What "Company Track Car" Edition.

Jaynen wrote: I don't know. As a track car the GT-R is fast but numb. I suppose it would be good for giving people rides and it is forgiving but it lacks something for me. The more I see of them the more pedestrian they look. I would vote E90 M3 Sedan because then you can take 3 passengers out and give them a ride they won't ever forget. It meets the requirements of appealing on status, luxury, and performance Otherwise I would go with something P-car probably 911 because again I think it is more visually evocative and has more of a performance/racing heritage. Non-gearheads are not going to appreciate a GTR and even then it mostly appeals to technophiles and geek culture

Yeah, that's something to consider.. I'm not sure the legalities of taking more than one passenger out on track.

Still, the E90 M3 seems like a contender. P-cars are not bad too!

'Vette

It depends on what you are selling. Which I am still not entirely sure what it is but it sounds like high end resell of vehicles themselves?

In which case this car needs to be something that appeals to the peoples wives/girlfriends/friends who might not be car people as well as the car people themselves which again reinforces my thought that it should be something even a non car person would recognize as being special

Maybe a Panamera :P

If I was selling Luxury I would go German If I was selling something strongly American I would go Vette If I was selling Energy Drinks or Video Games I would go GTR

Jaynen wrote: I don't know. As a track car the GT-R is fast but numb. I suppose it would be good for giving people rides and it is forgiving but it lacks something for me. The more I see of them the more pedestrian they look.

wow, sounds like you have some track time in them. How seat time do you have in a GTR.

I am saving my pennies for my mid-life crisis.

You are thinking too boring.

Used Supercharged Atom2 ($45k)

Ultima GT-R ($40k)

Noble M400 ($50k)

Exige S2 ($50k)

Used Radical SR4 ($50k)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006-Elise-Targa-Top-Extremely-Low-Miles-Nice-Car-/321044839710?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4abfc37d1e

C5/C6, Elise/Exige, Noble M400 are good suggestions. The Radical, Atom and Ultima are uncomfortable and not so good for rides, and not the kind of thing your target demographic would be interested in.

The GTR's quick, no doubt, and would fit your target demographic, but it's been done to death and it's like the space shuttle - hyper-complicated, costly to maintain, hard on consumables, has to deal with a lot of heat, oh and quite large and heavy

Toyobarus are probably what your customers would consider an underpowered car for poor people

Nothing will have the impact for the $$$ that an early Z06 will. With sticky tires, even at autocross speeds, your customers will experience G-Forces they never felt before. Visually, they are pretty striking, and keeping it running should not be too expensive. Even the purchase price is pretty reasonable these days. It is a great "gateway" car to push your potential customers to purchasing something serious.

If taking passengers for a ride around the track is a priority, keep their comfort in mind. Particularly small cars (Miata, etc.) won't work well for that because there are some people who simply don't fit into them. A Vette could work, or a 911. Maybe an Evora, though I've never seen one up close myself.

Sounds like a great job for an M5, though. It's good enough to be the 'Ring Taxi. I've also been one of four people in one (E39) at an autocross. At 6', I was perfectly comfortable - in the back seat, helmet and all.

I'm with white and nerdy, it should be a 4 passenger car with 4 doors. M3, M5, CTS-V, G8 GXP,... to maximize the smiles per miles. With a good driver and a prepped 10-15 year old rwd sedan, it should be an easy sell...

The car should probably be paddle/auto shifted so that anyone can drive it too.

Cayman/Boxster or 3/5 series BMW.. Good combination of prestige, looks and ability. I'd lean toward Cayman for what I'd want to drive. BMW for what you're likely to sell.

Jaynen wrote: I don't know. As a track car the GT-R is fast but numb. I suppose it would be good for giving people rides and it is forgiving but it lacks something for me. The more I see of them the more pedestrian they look. I would vote E90 M3 Sedan because then you can take 3 passengers out and give them a ride they won't ever forget. It meets the requirements of appealing on status, luxury, and performance Otherwise I would go with something P-car probably 911 because again I think it is more visually evocative and has more of a performance/racing heritage. Non-gearheads are not going to appreciate a GTR and even then it mostly appeals to technophiles and geek culture

Having been passed like I was standing still by several GT-R's on the track, I politely disagree. That thing is an all out animal. Yes, it is numb, and yes it does create a large human error margin, but holy balls is that thing fast on course.

I agree though on the status symbol part though. The E9x series M3, both in stature, sound, and luxury is a better package if you are going to be doing ridealongs and such.

Finally, if you're just looking to terrify passengers at DE's, I definitely vote Viper.

Would you share more details on what your company does? I am always interested in hearing about automotive related businesses.

As for what car, I agree with other posters that it should be based on what manufacturer ponies up. Could be an M3, a 'Vette, a CTS-V, etc. Maybe even a GT-R, but I'd pick whichever one plays ball.

I would also work on supporting sponsors. At a minimum, sign up Michelin, Yokohama, Pirelli or some tire company. Add their logo and get free tires in return. You could even look for other "premium" companies that would like to advertise to your clientele, who, presumably, have quite a bit of disposable income. Anything to offset the cost of the program!

You want something with a low consumables cost if possible. This is going to be more important than the upfront cost.

If you want to sell the idea more or encourage sponsorship you should also plan all the events you will take the car to and make a calendar IE cars and coffee every weds, local SCCA auto X on day X Y Z, open track day 1,2,3. Besides the events your company may host themselves