Is there such a thing as a "grown up" Evo or WRX alternative?

The MS6 is good for 161 MPH on level ground. Clutch replacements are expensive as is any mechanical work on the drivetrain. Very little else breaks.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Ian F: Evos and STis aren't exactly huge inside. I don't know how but this thread really turned to soft, high highpoint awd luxo barges for the most part.

I'm beginning to wonder if that is because other than WRX, STI and Evo, there really isn't anything available in this class unless we include unicorns like Celica All-Trac/GTFour, 323 GTX or grey imports that are slowly becoming available like Nissan Sunny/Pulsar GTiR?

I'm shocked at how inexpensive GTiRs are going for. Imported versions with papers are selling for around 9k.

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Ian F: Evos and STis aren't exactly huge inside. I don't know how but this thread really turned to soft, high highpoint awd luxo barges for the most part.

How? Because they seem to depreciate faster than Evo's and WRX/STi's and end up being cheaper alternatives.

But time attack type build based off of a barge would be an exercise in extreme expense and futility. More weight, more tire and more brakes all at a higher cost per a track mile driven.

In reply to captdownshift:

And all of that while competing against the smaller, lighter cars with similar power...

I'm sure that a lot of the cars listed are great alternatives for DD use, but I'm not convinced about dual use.

All wheel drive. Check. Does Winter. Check. Does Track Days. Check.

I give you the AWD answer: Race Jeep!

Advantages:

Cheap. Tough. No glass transmissions. No Suby head gasket hell. Unique, Possible to buy one from someone who wears his hat "forwards". 4WD when you need it, 2WD when you don't. Can be had with Manual trans. Surprisingly good handling. Cheap parts --Your local Pick and Pull is full of these

captdownshift wrote: In reply to Ian F: Evos and STis aren't exactly huge inside. I don't know how but this thread really turned to soft, high highpoint awd luxo barges for the most part.

Mazdaspeed 6s, S4s, and 335xis are luxo-barges? I mean, sure, they aren't stripped out homologation rally cars, but we're not talking about a Lexus ES here.

LuxInterior wrote: All wheel drive. Check. Does Winter. Check. Does Track Days. Check. I give you the AWD answer: Race Jeep! Advantages: Cheap. Tough. No glass transmissions. No Suby head gasket hell. Unique, Possible to buy one from someone who wears his hat "forwards". 4WD when you need it, 2WD when you don't. Can be had with Manual trans. Surprisingly good handling. Cheap parts --Your local Pick and Pull is full of these

And to make it better, get a fulltime 4x4 transfer case from a 96 - 98 Grand Cherokee. It's a viscous center for power transfer, but not a diff. It's heavily rear biased too (thought to be around 20/80 F/R split on pavement).

Only challenge is this: you'll never get one that low with a driven front axle. The oil pan and the diff need to occupy the same space...

Find an 09-10 WRX sedan. Not widebody, no Alteeza taillights. At a glance they look like a Corolla (or so I've been told). Not all that popular with the tuners from what I've seen. The few people I know who have them are all 30-something white collar people, FWIW. Only "car people" realize they're even Subarus, it seems.

For bonus points, get an 08 sedan. They had the old TD05 turbo from the 07 with the ultra-boring body and wheels. No tuners bought them lol....they basically sat on lots until Subaru fixed the lower power output and boring looks with the upgrades on the 09.

08 WRX can be found cheap and probably un-modded I'd bet...

08 wrx under $7k?! Impossibru