Brilliant idea!!!

[simonbud100]

I think this is brilliant (nuts, but brilliant). A few of the lads in work have decided to get together to start their own (very limited budget) retro touring car championship.

The rules are simple, verging on non existent.

Buy a car that featured in BTCC during the 90's and convert it into a replica touring car. There is no set budget or spec, and looks are definately more important than performance, safety or anything else that would feature highly in "real" motor sport. Cars do not have to be of the correct engine size as used in BTCC and people are tending to look for bigger engined machines.

Not sure if there is actually a plan to race them yet, but there was talk of doing a track day during the summer.

So far, there is quite a limited field but people are scouring ebay daily for suitable donor vehicles and bits.

Already sourced is a Volvo 850 T5 estate (ex Police, white) for £400, a Laguna V6 (£300) in dark green and an Audi A4 2.4 in Silver.

There is also a lot of excitement about a Nissan Primera GT that should be arriving soon and a Mondeo ST24 that one of the lads has seen on ebay.

The question is, what would you go for? I quite like the idea of an E36 328i.

 

[GazHyde]

For me it would be the Volvo estate. I remember that car more than any other in the BTCC... Was fantastic watching it race! :car)

 

[board]

the E36 that Clarkson had did well on the rally cross

 

[r37]

allmot like a banger rally type thingy, i bet you could get an old merc for peanuts, failing that a 328 or a 325i.

 

[simonbud100]

A Merc 190 is a good shout. I havnen't signed up to it yet, I think I will sit back and watch the others progress before jumping in.

When you think back to 90's touring cars where all the big manufacturers had works teams competing it was a great event, now there are just Hondas, MG things and a hand full of private entries, very sad.

Highlight of yesterday was one of the guys fitting a roll cage made from drain pipes! As I said, safety is by no means a priority.

 

[hard top]

I know that I would not be allowed to join in.... but I would much rather have one of these........ B-)

 

[simonbud100]

I love the bit where he talks about the single element spoiler keeping the cost down, because saving a £100 on an extra bit of titanium is going to make it affordable for us all now, just the £1m to find for the rest of the car now

Fantastic looking machine, but sadly outside the rules for our retro BTCC challenge, otherwise I would have snapped it up