My Car History
I've owned a lot of higher performance and some rather track focused cars over the years. I've never been one for keeping a 'garage queen' (there is one exception) and have never kept any sort of collection of cars in any sense of the word.
I insist on daily-driving whatever I'm in at the time, no matter what the conditions. I also keep the 600 outside all year round. I want to be using it, feeling it, driving it as the manufacturer intended it to be driven - as much as possible. I've also found that this tends to result in having far less issues than when a vehicle sits for months on end. I only have one vehicle in the garage, which is my 1984 Ford Sierra XR4i track conversion. I'll go into detail on that later...
So to give you an idea of what sort of comparisons we are talking here, when I say the 600 is the best road car I've owned (for me) - these are some of the more track-orientated things I've had over the years that I am comparing it to (in order of ownership).
Ford Sierra XR4x4i
This was my first car that was not just for getting from A->B - back in 1998 it was also the 'newest' car I'd owned up to that point as an 18 year old. It was from this starting point that I realised I wanted more and more feel, power and handling than anything else i'd driven up to that moment. Unfortunately this one was written off for me by someone else after i'd owned it for many years, but that did lead on to something even better - my 1984 XR4i track conversion (see below).
Opel Manta GTE
Odd ball this one, needed something cheap and cheerful (at the time) between cars and this was at a local used dealer for £900. Power wise it was absolutely gutless. It handled like a bucket of water up a ladder, but it was still somehow a lot of fun, made people stare at the time too!
Ford Sierra XR4i Track Car
As mentioned above, someone very kindly wrote off my original XR4x4 for me. However, this did give me an opportunity to cut up the entire shell, drop the engine and gearbox out of it, and 'make' my own XR4i (4x4) conversion. Along with the Twin-Turbo V6 I fitted to it, pushing out over 400lb/ft of torque via my own mapping skills (MBE management) - along with a total weight of 1300kg - my favourite track toy was born. I still have this car today, and it's the only one that gets to break the 'garage queen' rule!
If you are curious about this one, there is a nice album of the Covid-Era full chassis restoration I completed on it here.
Subaru WRX
This was my 'Work' car, as business started to pick up in the early 2000s - it had a good bit of punch to it and having bought it brand new from a dealer it was technically my first brand-new car. I was very happy at the time!
VX220 Turbo
More punch than the WRX and my first convertible - a modified (Stage 2) setup and this car is ultimately the reason I ended up with a Spider 600LT not a Coupe. I found the open-top experience and the mid-engine handling sublime. I missed this car from the second I sold it.
This was also the first car to attempt to kill me. Several times. Once coming backwards of Spa at well over 100mph. Then again getting airborne off a large kerb at the Nürburgring - subsequently losing the front number plate upon landing. These near-death and "I've made it in one piece!" feelings was something I would then find myself chasing in the future.
Mitsubishi FQ360 MR
Again this was the most powerful thing I'd piloted so far. Got a brand new 'MR' edition imported and had to register it in the UK, which was fun. Aside from the Sierra, this was also the vehicle I owned for the longest amount of time - over 10 years!
I mapped this myself and ended up pushing out just over 420bhp from it. Tracking it all over the place and across Europe. It absolutely lapped it up and never missed a beat. Another car I miss dearly. Light, snappy and with a suitably matching amount of punch to it.
Nissan GTR (2017 model)
I always wanted a Skyline as a kid - and since they were no longer being made I settled for a brand new GTR instead. It was comfy, punchy as standard (not that it stayed like that) and you could fit a small child in the back, which worked well at the time for us as a family.
I modified this with a Litchfield Stage 4.5 tune and it ended up very (VERY) loud and the wrong side of 700bhp or so. However, despite this rocket-like performance and incredibly solid handling, it never gave me the thrills of getting airborne in the VX220. I kept it for 5 years and sold it for exactly what I paid for it new, due entirely to luck not judgement. This led to...
McLaren 600LT Spider
Yep. Finally got there. It's been everything I hoped for; and more!