sale of the marque. I did not want to bother so I dumped the car.

I agree with your point of warranty obligations. If they day no, what options do you have except law suits which I did not want to bother with. It was much easier to sell the car.

Best
Lee

 

Well I am adding an Evora 400 (gearshift) as soon as the prices drop to where I want them. I just cant resist. I have never cared much about warranty (usually my cars are too modified to ever see the dealer again) or resale, but I think the Lotus we have all come to know will be gone forever soon. I would not be surprised to see Lotus leave the U.S entirely.

 

I think/hope new chinese owners will want lotus to have big usa presence. Maybe they can do for lotus what tata did with jaguar

 

That would be incredible. Tata has done such a job with Jaguar. Lotus already has great pedigree, a product renaissance would be much welcome!

 

Sad to say I think the opposite is the case they have no interest in Lotus itself they bought this for other reasons. I think Lotus will likely leave the U.S. and maybe other markets as well. Remember you are not dealing with car lovers, you are dealing with profit as consideration number 1,2, & 3, and Lotus is certainly not that and will likely never be.

 

I bought a GT3 a couple months ago. Did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do but the car has incredible handling. It's not the quickest in my garage but it is so much fun to drive. No convertible though. Same for the GT-R. For the price, you can't beat the performance and hop-ups are so cheap compared to other cars, if you want to go that route.

 

Jag maintaining Lucas-era rep ...?
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Maybe im just lucky but about 20 yrs and 7 range rovers with 0 problems. And over 2 yrs fiat 500 same thing.

 

I don't know how closely you follow Lotus, but for the 2017 model year it launched an updated version of the Evora called the Evora 400. It comes standard with a six speed manual transmission; an automatic is available as well (but don't bother because it's a conventional automatic, not a DCT, and doesn't come with the Torsen limited-slip diff that the manual does).

Unfortunately the Evora 400 hasn't received a lot of press, but what it has received has been very positive. It's lighter and more powerful than the outgoing regular Evora/Evora S models, and the rocker sills have been redesigned so getting in and out is easier (although I got to sit in a regular Evora last year, and it wasn't anywhere as difficult to get in and out of as an Elise). It looks very exotic and, despite its relatively humble powerplant (a Toyota V6), it sounds absolutely amazing; in my opinion it's one of the best-sounding cars on the market today. Sadly I think the few Lotus dealerships that were in NC have closed, but there's one in the Greenville, SC area that has a few Evora 400s in stock, and if you have the chance, I'd definitely recommend checking it out.