After a crazy 3 years, my sports car journey comes to an end. You could say my mid-life crisis comes to an end (was it a mid-life crisis?). From Friday 25th September 2020, I am back to a sensible 5-door family car. A nice sensible Audi RS3 with sub 5 second 0-60! Back to sensible me!
In 3 crazy years from August 2017 to September 2020, I have had 9 different sports cars:
- Lotus Elise Sport 220
- Lotus Exige V6 Coupe (IPS)
- Mazda MX-5 ZSport (ND3) <-- A 3rd car
- Lotus Evora V6 NA Sport Racer
- Lotus Exige V6 Roadster
- Mazda MX-5 RF (ND4)
- Lotus Exige V6 Club Racer
- Audi TT Mk2 Black Edition TDI <-- A 2nd car (daily)
- Porsche Cayman 718S
Now I am back to having a blue Audi A3 3rd generation (8V) - as my only car - like the first A3 I had back in 2014 (which I sold in 2016, and wish I hadn’t sold, mainly due to the > £100k I have lost on cars since, but also because it was a great daily). My first Audi A3 was a scuba blue 2013 A3 Sportback 150PS TDI. Now I have a sepang blue 2016 RS3 Sportback with 360+ HP.
Considering my current life circumstances (like where I live and what I do), the Audi RS3 is perfect for my life. It is a perfect sized car. As practical as I need a car to be. Looks great and has an excellent interior. And with excellent performance. I never felt comfortable having more than one car. And - it only just dawned upon me that - I never felt comfortable with my only car being a sports car.
I hope to have a sports car again sometime in the future, but next time it will be done properly. For me, it never worked having a sports car as my only car. Any sports car in the future will be a second car (the plan is for the Audi RS3 to be my daily for many years to come, if not forever). Before even thinking about a future sports car:
- I need to get out of car finance, personal loan, and credit card debt, and avoid these things like the plague in the future (interest on debts is money working against you - you want your money to work for you - and 0% credit cards are a trap!)
- I need to move to a house with a bit of parking area and a good-sized garage.
Once those 2 above conditions are met, we will see. Sports cars are an expensive hobby. If I do not feel wealthy enough, then I will live without. I have already scratched that itch/curiosity regards owning a sports car, if I never own a sports car ever again, I will count myself incredibly blessed to have had the experiences I have had.
- Q: If you could have kept just one of your sports cars, which one would it be?
- A: None of them!
The above might seem like an odd answer, but it is true. Any sports car in the future does not need to be practical (it will be a second car with no expectation to perform daily duties). Its sole purpose will be for having fun. Mostly it will get used for track days. A Lotus Elise Cup 250 is perfect. Or a Caterham 7. The Exige V6 I feel was a little two heavy and expensive (Evora heavier and Cayman heavier still).
- Q: Your honest assessment of the Porsche Cayman 718 S with the Fabspeed SuperCup Turboback Exhaust?
- A: I did not warm to the sound. Honestly, the car was a disappointment.
The Porsche Cayman 718 S was a massive disappointment. Whilst I owned it, I tried to convince myself that it sounded good. Whilst it did not sound bad - and the Fabspeed exhaust improved things over the Porsche Sports Exhaust - the Lotus Evora and Exige V6 sounded so much better. My Audi RS3 with stock exhaust sounds better (sounds like a mini V10 when you floor it). Sound is so important for a sports car.
Some pictures of my Audi RS3:
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