Track car: E30 BMW 325i or Porsche 944?

I am going to ignore the choices and say GT V6.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

mad_machine wrote: just going to leave this here: BMW compact Cup

Except they only sold about 3 1/2 of them this side of the pond.

and I have two of them

If the answer isn't Miata, it must be 944. Id rather drive the 944 any day, and on most days driven by the right guy, either will beat an E30...

Maroon92 wrote: If the answer isn't Miata, it must be 944. Id rather drive the 944 any day, and on most days driven by the right guy, either will beat an E30...

That pretty much agrees with SCCA Solo Stock classing:

CS: 99+ Miata>968/944 Turbo/16V>E30/E36 M3
ES: 90-97 Miata>924S>944 8V
DS: E36 328/325
GS: E30 325/318>318ti

Having driven both, and now race a E30, it's pretty obvious what my answer would be. I had this exact same debate on my motorcycle forum with someone who was shopping. The Porsche lovebirds all waxed poetic about how great the 944 is and how affordable the parts are...until I did a commonly replaced part comparison chart that showed the Porsche was 2-3 times more expensive to fix (parts; the labor is also substantially higher) for a car that really isn't any more faster around a track than the E30. When I test drove these cars my reactions were:

944S: the definition of "underwhelming". I expected a lot more.

325i: damn, this thing is way more fun than I thought it would be.

There's not really a repair I'd rather do on a 944 than on an E30/E36. I remember them as being not particularly fun to work on. And this being a track car, you'll be working on it a lot.

I love driving and looking at E30s and 944s, but agree the E36 seems to make more sense these days, just because there are so many more available. Around here, if you needed an E30 as a replacement for one you rolled, it'd take you all summer to find a decent one.

e30s have jumped up in price around here too. I'd love an '89-'91 coupe (for the short bumpers) but can't find a decent one for less than $4k-$5k. I don't know how 944s compare.