Hi, I love track days and try to attend as many as my schedule permits. I'm currently wrapping up my first year and am an intermediate driver. I drive a Giulia QV on the track (which I do love) but it's a heavy car.
I'm considering options for next season and am thinking I could sell giulia and buy a used Mclaren 650S or keep Giulia and buy a Ginetta G56 GTA as a dedicated track car.
Thoughts on either option? Thanks!
The 650S is a lot of car for a fairly new track driver, and in this league I'm not sure if running costs are a concern, but the 650S would have the highest running costs of the bunch by a significant margin. I'd say running a G56 GTA on track would be better from a driver development standpoint.
I think a Mclaren would have much more potential for mechanical issues. Missing events because your car is broken is no fun.
At that budget level, I would definitely be inclined to go with a dedicated track car over a very high performance street car. When we had our ZL1 Camaro, it was amazing, but I was a little uncomfortable with the lack of safety gear at the speeds the car was capable of on track. Also, something with less power will help develop driving skills... not saying you need to buy a spec Miata (though it would probably be faster than your Giulia), but something like an E46 or C5 race car would have a lot of potential with lower overall costs.
Was the 650 the car that got known for needing the trans changed almost as much as you change the oil?
Also if I seem to remember McLaren voids all warranty on their cars if it even sets a tire on a racing surface.
The first time you slide a Mclaren into the gravel and have to repaint a panel will cost more than a Spec Miata and two years of running costs. And you'll learn more, faster, and be a better driver. >Then< figure out your next track car.
Do research. Lots of weird issues with mclarens because they are a new manufacturer. I was looking into 570s and one thing i read said they repeated crack their rear windows.
No direct experience with either, but I know we had to retire the McLarens from the Xtreme Xperience fleet due to reliability. From my understanding, it wasn't so much the main mechanicals, it was often silly little British electronic bits that were only available from McLaren and took 6 to 8 weeks to get. That was before my time with XX, though.
I know one person who runs a 650 for a dedicated track car and she complains about the cost and reliability. This is a someone in the high 8s, low 9 figures in net worth so that is saying something.
At this price point there is a million other things that you could run and be happy with.
Next time you're at a track day, count how many British cars you see in the paddock. Consider that there may be a reason for that number.
Unless you're a glutton for punishment and have buckets of money to light on fire, I can think of many other cars that would be better in that price range. And I'm also a big fan of dedicated track cars if you really see yourself committing to the hobby. A whole world of opportunity opens up when you eliminate the requirement to be street legal.
The simple answer is a c8.
In reply to dean1484 :
So long as the dealership checks the car before/after, the warranty is maintained- but I'm sure this would get old quickly.
This is all incredibly helpful and unanimous feedback- I'll stay away from the McLaren!!! Sounds like a very costly headache that I would regret.
Other than needing to buy a trailer, it sounds like a dedicated race car would be much better than something like a C8 Z06?
Thanks again
In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :
As Ginetta is also British- should I also avoid then?
Read a bit on C8 Corvettes before purchasing one. There are more than a few engine and transaxle issues out there.
Again as mentioned before, what is your end goal for running track days? is it learning to become a better driver, learn and hone a skill and eventually go "wheel-to-wheel" racing? Or is it to buy a fast car and show up at the track and drive as fast as the car can go? These are 2 wildly different ways of spending a day at the track. Just because a person, any person, can afford a fast or expensive car, doesn't mean that they have the skill set to drive said car. I'm not saying that is ou since I don't know you, I'm just making an overall statement. I did trackdays for decades and driver instruction as well. The hardest and most frustrating days at the were the ones when one of my students was nothing more than a guy/girl with a BIG checkbook, BIG ego and little driving talent (unbeknownst to them).
The best way to become a better driver is to buy a car, any car that will make it an entire day or days on-track with no need for mechanical maintenance. When spending the day at the track, you should concentrate on learning, not wrenching. Start out with a relatively slow modified street car(suspension and rollcage) and just learn to drive it. You don't need to spend big $$$ to but a track worthy car. The gang here will say to buy a Miata and a Spec Miata will be the best way to get going. What an SM will do is prove to almost anyone how good they AREN'T ! What I mean is that SM has raced at every track in the country and there are lap times and lap records for any driver to shoot for. I've seen new guys buy a SM thinking they are going to go to a few trackdays and then compete at the "pointy end" of the field. It NEVER happens!! Those cars are both easy to drive and difficult to drive fast. The problem with this theory is that these type of cars are not all that sexy looking, sounding or fast to new drivers, they want to drive as fast as they can. Unfortunately, that doesn't teach you a skill other than writing checks for repairs usually.
