What’s the best ultimate trackday car for when you’re away for a year?
Racing simulators keep getting better. Where you used to play Test Drive 1 or The Need For Speed on your keyboard, nowadays you can simulate the experience of racing pretty well with a good sim and racing seat. The undersigned once made the mistake of saying that a pimply adolescent after winning FIFA22 is also not in the starting line-up at Ajax. Much appreciated commentator @edge parried that the sitting position and all disciplines match, except for the G-forces. While you’re rambling on a joystick in FIFA.
Life isn’t bittersweet. Sometimes it just goes wrong. No matter how hard you work, how legendary your last name is and how promising you are, you can still get sidetracked. That’s exactly what happened to Autobild reader Mick. Suddenly he has less to do next year. That’s why he’s looking for a fun way to spend his time. Instead of a simulator, he would like to do it ‘in real life’. Somehow Mick wants to gain a little more experience.
He is looking for a trackday car to drive on circuits. The car does not necessarily have to be street legal, but it is nice. And if it’s not a street-legal car, it has to be very light so his mom can pick it up with the trailer.
Anyway, you can read the wishes and requirements for the ultimate trackday car below:
Current cars: | Crashed track day car |
Buy / Lease: | May all. can buy, gets a lot of pocket money. |
Budget | Doesn’t really matter |
Annual mileage | 7,000 km |
Fuel preference | Petrol |
Reason to buy another car | Old track stopped, new one has yet to start |
Family composition | A friend with an Instagram account |
Preferred Models | Honda, something German, Mercedes! |
No go: | Ferrari, Alpine, Aston Martin, McLaren, American cars |
Caterham Superlight 485R
€85,000 (Germany, private)
2016
10,000 km
The best way to learn how to deal with a lot of power and little weight is a Caterham. In that sense it is the ultimate trackday car. In many cases you are on your own. There’s no traction control, ESP or ABS to save you. The 485R does not have 485 hp, but 485 hp per tonne, so 485 hp per 1,000 kg.
There is ‘only’ 245 hp, but the Caterham Superlight 485R weighs less than the sister of the undersigned: 525 kg.
Look, that puts sod on the dike. In terms of speed, intensity and fun, nothing beats a Caterham. You only notice from the faster Caterhams on circuits that they mainly rely on their acceleration power. The cornering speed is relatively low. They are narrow cars with no downforce while you go down the straight at enormous speeds. Think of it like a motorcycle that won’t fall over.
KTM X-Bow R
€99,900
2020
20,000 km
Audi engines lend themselves well to the ultimate trackday car, as it turns out. The KTM X-Bow also uses Audi blocks. Well, specifically Audi: we see the engine in many other VAG products. This has an advantage, because parts are easy to find, upgrades are available and maintenance is relatively cheap. The rest of the KTM X-Bow R doesn’t come cheap.
The base is a carbon frame and, uh, that’s pretty much it. It’s a modern approach to a trackday car, versus Caterham’s classic approach. In terms of price, it’s not even that far apart. In fact, if you do a little searching you can find plenty of KTMs for less. That is tremendous value for money. Another advantage: various downforce upgrades are possible for the X-Bow.
Donkervoort D8 GTO Bilster Berg Edition
€ 159,000 (Germany, dealer)
2016
5,000 km
If you want to step up compared to a Caterham, a Donkervoort is a good option. On all levels, this is the hypercar of the Lotus Seven-esque supercars. Not just in appearance, although it certainly helps. In terms of performance, the Donkervoort is at a much higher level. Under the hood is an Audi 2.5 TFSI five-cylinder from the Audi TT-RS. In this case, the motor is located lengthwise, instead of transversely.
Also, the lubrication is now dry-sump, instead of a large oil bath. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission. In this case we are looking for the cheapest D8 GTO RS, if you are afraid that you will crash this expensive car, you can also look at a D8 with four-cylinder, which can be found for 70 to 100 grand. But with a five-cylinder it’s a more serious and capable trackday car.
Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991)
€200,000 (Germany, specialist)
2016
25,000 km
It is still the ultimate trackday car among the ultimate trackday cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. In this case, we recommend the 991 generation of the Porsche 911, the one before the facelift. They are now – relatively speaking – surprisingly affordable. Compared to the more fun and grittier 997s and 996s, the 991 is much more serious and has paddle shifters, just like a Formula 1 car! They also seem to be more forgiving, although these are still extremely serious sports cars with more than 500 hp.
So you still have to be careful with this Porsche. Handy, if your racing career doesn’t go the way you want, you can always convert it to race specification. Also nice, parts and tuning is no problem at all, especially Manthey has a lot of serious Aero upgrades for this generation.
Honda NSX
€220,000
2019
60km
Look, right now you’re just best off with a Honda. The NSX is a tad heavy in this overview, so you have to shave a bit for that. The V6 turbo engine in combination with electric motors provide serious acceleration and a very high top speed on the straight. This way you can easily overtake everyone on the straight.
Of course, the whole world will think you’re fast because of the car, so maybe it’s useful to have an inferior acquaintance who will also let you drive laps every now and then to prove that you’re really, really good. For more than two hundred thousand euros you have a new one that has not been doing anything for several years. Also handy, you have four-wheel drive, always useful on a wet track or on a street circuit.
Dalara Stradale
€290,000 (McLaren dealer, Germany)
2019
16,000 km
If you want Italian, but not a Ferrari, then the options are suddenly a lot less crowded if you’re looking for the ultimate trackday car. A Lamborghini is possible, although that is mainly a V10 fun package and a little less a serious trackday weapon. Especially if you are relatively tall.
The Dallara Stradale is a special project. The handy thing is that you can make anything: roadster, targa or coupe. As with the KTM X-Bow, Loris Bicocchi took care of the handling, so it should be fine.
The Dallara is not as light as a Caterham, this device weighs about 850 kg. Fortunately, there is almost 400 hp in return, thanks to a heavily tickled Ford EcoBoost unit. However, it is not only the power that impresses, thanks to the aerodynamics you can easily generate 800 kg of downforce. You have to look for them, because they are sold in dribs and drabs and most owners love them and keep them. We found one for 3 tons at a McLaren dealer in Hockenheim.
YOLO: Mercedes Benz CLK GTR
€4,500,000 (if you can find one)
The beauty of the 1990s and early 2000s is not only the sporting achievements in F1, but also the Le Mans cars. The CLK GTR is simply a race car in which they have put leather upholstery. On a track day you will pass everyone, after all it remains a Mercedes. Now we have to note that you need a decent skillset for this car.
This is not as ‘simple’ as a 911. To extract all 600 horsepower and successfully convert it into speed, you have to come from good houses. If you drive one for a short time, replacement is extremely costly. 1990s Le Mans budgets were quite similar to current cost cap Formula 1 budgets. The ultimate trackday car in every way.
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