Buy a race-prepped car that someone already has built, shaken-down and made reliable and learn on that car. You might find that your interests move toward W2W racing in a particular class. I have friends that run Formula Vee and have an absolute blast doing it more for the competitive nature of the class and friendliness of all his competitors. It may be one of the slowest classes out there but who cares. I'd rather evolve my skills and my car to become the best we can be in any class rather than a mid-pack runner because I can't compete with the better drivers in my class.
Be more worried about you and your abilities rather than just the fastest car that you can afford. I'm not saying that's what you are doing, but asking about using a 650S as a trackday toy has me wondering. Drivers schools are a great place to spend a few weekends and a few dollars on yourself before spending it on any car.
In the spirit of keeping a supermarket make for track duty, how about an ex ferrari challenge or lamborghini super trofeo or porsche cup car? Buying new could get you the GTD Mustang also.
johndej said:In the spirit of keeping a supermarket make for track duty, how about an ex ferrari challenge or lamborghini super trofeo or porsche cup car? Buying new could get you the GTD Mustang also.
This. I would find a $80k 997 cup car with a decent number of hours, run it through a PPI/compression test, hire a private coach to help you get it setup and get confident in the drivers seat and then go run laps. Dont think someone posting about a 570s is going to jump into Miata life :-).
OP,
My brother is selling a carbon bodied LS Swapped BMW MCoupe racecar if you want something as fast as a McLaren but with the running costs of a corvette!
Don't take this personally but take a long look in the mirror and ask your self if you have the talent to drive cars like this in anger.
I sure don't any more and I am not sure I ever did.
In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :
I'm looking for the combination of continually improving my skills and also owning a fun car to drive on the track. Maybe a few years down the road I'll look into racing, but right now I'm just enjoying myself and learning.
I've driven a Miata and found it to be a bit 'meh'. I know, sacrilegious! I'll have to look into a race prepped a street car then- or possibly just keeping the Giulia and modifying it. It's definitely not terrible on the track, just struggles it a bit in tight corners.
Thanks for the detailed response 
In reply to dean1484 :
I definitely don't have the talent to run a 650s at the limit- but I also don't want to outgrow my next car too quickly. Sounds like a car in-between my Alfa and 650s could be best.
Yeti said:In reply to dean1484 :
I definitely don't have the talent to run a 650s at the limit- but I also don't want to outgrow my next car too quickly. Sounds like a car in-between my Alfa and 650s could be best.
Do you run tracks that tend to be high speed, longer tracks or tighter low speed tracks? A lotus might give you the track car feel as a middle ground. McLaren would be FAST as E36 M3, but will also be incredibly expensive to run at track speeds for extended numbers of sessions. A lotus will allow you to ramp into higher power levels and give you a direct feel of a race car with less hassles ala trailering to every event or having a race shop involved in prep.
I feel like the Camaro SS 1LE is the new "upscale Miata" for track days. The people I know that have them love them. They're not as cheap as Miatae but they're still below the $50k mark, and don't require any modifications whatsoever. They're fast AF and can easily run with the Porsches and Corvettes in advanced track day groups. They're completely overbuilt and relatively simple and reliable; lots of additional coolers, no forced induction, etc. Driving manners on track are good, they don't have any quirks or unusual tendencies. They can accommodate fairly large drivers. The consumables are expensive but not as expensive as Porsches or exotics. You can't have everything I guess.
In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :
I agree with one caveat: make sure your helmet fits through the window opening. Ours did not on our ZL1...
If you're doing a dedicated track car, look at something designed to be a track car like a Radical or one of the NASA NP01. I'd be concerned about Ginetta because they're a pretty small shop and may not have the depth needed to make it really reliable and friendly.
The nice thing about the NP01 is that it's ready to race as soon as you decide you want to try that. It was designed from the ground up to be a club racer, with affordable running and repair costs
I really like those NP01s... It's a LOT of performance/$$, and very reasonable consumables.
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